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I invite you to close your eyes.  Imagine yourself as a kid, a fresh box of crayons in one hand and a colouring book in the other. You choose your favourite colour, carefully removing it from the box and start to make marks on the page. A scribble here, a scribble there. It feels good to add colour where there wasn’t any before.  As our younger selves, it was less about the final product and more about the process; the excitement of a world unfolding before our eyes. As you grew older, there was likely more emphasis was placed on refinement, polish, and skill development. Learning to use new tools, learning to shade, learning to colour inside the lines. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with growth and creative trajectory (both wonderful things!), too often the final product is prioritized over the value to be found in the process. In other words, while colouring  inside  the lines may look better to the outside  world, often colouring outside  the lines feels better to us on the  inside .  Not everything we make or do needs to be intentional or look polished. In fact, often our most interesting creative work can be brought forth when we give ourselves the permission to let the process guide us, not needing to conform to what’s expected, feeling free to have our work spill over the real or imagined boundaries of our identity and positionality in the world. In this fifth episode, I asked our brave creative humans “How do you ‘colour outside of the lines’ in your creative work; in other words, how are you living a creative existence on your own terms?”  Let’s listen in… Whether making time for play, asking “why” more often, letting go of the need for approval, trying things we didn’t necessarily “go to school for”, collaborating within community, or becoming comfortable being creatively uncomfortable, there are many ways to colour outside the lines,  brave creative human .  Next time, in the final episode, Allison, Kevin, Vincent, Meg, Emad, and Justine Abigail share their thoughts on what living a brave creative human existence ultimately means to them. Stay tuned… --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Comparison is a tricky one. It can be an aspirational force or a source of anxiety, resentment, and fear. Social media has increased the possibility for comparison in major ways; as someone doing creative work and following others doing creative work, there’s a direct path to seeing what others are making in the palm of my hand, all day long. Some days, it’s a place for inspiration and other days it’s a place to feel a deep sense of longing and jealousy. It can be downright confusing.  I’m grateful for today’s guests who weigh in on this important topic that can play a significant role in anyone’s creative confidence. In this fourth episode, I asked our brave creative humans “What is your approach to maintaining sanity and humanity in a hyper-connected world, particularly as it relates to comparison with other creative folks?”  Let’s listen in… There was such great advice shared here. Whether spending more time with others in a physical space, celebrating differences in our unique experiences, recognizing that we’re all on our own unique paths, taking breaks, and experiencing silence… however you handle the pangs of comparison, please know that you are a brave creative human .  Next time, Allison, Kevin, Vincent, Meg, Emad, and Justine Abigail share their thoughts on colouring outside the lines in their creative practices. Stay tuned… --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Failure has a lot to teach us. We can learn far more from a failed experience – whether large or small, big F “Fail” or little f “fail” – than a perfectly smooth, frictionless experience will ever make possible. I stumbled upon a post on social media recently (by someone named @brightwanderer) about their perspective on “success” and “failure”. It was a breath of fresh, “muddy middle” air in a sea of right and wrong. Here's what they said: “I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned “forever” into the only acceptable definition of success. Like… If you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it's a “failed” business.” They go on to explain that the same line of thinking happens all the time, for example about not finishing the writing of a book or experiencing divorce or fizzled friendships being seen as “failures”. There’s so much gained along the way that we’re doing a disservice to ourself and others when we enact binary thinking about success. They finished by saying this: “… the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than  this hypothetical eternal state of success… I don't think that's doing us any good at all.” I couldn't agree more. In this second of two episodes about failure , I asked our brave creative humans “When is a time when you failed, what did it mean to you and how did you move forward?”  Let’s listen in… Big or small, costly or relatively insignificant, we will all experience failures. However, it’s often much more about the steps we take after experiencing a major hurdle; our reaction to the situation is often more important that the situation itself. Calculated risk often equal reward with the opening of new doors and windows, shiny new ideas and incredible new people to collaborate with, even if, to the outside world, something is perceived as a “failure”. A frictionless existence may feel good in a digital experience but isn’t a recipe for a fulfilled life. Success in creative pursuits often happens when we shrink the gap between failure and trying again. However often failure walks along you, you are a brave creative human .  