Pair prepare to teach zine basics

Artistic duo: Tegan Crosbie took up zine making last year when she began collaborating with Siobhan Finn who’s been creating with the artform for about 15 years. Photo: JETT LEDUC

TWO local zinesters will soon impart their knowledge on the artform as part of the regional program for the National Gallery of Victoria’s tenth annual Melbourne Art Book Fair.

Collaborating artists Tegan Crosbie and Siobhan Finn, who last launched their Fontella the Zine Machine zine, comics, and stickers dispensary project, are set to host two workshops to teach attendees the basics of the medium.

Taking place at Crosbie’s The Workshoppery at Barkly Square, each artist will run one session with the other co-hosting.

Both sessions are aimed at bringing something different for budding zine makers.

“Mine is more collaborative-focused,” Finn said.

“It’s introducing people to creativity games that help you come up with drawings and poetry in a playful way rather than staring at that terrifying blank page.”

Crosbie’s session will be centred around collage.

“It’s very much mirroring my personal collage style I’ve been exploring recently and allowing people to take inspiration from old books, magazines, and recipes,” she said.

“They’ll be doing lots of cutting and pasting to come up with more art themes. It’s lots of visuals rather than so many words.”

Attendees will leave Crosbie’s workshop with their own created one-page zine, while Finn’s will see participants receive three copies each of the session’s collaborative work.

Both sessions are capped at eight people.

Finn said zine making had become increasingly popular in the region.

“There’s a huge build in terms of the interest,” she said. “We’re excited to have our vending machine but there’s other things going on.

“TBH Studio had their zine market recently and we’ve had people from other regions come and visit Fontella. There’s a really interesting zine growth not just here but across the world.:

Crosbie’s Collage Zine Workshop will run on May 31 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm with tickets at $20.

Finn’s Whimsy, Visuals and Verse: Collaborative Workshop will follow on June 1 from 5pm to 7pm with tickets at $15.

Both sessions can be booked via the Melbourne Art Book Fair website at artbookfair.melbourne