WHY: Lancaster Zine Fest

It tracks that Earth Day is celebrated in April. The neon green of baby tree leaves seem to inject me with a boost of creative drive and gratitude for life. Indeed I feel like I could kiss the earth ( I don't even have to go to space for 11 minutes first, looking at you, Katy Perry) for freeing me from winter's freeze. My first event of the year post thaw was Lancaster Zine Fest!

My table! Featuring Spirit Magazine, DreamWeaver repping 555-PUPPETS, Mini Mini Mart Mart Oracle Cards, Vision & Sound zines, and my newest zine, The Distortion of an Inevitable Freedom

Lancaster Zine Fest on April 12th, 2025 in downtown Lancaster was the perfect way to kick off Spring and get me back in gear for a new season of artistic endeavors. I have spent the last couple months finalizing zine designs, trimming and folding, and designing signage for my table. While working full time, I spent many nights on my bedroom floor trimming zines until bedtime. Even up until a week before the fest, I decided to make a new zine, titled The Distortion of an Inevitable Freedom. I don't really know where I got the energy other than just pure excitement over sharing my zines for the first time with the public. The turn out was incredible, I sold and traded many zines, and truly reveled in the special energy present in the zine making community.

This art form is powerful in its capcity to share story, history, opinion, and poetry in truly open and vulnerable ways. No other medium seems to encourage a sense of curiosity and nuance the way zines do. Through this modality, change of perspective and deepening of feeling is encouraged in readers and makers alike. I had a lot of friends and collaborators come visit my table, which added to the sense of gratitude and connection I felt that day.

Photo credit: Gillian Pearl @riverpearlstudio on Instagram

Introducing my Vision & Sound zines to fest attendees was especially rewarding. These zines feature six digital collages paired with six songs intuitively selected to accompany the art. The idea is for the reader to listen to each song while viewing the coinciding collage. It takes between 15-25 to complete this process with each zine, and each zine explores different subjects, experiences, and aesthetics. Often, as individuals approached my table, I coild accurately predict which zine would draw their attention first. It could be the way they dressed, the way they spoke, or just their overall energy that clued me in. It was thrilling to notice the parts of me reflected in the people interacting with and purchasing my work.

This particular batch of zines are deeply personal, journal entry-like explorations of experiences and life lessons I have struggled to release. It is scary to be that vulnerable in front of strangers, but I am an artist and it is my obligation to share what I have learned. How incredible it was to feel seen and even valued for this gesture! It goes against everything my inner critic whispers to me during the creative process.

It was a fulfilling experience to see how my zines spoke to people of every generation. Captive Participant, my zine inspired by the story of Patty Hearst, was purchased by middle-age adults and teenagers alike. It's important to me that my work reaches a wide range of people, because I believe what I have to say is reflective of what is true for all of us. We are in a time where true connection is rare and critical thinking is replaced with spoon fed opinion, thought pipelines, and AI suggestion. Finding what is true, whether or not it is comfortable truth, is vital for a resurgence of mental and emotional wellness in humanity.

I believe zines have always served as cultural subconscious, giving voice to the censored, inspiring collective action, and providing comfort to the readers unseen. We truly are not alone. Read Queer zines. Read Black and POC zines. Read political, poetic, artistic, and silly zines. Now is the time to take up space and use our voices.

Thanks to Lancaster Zine Fest and Kim Holland, the creator of this wonderful event. My experiences at previous fests reawakened my love of zine making, and I had a wonderful first year vending! Follow @lancasterzinefest on Instagram to stay up to date on the future of this event!

Find the Vision & Sound zines on my Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/1242972507?si=b68d65943a124a6f