Assignments

Assignment 1: A Signed, Sealed, and Delivered Zine

Description

You will create a zine. Zines, short for “magazines,” have become their own art form.  Zines are small circulation, self-published books. Most commonly, zines are made by creating one document that is then photocopied for the purpose of dispersal. However, this does not have to be your process. I welcome you to interpret this as you wish. The non-negotiables for this assignment are listed as steps below. The content, format, number of pages, etc. is up to you. You will mail a zine to the professor and each classmate and receive zines in return. 

Step 1 – If you haven’t done so, add you preferred mailing address to the first tab of our class google sheet (see email for link).      

Step 2 – Make a zine. Sign it. You will make ~20 copies (final count TBA); one copy for each member of the class and the professor. 

Step 3 – Mail the zines using the addresses people added to the first tab of our class google sheet. They must be postmarked by June 11th, 2020. 

Step 4 – Our class will meet on Tuesday, June 16th, time TBD, to discuss the zines. 

Step 5 – Based on our discussion, you will publish a post about your zine that is due on Wednesday, June 17th by 11:59 PM. See the “required posts” assignment for specific posting details.

Resources

I know it’s tempting to jump right into making. Try to slow yourself down and to read a bit about zines to fully explore the possibility that is in front of you. Here are some of my favorite resources. Wander off into the internet to find others.

• A Brief History of Zines
• Austin Kleon (who you might already know from his books) is an active zine-maker who posts often about his zines. I recommend two of his posts: 
  • Fancy Zines and
  • Portable zine rack (which recently gave me a good chuckle and demonstrates how playful this life as an artist really can be)!
• Zine format: There are very simple ways to make zines from a single sheet of paper. Check out these clear directions and templates. 

Assignment 2: Book Structure Resource Page

Description

There are many traditional book structures – far too many to explore in one class. The purposes of this project are:

1. for each student to independently explore resources about a book structure that interests them.
2. for each student to create a book using this structure.
3. to create a shared resource that could be used during and after this course by classmates and their K-12 students. 

You will complete this project by creating a blog post and a book using the book structure of your choice. The blog post should serve as a resource page for students or teachers interested in learning more about this book structure. The non-negotiables for this assignment are:

Step 1 –  Decide which book structure you’d like as the topic of this project. Make sure to consult the class google sheet for a list of structures and sign up for the structure you’ve chosen so that we don’t duplicate one another’s work. 

Step 2 – Begin a new blog post. Your post must have the following components:

• Description of the book structure
• Resources for a reader to explore
• Tutorial to help the reader if they’d like to create a book using this format/structure
• Images of your example book using this format/structure
• Resource for Teachers (if you cannot find resources for teachers related to this book structure, feel free to link to general resources about using books in K-12 classrooms, or other relevant things intended for a teacher audience)

Step 3 – Categorize your post using the “Book Structures” category. See the how-to video here if you need help figuring out how to categorize your post. 

Step 4 – Publish your post by June 20th.

Assignment 3: Make Books and Participate in Peer Critique Sessions.

Description

Once you have the Zine and Book Structure Resource Page finished (including your example of that structure), you will be making books independently during the rest of the course. I will not dictate the book structures you choose, the number of books you make, etc. However, I do have some book-making prompts if you get stuck or need a push. 

Offering this level of independence comes with an expectation that you will be actively researching and making for approximately 25 hours a week. 

During the three weeks of independent work, you will be meeting at least weekly with your peer critique group and the professor. The critiques will be scheduled based on the group members’ availability. The purposes of the critique session are:

• for you to give and receive feedback on works in progress or completed by a small group of your peers and
• to set, with some peer accountability, personal goals/deadlines for progressing with your work.

The professor will attend and facilitate these critique sessions.

After each session, you will be required to post a short post-critique reflection to your group’s padlet. To access the correct padlet and add your reflections, click on the “course files” page on the navigation bar on the right side of this webpage.

Assignment 4: Document Your Progress via the Class Blog

Our class blog will serve as a space for communication, documentation, reflection, and inspiration. You will complete a few posts with very specific purposes and prompts and then a series of progress posts that document your independent work. Specific descriptions below outline my expectations for each post. The embedded Google calendar at the top of this page includes deadlines for these blog posts.

Post 1: Introduction

Step 1 – Write a 250 word introduction about yourself. You may want to include details about where you work, what type of art you make, what interests you have, and perhaps your experience making books.

Step 2- Include three photos: 1 photo of yourself and at least 2 photos of artwork.

Step 3- Categorize your post using the “Introductions” category. See the how-to video here if you need help figuring out how to categorize your post. 

Step 4- Publish your post on or before June 9th at 11:59 PM.

Post 2: Zine Reflection

Step 1 – Wait to write this post until you get the zines in the mail and participate in our class discussion about the zines.

Step 2 – Write at least 250 words that describe the concept behind your zine, decisions you made, whether and how the zine you made relates to other work you’ve created, and your feelings about the zine after seeing it among the group of zines.

Step 3 – Include clear photos of your zine. If the text is difficult to read in the zine, create an image caption that includes the text in the zine.

Step 4 – Categorize your post using the “Zines” category. See the how-to video here if you need help figuring out how to categorize your post. 

Step 5 – Publish your post on or before 6/17 at 11:59 PM.

Post 3: Book Structure

See the detailed explanation under assignment #2 above.

Post 4: Envision

Step 1 – Ask yourself, “what will I do with this one wild and precious chance to make artist books for the next three weeks?”

Step 2 – Explore the many book structures pages that were made by your very intelligent, hardworking classmates. Get lost in the internet. Set a timer so you don’t get too lost. An hour of internet is enough internet for most people these days.

Step 3 – Go on a walk, or a drive, take a nap, and/or stand in the shower. I’m serious!

Step 4 – Change the question. The question is not, “what will I do for the next three weeks?” but, “What will I do first?” When you have an answer to that question, you’re ready to start writing.

Step 5 – Write at least 250 words that envision the next book you will make. Tell the reader about your plans. Is this a new structure you are trying, or an old friend? Why did you choose this? What are you hoping to accomplish?

Step 6 – Embed, upload, or link to anything that has inspired your process.

Step 7 – Categorize your post using the “Envision” category. See the how-to video here if you need help figuring out how to categorize your post. 

Step 8 – Publish this post on or before 6/22 at 11:59 PM.

Posts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: Progress Posts

Step 1 – Take clear photos or videos of your work or work in progress.

Step 2 – The most important thing these posts should do is detail what you are learning. Write at least 250 words that include:

• a summary of the progress you’ve made since your last post, including what you’ve been learning.
• any frustrations or challenges and sweet victories and solutions you’ve experienced.
• things that have inspired your work or resources on which you have relied.
• your planned next steps.
• specific questions you have or feedback you are looking for from others.

Step 3 – Embed visual documentation of your progress.

Step 4 – Categorize your post using the “Progress Post” category. See the how-to video here if you need help figuring out how to categorize your post. 

Step 5 – Publish this post on or before 11:59 PM on each of the deadlines

• Progress 1 post due 6/25
• Progress 2 post due 6/29
• Progress 3 post due 7/2
• Progress 4 post due 7/6
• Progress 5 post due 7/9