Next time, Allison, Kevin, Vincent, Meg, Emad, and Justine Abigail share their thoughts on comparison to other creatives and how it affects their creative confidence.  Stay tuned… --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Failure: friend or foe? One of my very favourite exercises I use to help others summon their creative confidence is a sensory exercise around failure and it’s the first step in decoupling our identity with the idea of failure.  My thinking is that if we can sense failure’s presence when we’re experiencing it, we can begin to recognize its pattern; that it’s a feeling that comes and goes, but ultimately doesn’t have to be entangled with our identity and that by the very nature of being a brave creative human, doing brave creative work, we must be open to the idea of failure because trying new things isn’t always going to work out. And that’s not a bad thing. Once we get comfortable being uncomfortable  and letting failure walk alongside us in our creative journeys, this paves the way to go one step further and make friends  with failure, actively inviting it into the creative process, which is a truly liberating experience. In this first of two episodes about failure, I asked our brave creative humans “How do you sense failure: literally, how would you describe how you see it, feel it, hear it, smell it and even taste it?”. Let’s listen in… Hot, cold, heavy, sharp, loud, dark, painful, exciting, invisible, cloudy, a pit in your stomach, rotten, a gut feeling, alarm bells. The sensation of failure is a deeply nuanced and deeply individualized experience, and however it is that you feel it, you are a brave creative human .  Next time, Allison, Kevin, Vincent, Meg, Emad, and Justine Abigail share personal stories of times they’ve failed that are both deeply vulnerable and highly relatable.  Stay tuned… --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

To celebrate the launch of my first book, Brave Creative Human: Embrace Failure, Reframe Imposter Syndrome, and Be Unapologetically You  I invited six previous Talk Paper Scissors guests to join me in conversation to discuss their thoughts and personal stories about concepts explored within the book. Topics include perfectionism, failure, comparison, how they’re “colouring outside of the lines” in their own creative pursuits, and what being a “brave creative human” means to them. I asked these specific six folks to be part of this series because they exemplify what it means to live one’s own brave creative humanity. What emerged in these conversations were different viewpoints, beautiful juxtapositions and multiplicity, as well as commonalities, overarching themes, and cohesive through lines.  These six are truly Brave Creative Humans. Let’s meet them now. Allison MacKenzie Allison MacKenzie is the Founder of Tinker: a creative community third space that hosts events and workshops for folks of all abilities and interests. In the last year, she’s hosted over 30 events and hundreds of creative humans. She’s a professional multidisciplinary artist with a passion for bringing people together and making magic happen. She is a creative strategist, a curious problem solver and a not-so-secret lover of musical theatre. Kevin Shaw Kevin Shaw is a visionary leader. As a trailblazing entrepreneur, media producer, and accessibility innovator, Kevin’s career has consistently set new standards in business, broadcasting, and inclusive design. Based in Toronto, Kevin has built a legacy of creating groundbreaking experiences, inspiring change, and proving that true innovation happens when creativity meets purpose. His work has empowered thousands, transforming how people consume media, build businesses, and engage with the world. Vincent Wanga Vincent Wanga is a dynamic international design thought leader, creative keynote speaker, award-winning creative and executive, author of "The Art of Direction," serial entrepreneur, and experienced brand consultant over a distinguished two-decade career. This includes his role as former vice president and head of creative for one of the fastest-growing technology startups in North America at the time, overseeing corporate brand strategy and creative during unprecedented company growth from pre-Series A to an over $1 billion "unicorn" valuation. Meg Lewis Meg Lewis is an artist, performer, and educator transforming the world through joy and playful design. Their bold designs burst with color, bringing an explosion of energy to brands like Dropbox, Meta, Target, and Pinterest. With a background in design, improv, clown, music, and stage combat, Meg creates uniquely playful experiences through workshops and talks that spark laughter and inspiration. Meg guides both corporations and individuals to reshape how they work and create, inspiring audiences to tackle life's biggest questions through joy, creative exploration, and career strategy. Emad Saedi Emad Saedi is a classically trained pianist, composer, and sound designer. He is passionate about storytelling with sound and music. Emad composes in various genres and his portfolio contains the soundtrack for podcast, film, video games, as well as classical, pop/rock, and electronic music. Justine Abigail Yu Justine Abigail Yu is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but who has roots elsewhere.  