For Integrative Studio (Fake), my class was assigned a Zine project in which we had to create a faux persona, documenting their life in a zine. At the beginning of the project, we explored artists whose work featured zines as well as discussed the purpose and types of zines available. I knew right away what persona I wanted to create for my zine. Also, I wanted my zine to have a more humorous approach, as I often like to do with my art. I like to poke fun at myself because it adds levity to the atmosphere to lighten the mood; life isn’t always so serious so why should art be? Seriously, as cliche as it might be, laughter is the best medicine. “Carol,” my persona, is an exaggerated version of myself; she is the embodiment of the suburban Long Island mother stereotype. “Carol” has a thick Long Island accent, worships Billy Joel (THE Piano Man), Theresa Caputo (THE Long Island Medium), and Martha Stewart (THE Craft Queen). Cawfee and Long Island Bagels fuel her as a busy on-the-go mom. I created most of the pages in my zine on Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. I added an embroidered felt page for the crafty look as well as a scrapbook paper “planner” page and toned tan sketchbook paper “PTA planning” page for a different texture. Adding to the cheesy, “bad-photoshop” aesthetic, I wanted to include 3D text as well as the Comic Sans font. On the cover, “Long Island Gurls Do It Best!” is supposed to mimic the look of the customizable rainbow spray painted t-shirts found in malls all over Long Island. The mantra “Live, Laugh, Love” is repeated throughout the zine because it exudes MOM energy. On the first day of studio, my class went to the Strand bookstore for inspiration and I brought a Martha Stewart book I knew I was going to use eventually. I cut out the text in that book and collaged it onto my “Martha Stewart dedication page.” For my Billy Joel dedication page, I wrote down the lyrics to “Piano Man” and also collaged them onto the page. I scanned these pages and replaced the originals on InDesign to have a more zine feel once the final was printed out. Growing up on Long Island, I’ve learned that people from Long Island are typically very proud of the fact they are from Long Island. I’ve never felt that extreme connection to my hometown so I think it’s entertaining to poke fun at it, Long Island accents and all…or should I say Lawn Guyland accents.
Here is the pdf of my zine: Zine-1jwj4eb