pivotal potential
new position, Prince style
As of late, I haven’t been making zines because my focus has shifted to small upcycled art projects! Considering the store I work at, it was inevitable that I would gravitate from the paper section elsewhere, and I’m happy I did. However, I’m still fighting Imposter Syndrome and debating whether I fit under the umbrella term of “artist”; most people exclaim “Yes!” encouragingly, but it feels like another title I’m adding to this cumbersome list of ways I want to be recognized. It includes creative director, writer, blogger, creaducator, and an unidentified title that’ll connect to the career(s) that call me in nonprofit management & community redevelopment.
For the same reasons I tell people they should make zines, I’m also going to encourage folks to take trinkets & odd pieces with no purpose, and make beautiful things with them. So often, people wander around our Bulk section and grab stuff, remark about how adorable or cool it is, then say “…but I just don’t know what I’d do with it/where I’d put it.” I want to shout “YET! GET IT!” every time I hear it, but not everyone wants an unsolicited command followed by an unsolicited story about how they did the thing they’re telling you to do. Try not to do that, even if you have good intentions.
I’m learning the best way to inspire someone to “do the thing” is to have as much fun doing my things as I can. People don’t make zines because I tell them to; they do it because they saw me finally use my Instagram to start talking about what they are and saw how I birthed my ideas, which were relevant to theirs and therefore validating. And had it not been for all the validation I’ve received as a zinemaker, I probably wouldn’t dabble in any other art forms.
(I’d also like to note that this shift arose from a desire to compromise - I do not enjoying Bob Rossing like my friends do, but they also don’t enjoy making miscellaneous Pinterest crafts like I do. I’ve found I dislike painting on a canvas, but I can appreciate painting a wood piece of some sort, and that works for everyone. We’re all winners enjoying chicken dinners.)
“It’s different! It’s really different!”
I was spontaneously invited to be a vendor as part of an artist exhibition at the Mint Museum Uptown, which already sounds like a big deal but was even more so because it was an event “for the culture” (not “cultural event”; there is a notable difference). This doesn’t happen often at the Mint, let alone distinguished museums all around the nation. This reality, plus my amateur experience with tabling events in general, had me hesitant to accept, but I did on account of already planning to attend. If I was going to show up, why shouldn’t I show out?
And that I did. I bought two new dresses, and though I loved the elegance of the bronze dress, the blue really champions my personality. So much so, that this cancer sun gentleman sensed my cancer rising and gave me the sincerest encouragement. He made me embrace my hard work, and the vulnerability it displayed, and praised me for my genuine presentation of creativity. Ed, thank you will never do - but thank you.
A few words for each piece, for further context of what I brought (and will continue to bring) to the table:
