giving up
I’ve been working on a zine this year. It’s about what I started exploring in this newsletter - all things maritime & global supply chain - and this one - my struggles with perfectionism.
The threads I’ve been pulling at are starting to form a web, which feels fucking exciting. But I keep getting stuck on the visual design and layout, bumping up against the edges of my own competence. Everything I’ve sought out has made me even less sure.
So a couple weeks ago I gave up.
I resolved to stop trying, stop forcing, stop seeking. just stop.
Within seconds, a new thought occurred to me, seemingly out of nowhere.
I remembered that my old art school has an entire collection of artist books & zines (13k!) that I barely set foot in as a student.
I took the day off to go.
The Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection in Chicago is open to the public, by appointment only. the folks there curated this whole damn table based on the interests I shared with them (!)
Barbara Salvadori | 40 ft Containers
ZARA (ocean no nothing) | Ming Lin
resonance & new comrades.
Not a cornfield | Lauren Bon
this spine.
Not a cornfield | Lauren Bon
Light and dark: escaping scapes | Jill Lanza
“so I tried to ignore the darkness and my body”
Command-X: On fashion labor, bliss, and alienation | Abigail Buzbee
"This is not a product. Rather, it is a limited edition art object produced by a factory in Nantong, China, under the direction of the artist, Rufus T. Firefly. Please look for his forthcoming artworks made in the developing world. By utilizing third world factory labor rather than professional art fabricators, he can pass the savings on to you. Thank you for your purchase.”
Primary Creator | Daniel Mellis
This is abundance, I tell my brain.
This is wealth.
This is synchronicity.
You are resourced beyond belief.