Happy Zine Day -- Lori Garver

We now enter the world of recycling with the next zine, Brown Paper Bag Art, by Lori Garver. The cover of her 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" zine is made out of a brown paper bag. She has stitched the binding, as well as the title, which is rubber-stamped letters on frayed fabric. The cover also has some pretty colored flowers, which I discover later she has described how to make.


Lorie starts with a nice introduction about her love for brown paper bags. She points out that they are plentiful, usually free, and can take many mediums well. That's beautiful music to the ears of many mixed media artists, especially in this economy.

Her how-to for making paper bag flowers didn't disappoint. She gave a few techniques from different artists and included a few samples.


Lori has discovered an artist who hosts a brown paper bag art swap each year, and she's included an interview with her. She's also researched links to other artists who use brown paper bags. This is a fun inclusion in a zine. I haven't gone through all the links yet, but it will be a fun thing to do on a rainy day.


Lori seems to like to try new things, and that's all the good for us. She shows you how to make waxed paper bag dolls, textured paper, paper beads, and just for that time when you're relaxing and reading your favorite zine, some brown sugar cookies. (Yum -- I have to try these!)


I love how a handmade zine can open you up to an artist's world. I can see that Lorie likes to sew and work with fabric; re-use materials; play with rubber stamps; and she has an attention to detail. I am enjoying "meeting" other artists through the swaps that I do. You can meet the next artist when I review Barb Nelis's zine on February 3rd.

Check out the zine I made for this swap here. If you'd like to "meet" me, you can buy my zine online at my Etsy shop here.