Extension Iron County

Zine Workshop

Join Extension Iron County Community Development Educator Joseph Miller at the Iron County Farmers Market, Saturday August 30th from 10:00am – 1:00pm to practice the art and craft of zine-making!

Unsure what a zine is? The folks over at The Bindery in Milwaukee—a specialty print shop and custom bindery that uses historic equipment and traditional techniques to create small-batch custom print jobs and books—describe zines like this:

A Zine is a self-published, non-commercial print work that is typically produced in small, limited batches. Zines are created and bound in many ways, but traditionally editions are made by hand and easily reproduced.

Because of their adaptability, reproducibility, and unique nature, zines are an excellent storytelling tool. Using 11” x 17” paper as a canvas and some very basic origami, you’ll create your very own book to share with other “zinesters.” Use it to tell the story you want, whether it’s a superhero story about your cat turning into a radioactive mutant that shoots bees out of its ears and recruits a team of dinosaur robots to fight crime or a fairytale about a space alien who crash lands in Hurley circa 1926 and joins the Capone brothers on a wild ride through the Northwoods (or something else?). We’ll have templates, prompts, pencils, pens, paper, collage elements, stencils, and everything else needed to make something unique. Once you finish your masterpiece, you’ll be able to create a scan to preserve it in our community zine archive.

Local printer and artist Ashlyn Skahill will share some tips and tricks for putting together an eye-catching and expressive zine. Stop by the Iron County Farmers Market to learn more about this unique art form and join the zinester ranks!