Her award-winning work has been featured on national and local media outlets including the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star, CTV National News, and the CBC. Justine Abigail is a fierce advocate for equity and anti-oppression. Her mission is to stir the conscience and spur social change. She was named a “Changemaker” by the Toronto Star in October 2021.  This first episode is all about a big, touchy topic: perfectionism. Specifically, I asked our brave creative humans “What are your thoughts on perfectionism in creative work? Is perfect necessary or even possible?”. Let’s listen in… Perfection can feel achievable or not. It can be what fuels us or what constrains us. There may be more important things than perfection but it might be worth working towards anyway. There is no perfect way to view perfection and however it is that you see it, you are a brave creative human .  Next time, Allison, Kevin, Vincent, Meg, Emad, and Justine Abigail explore failure, and more specifically how they sense failure, through sight, smell, touch, sound, and even taste. Stay tuned… --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Today is the day! Brave Creative Human: Embrace Failure, Reframe Imposter Syndrome, and Be Unapologetically You is now available in paperback and as an e-book, with the audiobook set to launch later this year. Serendipity, Bookmarked For anyone who’s read my writing or heard me on the Talk Paper Scissors  podcast will know, I LOVE serendipity—as a concept, as an experience, in its recollection— even more so when it arrives in book form . For anyone who’s read my writing or heard me on the Talk Paper Scissors  podcast will also  know, I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin  and his work for many reasons, including because of his devotion to his craft, having written and published his writing almost every single day for nearly 24 years, since January 2002. Anyone can subscribe for free and receive Seth’s wisdom via his blog daily in their inbox. His posts often integrate ideas about marketing, education, leadership, ideation, and creativity. Although I’ve followed Seth’s work for the better part of two decades, I had never subscribed to his blog. Just around the time I was considering turning my collection of writing into a book, I heard about a new collaborative project between Seth and Debbie Millman in the form of a page-a-day calendar  containing bites of wisdom from Debbie’s collection of Seth’s favourite quotes from the blog over the years, written in her handwriting. I had just finished my admin work for the fall semester and thinking about what might be next and I also thought “Oh, yeah. I should really subscribe to Seth’s work.” And then, later that day on December 18, 2024 at 5:59 p.m., I received my first blog post he published that day entitled: “The first draft of your first non-fiction book”.   What. The. Actual. Heck. Between January 15, 2002 and December 18, 2024 Seth wrote and published 9,738 blog posts. The odds of me receiving this exact message as the first  message I received at a time when I was thinking precisely  that I should be drafting my first non-fiction book is 1 in 9,738 or 0.01%. It’s equivalent to the odds of flipping a coin and getting heads approximately 13 times in a row. It’s equivalent to the odds of guessing a random four-digit pin correctly on the first try. It’s equivalent to the odds of picking the winning ticket in a raffle of nearly 10,000 tickets. And I feel like I won the lottery. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The sender couldn’t have been more perfect. The message couldn’t have been more perfect. (And I don’t even believe in perfection as a concept!!!) And when life sends you serendipitous messages about writing your first draft of your first non-fiction book, you listen. And so I listened. And now we’re here, 253 days after having received that winning lottery ticket, the final draft of my first non-fiction book is ready for the world in its final form. Who is Brave Creative Human for? Brave Creative Human  is for anyone interested in harnessing more confident energy in their creative pursuits without needing to change who they are. Brave Creative Human  is for anyone looking for calm, quiet assuredness, that their skills, abilities, passions, and life experiences are enough amidst a noisy world demanding more. Brave Creative Human  is for anyone open to experimentation, iteration, and failure; for anyone interested in reframing old narratives that are holding them back from starting, working through the messy middle, or finishing a creative project. Brave Creative Human  is for anyone looking for a boat of belonging in a sea of disconnection. Why a Month Early? As shared earlier this summer, I’m self publishing this work, which has a lot of perks and this is another one... I can hit GO whenever it makes the most sense! I gave myself lots of lead time to figure things out after I finished writing (about five months) so that I wouldn’t feel rushed in the design and production process. After lots of learning, tinkering, consulting, mistake making, and fixing the mistakes I made, I’m ready for lift off on August 28 versus September 28. Two additional reasons that helped me solidify the decision to publish early include: I’ll be officially launching my book at Canada’s largest design