Zine Vol.1, Unlock Your Potential
Zine Volume 1: Unlock Your Potential; The beginning of an era
This began with a passion, and then an idea, and then a zine. Yeah, you read that right, a zine, that little paper book folded from a single sheet of paper. Hand drawn and colored and copied over the course of a night, a day, even a couple of days. Today, you get to sneak a peek at my first feature of Zine Vol. 1, “Unlock Your Potential”. This was a culmination of many passions, joyously rendered for anyone to see. Frequently left in library corners and gifted to friends, this story —short though it may be —started me on a journey. For those who aren’t familiar, a zine is a self-published booklet that can focus on any topic, not dissimilar to a regular magazine. Whether the focus is poetry, politics, art, pictures, or anything else, there is no limit to the subject matter or the materials used to create these expressive little booklets.
As humans, we tend to grow and change, and our likes evolve with our lived experiences, shaping how we choose to spend our free time. I, for one, have always been curious about creative outlets, and while I decided to pursue the saxophone rather than art classes as my extracurricular, I found my way back to art in college. Flash forward again to my time working in secure inpatient settings with rather extensive equipment restrictions, origami became a favorite way to keep my hands busy while my mind worked through other things. Even turned to more in-depth folding projects when I wanted to practice a higher degree of mindfulness. When one blessed day on Pinterest, I found the elusive Zine projects. [As a simple enough folding pattern, the hardest part is just making sure your designs will stay within the copyable borders when producing copies of your work.]
Fortunately, the timid artist in me found a trusty pencil and eraser and got to work. With the folding steps out of the way, it all came down to design. The world of zines or mini magazines means anything is possible. Any story or doodles I want could exist within these pages. So I started with something that resonated with me — unlocking your potential. As a recreation therapist, I frequently act in a coaching capacity, addressing leisure barriers and maladaptive thought patterns that keep clients and patients from living the lives they desire. While leisure activities won’t fix every problem you ever experience, the intentional use of evidence-based leisure to build transferable skills and deepen community bonds, even address barriers to leisure access, can increase life satisfaction.
Now, if you don’t particularly care for art and doodling as your go-to outlet, zines may not be your top choice. That’s the beautiful thing about this treatment modality: it is client-focused and driven. As much as I like to champion the benefits of time spent in nature, even in a non-active capacity, I understand that the outdoors can be an intimidating place for some. I like to meet my patients where they are and learn what they want to grow their skills in. Whether that means finding a community-based leisure group or just practicing more accessible coping skills with actionable use plans to make them viable tools in your belt rather than expensive tips that may never be utilized, I want to learn what you are looking for. Navigating life changes, a loss of structure, and disrupted routines often creates space for new opportunities. If vision boarding and collaging seem like too big a task to take on, even a short reflective journaling session after a walk outside can be grounding. There are so many ways to get out of your head and back into your body. If you decide to create a zine of your own, here are some tips:
Give yourself some grace! It doesn’t have to be perfect, and in fact, sometimes the sloppier the first one is, the better it feels just to have created the first edition. Folding is the first step, and it may take a couple of tries to get your results right.
Start with a pencil to sketch out your general idea, only spending a couple of minutes per page initially. Once you finalize your story and simple graphics, I recommend going over your design with a Micron pen [not sponsored] or another waterproof/archival ink fine liner. Heck, even a gel ink pen has given me some of my favorite designs.
It’s okay to be silly, even as a rule of thumb to live by; it’s a zine after all. If you can’t take yourself silly in 8 tiny pages, where else can you? The beauty of this medium lies in its lighthearted nature at its core. Plus, you can erase any leftover pencil lines to clean up the finished look. I recommend waiting until the ink is completely dry so it doesn’t smear your masterpiece.
Monochromatic copies more easily, but color is just so fun. You can also take the time to shade and tint things to your preference using any art materials you prefer. Light layers of watercolor usually hold up on standard copy paper; just be sure to use a waterproof ink if lining your images before painting. I enjoy using a mix of color pencils, markers, and highlighters.
Include your name or tag, the date, even a volume or title, so that it can be cataloged for a little zine library, or credit can go back to you. Also, since it is a personal creation, there are benefits to dating the zine, as you would a journal entry [this is a helpful way to see how you have progressed over time, too].
Now you can make copies to your heart’s desire! I like color correcting or matching to the closest shade with my remaining art supplies to finish up the borders, although, as I have been told, it is extra and unnecessary [maybe a touch silly and concise].
You can glue the pages of your copies together to make a finished book to gift others; leave the original as a whole sheet of paper so you can make more copies as needed.
Make more zines, obviously! Suppose your story needs a continuation or you want to try a new subject matter altogether. In that case, volumes two and beyond allow for open-ended creativity and a tangible result.
“This dynamic medium allows for visible skill growth and a boost in self-confidence and self-efficacy, because, yeah, you just did that! ”
This dynamic medium allows for visible skill growth and a boost in self-confidence and self-efficacy, because, yeah, you just did that! Completing projects doesn’t have to be a behemoth haunting your to-do list. You can set a timer to make it more of a drawing challenge and a fun fact: if you are enjoying the process and losing track of time, finding your flow, keep working; don’t sweat the small stuff. This little creativity exercise can offer opportunities to practice hand lettering, doodling, storyboarding, creative storytelling, attention to detail, and self-belief. Not all of our efforts pan out the way we think they will, but that doesn’t mean it was for nothing. Here we are, years later, and this very first zine has turned into many more zines, a blog, a business, and so much more. Hopefully, this created a deep desire to zine or at least create in a medium you are curious or passionate about.
If you are interested in hearing about a particular leisure activity and its benefits or a specific therapeutic strategy, reach out, and Rooted Wild + Wildmind Retreats will address as much as is feasible! I always appreciate feedback from readers, so if you create a zine of your own or have more questions, comment below!