What I am Not - “Coming to an end…” (part III)
It is strange when big projects come to an end. The big rush of adrenaline and excitement are back to normal levels, and you can finally sit back and look at the grand result.
This zine project was a lovely way to keep the ‘community project’ thematic within Riso Pop alive, as it became apparent that COVID kept impacting people’s lives more and more. Our many contributors, that range from the USA, to Brazil to the Netherlands, had to wait many months to receive their finished work; but we are glad to hear that everyone has been able to hold the zine in their hands!
And if you are just reading this, wondering what I’m talking about, head to the shop and you can still buy a copy of the zine:
limited edition,
4 colour zine!
Printed on soft and beautiful cream paper
Hand stitched.
But that’s enough from me! I want to pass on the “blog mic” to Veronica Romero, who brought this project to the table and worked her fabulous editorial magic to make it happen.
Dear Veronica,
Thank you for the lovely calls and your insights on book design; I don’t think I would have ventured into such a project without your contribution and knowledge. I hope we get to work in future projects and that in a near future you can visit the studio. I’ll be waiting.
Final Blog Post – “Coming to an end…”
It’s a wrap!!!! After many months of organization and creation, the zine “What I am Not,” is finally here! It has been such a wild experience putting this together from overseas, doing this fully virtually, and of course quarantining throughout the whole process. COVID-19 has created so many obstacles for everybody, and this was just one of them, but I am so glad to have been able to complete this project considering our circumstances. It’s taught me much about patience and working through the many problems that arise.
Everybody has a story to tell, and I wanted to be sure that those who submitted theirs felt that their voices were heard. My story is just one of so many that exists pretty quietly. Creating this zine felt like I was doing my part in allowing for these stories to be communicated and effectively told into existence. Many of the thoughts we all have never are spoken– just existing in our own minds. Everything now feels like it’s coming full circle.
I was afraid (and still am) a bit about not having a stable job or being able to use my degree in something that is self-sustaining. Sadly, this fear of mine has driven much of my work to create, to just assure myself that even if I’m not creating for money, that I’m creating just to make. I want to always look back and say that I am doing what I love, not just for the money, but for the sake of art and design. This project was just a little taste of the what I know my future holds. The part of creating that makes me not care about the money, but for the people that this type of design reaches– the design that hopefully makes an impact. If I’m not creating to make change, then why am I creating? I’m so thankful for this project and for the people involved because it has truly been a wonderful experience getting to put my skills to the test and coming out on the other side with a beautiful finished product. It has made my affinity for design just that much stronger, and I am always looking forward to the next challenge.
I hope everybody enjoys this little zine, my first little creation in the real world!
Veronica Romero