conference, DesignThinkers Toronto  on October 1 and 2nd, 2025! You can find me on these days hosting a workshop called “Making Friends With Failure”  and I’ll be doing a book signing. (How official!) The opportunity popped up mid-summer and I’m so excited to have an official launch date and space, surrounded by wonderful creative folks. I didn’t want to be scrambling for printed copies of the book for the event, so publishing early made a lot of sense. The Brave Creative Human  podcast series will run during September with six episodes planned for release, featuring past guests who exemplify living brave creative lives. I love that today’s soft launch and DesignThinkers Toronto hard launch will act as the hearty, fluffy bread bookending a delicious podcast sandwich. Here’s a sneak peak at the incredible guests featured in this series about brave creative humans. Meg Lewis Emad Saedi Vincent Wanga Allison MacKenzie Justine Abigail Yu Kevin Shaw Getting Back to the Doing I’ve been chatting with friends this summer about finishing up this project and shipping it out to the world. I’m thrilled that I did it and saw the process through and that I have a physical artefact as a result. One of the reasons I felt compelled to create this book is as a resource for myself; I find that when I’m not actively thinking about these topics like perfectionism and failure, I tend to forget quickly and swiftly. I plan to use this work as a resource I can go back to whenever I’m feeling creatively unsure. And as I was explaining to my friends, I can’t wait to tie this project up with a bow, so I can start again, writing another book written and released story by story, created in a community space with a leaning towards experimentation. The joy is in the doing —the thinking, the writing, the puzzling together—and I can’t wait to start  doing  again more consistently. If this notion intrigues you or excites you, I encourage you to stay tuned to this space for more doing, seeing the growth of new ideas in real time as they sprout up in my head, converting brain waves to words on the page as quickly and swiftly as I possibly can. Finally, as part of this books’ launch and sharing within local creative economies, I encourage you to take a peek in a Little Free Library  where I’ll be giving away a number of free copies to book lovers in Toronto and beyond. Head over to talkpaperscissors.info/bravecreativehuman to get the book, listen to the soundtrack, and get a sneak peek at the extra content. Enjoy these last few days of summer sun and warmth. With gratitude and growth, I’ll see you next time.  With gratitude and growth, Diana --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome to the final episode of Talk Paper Scissors before taking a break until September and we have one of the best with us today, talking all about accessibility in digital publishing. Laura Brady  is an accessible publishing expert who works with eBound Canada, the Accessible Books Consortium, the International Publishers Association, and Adobe among other organizations. She has more than 25 years of trade publishing experience, working in digital publishing for the past fifteen years, creating and converting ebooks, training publishers on accessible workflows, and consulting for services organizations about how to publish inclusively while worrying about everyone's reading experience. She teaches about ebooks, publishing, and accessibility at Simon Fraser University and Toronto Metropolitan University.  In this conversation, you’ll hear all sorts of examples of accessible digital publishing, including the ways to think proactively about creating and publishing content that’s ready to be enjoyed by a wide audience. You’ll hear why digital publishing tools aren’t always to be trusted and the way that Laura is actively working with the biggest player in the publishing world to make ebooks more accessible for people of the world.  Laura shares why humans are still essential in the creation of accessible documents, and you’ll hear super practical tips—as well as a whole host of tools—for creating accessible content.  We address the elephant in every room these days… AI, specifically what’s possible and what’s meh when it comes to accessibility and digital publishing. Finally, you’ll hear about the newly-enacted EU accessibility legislation that’s fundamentally changing accessible publishing for the better.  This episode is a guest lecture in DG 8111 - Digital Publishing in the Master of Digital Media Program at Toronto Metropolitan University.  Buckle up because you’re about to learn from the best! Podcast Episode Art - 264: Accessible Digital Publishing with Laura Brady About Our Guest: A photograph of Laura Brady Laura Brady  is an accessible publishing expert who works with eBound Canada, the Accessible Books Consortium, the International Publishers Association, and Adobe among other organizations. She has more than 25 years of trade publishing experience, working in digital publishing for the past fifteen years, creating and converting ebooks, training publishers on accessible workflows, and consulting for services organizations about how to publish inclusively while worrying about everyone's reading experience. She teaches about ebooks, publishing, and accessibility at Simon Fraser University and Toronto Metropolitan University.  --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

