Junk Drawer

A couple Junk Drawer zines are in an art exhibit about mass consumption and the environment. It is taking place at AE Studios LIC, in Queens, New York through April 23rd.
If you can’t make it to the show, you can still see most of the artwork posted online by the group that organized it all:
Art for Global Justice

There is a Junk Drawer display at the “The Opportunity Shop” in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
The shop is a temporary experimental project space for art in the urban community. It is located in a former Hollywood Video store.
The Junk Drawer set-up was created almost entirely out of stuff found at the space: sets of drawer, and display racks that were previously used for DVD’s. Zines are for sale, and there’s a drawer full of odds and ends you can donate to, or trade from. It is within the indoor yard sale area, which like a thrift store with plenty of items for sale.
The space contains an expanding collection of art as well as classes and talks. See the website for more Op Shop. It is open through the month of May, so hope you can see it.

Some Junk Drawer zines can now be found in New York City.
They are for sale at Bluestockings bookstore. One is in the zine library collection at ABC No Rio.
Both places are on the Lower East Side, and worth checking out. They are great supporters of independent zines.

It was great to be at the 2010 Chicago Zine Fest!
The festivities began Friday night with readings at Quimby’s. It was a packed house there, with people from all over showing up to hear well known zine and book writers Jeffrey Brown, John Porcellino, and Anne Elizabeth Moore. There were also some other zinesters who were really good, including Monica Anderson, Anthony Marvullo, Sarala Bee, and Chicago friend Michelle Aiello.
It was a nice balance of personal stories, some more serious, and some downright funny.
Most people afterward walked over to Johalla Gallery, where a zine art exhibit was already underway. The show included a diverse array of drawings, paintings, and photos. I had two photos there. Also, there was a zine wall, with covers from a whole bunch of zines. If you look you can spot Junk Drawer issue #3.
Saturday was the big day of tabling. There were so many cool people, I only wish I’d spent more time at all the other tables. But it was quite busy, and many visitors showed up, despite the rainy weather outside. I was able to sit in on one of the workshops hosted by Greg Means. The topic was zine libraries. Nell Taylor of the Chicago Underground Library also spoke.
The Junk Drawer table had drawers (separate, which I brought), and plenty of junk. People enjoyed playing Guess the Odds and Ends, some of which were trickier to identify than others. A few people even dropped off some junk drawer items of their own into the Junk Drawer donations drawer. A big Thank You to everyone who stopped by the Junk Drawer table.
Later that night there was an after party, with readings and bands.
Overall it was a great time, and wonderful to be there with so many fabulous zinesters. I’ll be looking forward to next year, and hope you will be too.

Junk Drawer will be tabling at the Chicago Zine Fest.

Two photos will be showing at the art show on Friday, March 12th, from 7-10 pm.

The main event is on Saturday, March 13th, from 10 am – 5 pm, featuring zinesters from Chicago and beyond. Junk Drawer will be sharing a table with Rey Rey of “Stream of Consciousness” zine. Stop by to get some zines, and play guess the odds and ends. Hope to see you there.

Three “Junk Drawer” zines have been selected to be part of an exhibition of artist made books at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It takes place at Dittmar Gallery in the Norris Center, through February 8th. There’s an opening reception on Thursday, January 7th, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Check here for further info. http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/12/dittmar.htm

By the end of November, most of the carved pumpkins, or jack-o-lanterns, have disappeared from windows and porches. Aside from a few lingering white strands of fake cobwebs caught up in branches and covered in dry leaves, almost all traces of Halloween are gone. These pumpkins on top of a garbage can seemed to be enjoying one last moment, with their slowing shriveling grins. No longer the focus of a seasonal display and greeting trick-or-treaters, their faces nonetheless caught my attention. And, since I was strolling down a dark alley, I can say they even looked a bit spooky. That’s the best a carved pumpkin can hope for. That, and having someone roast pumpkin seeds. I was possibly the last to see these pumpkins before they were picked up the next morning.

It was a great time at the Milwaukee Zine Fest.

Participating were a great variety of zinesters, writers, and artists from Wisconsin, Chicago, and beyond.

The Junk Drawer table featured drawers of zines, and one drawer of junk that was featured in a zine. There was also the name the odds and ends game. It got people involved in guessing and figuring out what the items were. It was fun to watch.
People were really nice, and I enjoyed hearing about other people’s junk drawers. One man told me how he’d inherited his father’s house, and it came complete with all kinds of tools and mechanical items he had saved. It was kind of like a junk drawer being passed along in the family.
A woman told me about a found object game, where you go through the alphabet. You start by looking for something that begins with a letter “A,” just lying around on the street, or wherever. The game is completed when you’ve collected found objects from A to Z.

Thanks to everyone who came out in support of independent creativeness. Thanks especially to the great folks who organized the zine fest. Milwaukee is super cool, and I hope be back soon.

This isn’t exactly a junk drawer item, but it does have a lot of potential junk drawers. I found this dresser down the alley a couple blocks from where I live. I put it on craigslist, describing it as “shabby chic.” I wasn’t able to get it sold before the zine fest I was about to leave for. Then I realized this dresser had the perfect drawers to use as part of the junk drawer display at the fest. So, I took some of the drawers with me and filled them with zines. They looked good, and one person there even commented that they were nice drawers.

Now I’m back to selling the dresser, so the drawers have to go with it.
If I do another zine fest, I’ll need to find some other drawers. Maybe some junked drawers.
This is a nice, well-made old dresser, and whoever left it in the alley I’m sure expected someone to pick it up. But they probably didn’t expect that part of it would be part of a zine fest. It’s interesting the way things can get found and passed along.