One of my very favourite ways to produce creative work is when it unfolds naturally, like a constant flicker of ideas lighting each step of the way. It’s my favourite thing to have happen—when ideas from recent conversations and audio resources circle in my head like seeds about to take root into the growth of a new idea. And then, I wait. I listen to my creative intuition, letting it guide my every next move.  This is what’s happened recently, filling my creative cup and sending me on a journey that I’ll tell you about here. I am truly excited about it and it feels deeply important for many reasons. Before I get into those reasons, I should probably tell you what the project is all about.  The project is called Making Magic  and it will become a collection of creative making kits that anyone can use to experience a bit of joy and wonder, whether they’re 4 years old or 104 years old. I'm currently assembling the first batch, which I’m calling “Upcycled Zine Kits”, filled with all of the materials needed to make crafty little micro-publication. Just add scissors and glue or tape to transform curated, repurposed materials into something with personal meaning. These kits are called “Making Magic” to encompass a double meaning. It refers both to the  process  of making something (which I believe is a sort of magic or alchemy), as well as refers to the final product  of the making, which can often be magical in whatever final form it takes. Working with creative constraints, establishing meaning through storytelling, following curiosities, and just generally getting lost in the act of doing outside of commercial goals are all opportunities for small transformation I hope kit-goers will find with a collection of materials in-hand.  Three Creative Economies  One of the most exciting parts of dreaming up and assembling these kits is that they are built on a foundation of three alternative and creative economies. In other words, I don’t want money for these kits. I will not be selling them. In the past, I’ve opened an Etsy store and tried to monetize creative projects, but it always left me feeling unfulfilled as soon as I launched the business. It becomes way less fun for me if what I’m making will be exchanged for cash. (Been there, done that, bought the hand-crafted t-shirt.) But what if I can choose to give it all away instead…? Now that’s something that sounds inherently exciting.  With these Making Magic  kits, one of my aims is to explore this very real world of alternative creative economies in practice, and to reimagine what a transaction-less non-monetary creative exchange system could look like. The three economies are as follows: Circular Economy: Circular economies are based on low waste or no waste systems that minimize excess. The majority of materials in the kit are found, salvaged, and repurposed, giving them a new lease on life. Gift Economy: Gift economies facilitate a free exchange of goods without expectation of compensation. It’s about keeping the creative wealth in motion, therefore once you receive a kit, you’re encouraged to make things, gift resources, and pay ideas forward through sharing them with others. It’s about reciprocal giving and strengthening social relationships through generosity and mutual support. Inspiration Economy: Inspiration economies highlight the value of creative ideas for personal and collective growth, fostering a sense of shared purpose to collaborate and innovate. The kits are designed to allow for time and space to think and make and play; radical acts for uncertain times. Let’s now back up… how did this project get evolve and where do I plan on taking it?  How Did This Project Evolve? A Story of Intersecting Ideas The creative ideation framework of divergent, emergent, and convergent thinking is something I've spoken about a lot because it's a model that feels familiar to me; it aligns with how my brain moves from a problem state to a solution. This model relies on quantity of ideas (multiple “nodes of knowledge”) before quality of ideas, as well as the understanding that being exposed to a diverse range of ideas that don't always seem to fit together, means that there’s an opportunity for these ideas to fit together in novel ways (webs of wisdom). And ultimately, that's what creativity is: bringing together existing ideas in new ways. Node 1: Making Time Throughout the months of May and June, I took my time reading and savouring Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting a Life Beyond Productivity  by Maria Bowler. In it, she differentiates between making and producing; it’s the difference between our innate human desires to make meaning and connect, versus simply moving objects around the board until our inevitable death. In the introduction of the book, Maria says this: “l’m inviting you to evaluate your time and effort, creatively , not productively. […] The results of creative action always draw out more life. The result of our productivity is simply more doing.” My copy of this paperback is marked up, underlined, and dog eared. It was a beautiful reminder and invitation to move my mindset from producing into making again. Node 2: Zine Culture Every time I teach a magazine production and publishing class, I do my best to speak with magazine makers, both near and far, who are engaged in different parts of the magazine making process. This semester, I wanted to engage with a different type of magazine maker; namely, zine makers. Zines live at the intersection of art and independent publishing and it’s been so inspiring to sit down with five different zine makers to chat about what they do and why they do it. After speaking with them, I thought it would be so much fun to assemble kits that facilitate zine making experiences for others.  Also, I think it’s relevant to mention that at this point in my process, my marketing mind leapt into action and I was thinking about how to monetize the kits, for no good reason, other than “that’s what you do”. Node 3: The Serviceberry I love the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, whose book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants  is an incredible look into the bridging of multiple knowledge systems.  I saw that Robin was interviewed on a podcast I listen to (Steve Levitt’s The People I (Mostly) Admire ) and so I gave it a listen. In the episode, she talked about her most recent book called The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World . Her ideas about the gift economy haunted me in the best way possible, sticking around long after the podcast episode was over. A short time later, I ordered the audiobook where I could listen to Robin’s soft, calming voice tell me about the natural gift economy all around us in nature and the ways gift economies thrive in communities all over the world. I was intrigued, to say the least. There’s something that feels so much more gentle and sturdy and human about the concept of the gift economy. Here is a deeper dive into what it’s all about, in Robin’s own words. This passage is an excerpt from Chapters 1 and 2: “Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange—their energy concentrating as they pass from hand-to-hand, a truly renewable resource. Can we imagine a human economy with a currency which emulates the flow from Mother Earth? A currency of gifts? When I speak about reciprocity as a relationship, let me be clear. I don’t mean a bi-lateral exchange in which an obligation is incurred and can then be discharged with a reciprocal payment. I mean keeping the gift in motion in a way that is open and diffuse so that the gift does not accumulate and stagnate but keeps moving, like the gift of berries through an ecosystem.[…] In a serviceberry economy I accept the gift from the tree, then spread that gift around with a dish of berries to my neighbor who makes a pie to share with his friend, who feels so wealthy in food and friendship that he volunteers at the food pantry. You know how it goes.” I’m grateful for so much creative abundance and I’m thrilled to be able to pay the supplies forward in even this small way. Reallocating stagnant materials into useful upcycled kits feels AMAZING. Where Am I Taking It? In other words, how can you get your hands on one?  Come chat with me on campus! I’ll try to have some on-hand and readily available. Or come find me at workshops and events that I’m attending. You’ll also find them in some Little Free Libraries in and around the city.  I’ve created around 90 kits to start and we’ll see where it leads.  If you have additional art supplies (crayons, pencils, markers, paper, stamps, bits and bobs) lying around not living their best creative lives, I would love turning them into kits for future zine makers. Please drop me a line. I have big ideas and big plans for at least two other kit ideas, namely New POV  (using legendary design educator, Sister Corita Kent’s concept of a “finder” to see the world from a literal and figurative new perspective), as well as a Stamp Walk kit to invite folks into their communities to be pirate printers and capture the incredible metal type, shapes, and patterns in their environments. Until next time, may we all continue making magic. --- Music: A Small Town on Pluto - HoliznaCC0 licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

A home for zines! From makers near and far, with small and large publications, you’ll hear about the exciting medium of zines where anything can happen at the intersection of art and independent publishing. This is the 4th and final episode in the series, featuring the Toronto Zine Library. The Toronto Zine Library & Archive (TZL) is a physical library space run by a collective of zine readers, zine makers and librarians who strive to make zines accessible for the Toronto community. They believe that zines are an important medium of communication, and that they should be cherished, protected, and promoted. Through conducting workshops at their library and abroad and hosting events that promote zines as a method of open communication and free expression, as well as the library space itself, they aim to make this belief a reality. In this conversation, you’ll hear from Toronto Zine Library volunteers, Silvia and Miles. You’ll hear how the library got started and its goals as a volunteer-run space. You’ll also hear how Sylvia and Miles define ‘zines’ and why zines can be both a stepping stone, as well as an independently-published art form in their own right. Let’s listen in… Take it away, Miles!  About Our Guests: Sylvia Nowak is a multidisciplinary artist and scholar based in Toronto, working primarily in documentary-based media. Her research and practice center around archives, media criticism, and radical histories of resistance. As a maker, she enjoys working in experimental forms that rely on collage, found-footage, and the act of recycling/upcycling materials, but also enjoys documenting moments in life. Sylvia is a volunteer with the  Toronto Zine Library ,  and an active zinester - now with her own zine distro,  Radish Zines . You can also often find her behind the counter at  Bay Street Video . Physical Media Forever. <3 --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Zines! Zines! Hooray for Zines!  From makers near and far, with small and large publications, you’ll hear about the exciting medium of zines where anything can happen at the intersection of art and independent publishing. This is the 2nd of 4 episode in the series, featuring Hannah and Sarah of Feels Zine .  In this episode, you’ll hear how Feels Zine came to be, as well as hear more about the interdisciplinary nature of the Feels Zine team duo, Hannah and Sarah. You’ll hear what it feels like to produce Feels, including engaging in the more challenging emotional themes, as well as the lighter ones. You’ll hear the process through which each issue travels and why Sarah and Hannah still (mostly) consider Feels a ‘zine’(including why existing in the middle of the publishing spectrum can be beneficial).  Finally, you’ll hear how Feels is funded, the live event aspect of each issue, as well as big dreams for the zine. Let’s listen in… --- And check out the Pride Issue launch event on Sunday June 22!   About Our Guests: Feels  is an independent contributor-based publication about feelings started by long-time friends Hannah Browne, an art director and editorial designer, and Sarah Vardy, a social worker. At  Feels , we strive to create a safe space for radical vulnerability and foster an open dialogue about our most sensitive emotions. We are feminist, sex-positive, 2SLGBTQ*, anti-racist & anti-colonial. We bridge the gap between art, literature & mental health, with work spanning poetry, prose, personal essays, illustration, photography, interviews, and much more. --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Yesssss zines!  From makers near and far, with small and large publications, you’ll hear about the exciting medium of zines where anything can happen at the intersection of art and independent publishing. This is the 3rd of 4 episode in the series, featuring Sisley Mark. Sisley is a Chicago-based artist and creative. She primarily works with acrylic or ink on canvas and paper. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that art isn't about the polished end result. It is about the stories, experiments, and emotions that unfold along the way. In this conversation, you’ll hear about Sisley’s at practice and her summer camp start in zine making as a kid and why sharing physical art is so powerful. You’ll hear her love-hate relationship with boredom (a gateway into noticing), as well as her focus on the process—for better or for worse. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Sisley Mark is a Chicago-based artist and creative. She primarily works with acrylic or ink on canvas and paper. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that art isn't about the polished end result. It is about the stories, experiments, and emotions that unfold along the way. In her free time she likes to do yoga, rock climb, and cook. You can follow her journey on social media as she showcases her work and aims to help others incorporate more creativity into their lives. --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome to a 4-part publishing series all about the world of zines! From makers near and far, with small and large publications, you’ll hear about this exciting medium where anything can happen at the intersection of art and independent publishing. First up we have Ioana Simion, who is an artist-educator and facilitator based London. She runs community workshops under the artistic identity of Artizine . Her socially-engaged practice explores the use of zine-making as a vehicle for encouraging individuals to share their stories, develop imaginative skills and practice well-being in a social setting. Ioana’s practice centres the intuitive quality of play and participation to amplify community spaces where individuals receive support to expand on their lived-experience and document it through a creative, radical outlet. In this conversation, you’ll hear how to Ioana’s zine making evolved from solitary practice through to creating in community, and how she experiments in her zine making. She shares what it takes it build creative community and defines her responsibilities as a facilitator.  Also, Ioana shares one of her favourite-ever zine she’s made, as well as why and how mark-making is an important part of her process. She shows us what type of magic can happen when we take formal design practice and marketing out of the equation and focus solely on making in a community space. I invite you to listen to this insightful, introspective and connective conversation with Ioana. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Ioana Simion is an artist-educator and facilitator based London. She runs community workshops under the artistic identity of Artizine. Her socially-engaged practice explores the use of zine-making as a vehicle for encouraging individuals to share their stories, develop imaginative skills and practice well-being in a social setting. Ioana’s practice centres the intuitive quality of play and participation to amplify community spaces where individuals receive support to expand on their lived-experience and document it through a creative, radical outlet. Instagram: @artizineuk Linktree: linkt.ree/artizineuk --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash