Zine Scene - Poly Pocket Issue 1

Poly Pocket! 8 pocket-sized pages of poly processing! I affectionately call this zine Poly Poche. Inspired one day by my current relationship dynamic and all of the new mental energy I am putting into the communication, negotation, compassion, and positive self-talk that it takes to be more like the person I want to be in relationship. The time and effort I put into writing, editing, and designing this little book was driven as much by my desire to process my own relationship to relationships as it was about my interest in involving other people in the process. In fact many other people are already involved--most of what gets me through relationships and my life in general is the non-judging, empathic, reflective listening and advice of my friends. I think it's important to open the conversation as wide as it will go and to think about what roles we play and how we interact in our sometimes very small communities.

While polyamory/non-monogamy may seem like a radically different choice in terms of relationship structures, many of the ways that one is challenged in a polyamorous framework to think about self in terms of relationship could well serve the population at large, within any relationship. So let's look at how our capitalist ideas of scarcity inform our relationship models and how we view the love that we receive. Let's examine how we can take care of our internal selves while being good to our partners and relationship. Let's think about how we talk to other people about our feelings and figure out how to be accountable for our feelings and behaviors. And let's do it in a safe, loving environment!

I hope that this zine entertains and also give y'all something to chew on. The first issue is about me and why I am prioritizing my relationship to myself. The next issue is simmering in the brainpan. I'm pretty sure it's going to be about jealousy.

If you would like to own a copy, you can make a donation to me using the donation button below and I will send you one! If you can't afford to pay or you would prefer to do a trade, email me at asterfig-at-gmail.com.

knit on the brain

apparently knitting has imbued itself into my writing as well. i must admit i have written more than one knit-thematic poem in the last couple months. here's one.

for whom do my raw hands lumber around two
simple sticks of bamboo
these could be twigs, i think. or
chopsticks. would my hands know the
difference?
my fingers curl over lusty weighted fibers
and cramp without my noticing.
my half-hewn projects like half-finished
sentences linger, dance on the brain and
beg the question -- might...
could i tear words asunder the way i can
these hand-knit messes...i just may
choose a mangled mass of words
over a neatly constructed failure.

Spoons, and Handmade Nation

one day a few months ago i was having lunch with a friend of mine and she told me about an article she had read about depression. the author of the article analogized depression to having a finite amount of energy (spoons) to deal with the trials of daily life. so let's say you have six spoons on any given day: waking up and getting ready for work might deplete you of one, morning commute another, workload could take away two, the argument you have with your sister could take another two. suddenly you're left without the emotional capacity to take yourself home, make dinner, call a friend for a drink, or make art.

so. spoons. i have decided to put more spoons out into the world. this is the first piece in my spoon series. it measures approximately 22 in. x 26 in. this particular piece is already spoken for, but there will be more to come, and yes they will be for sale.



in other news, i have a new myspace page that includes some of my very short stop motion video, some blogg-age, and soon enough, a calendar of the craft shows/zine symposiums in which i will take part.

whatelsewhatelse? oh yes! i have some new exciting book love to spread around!

Handmade Nation: the Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design is a book that profiles people from different regions of the US who have influenced/taken part in the rising DIY movement. it also includes a timeline detailing when now-major players in the indie craft scene came to fruition, like Bizarre Bazaar, Venus Zine, and many many others. Bonus! it's also a movie!! that's right. a movie. find more information at the official website.
i love this book. it is my new best friend, my new lover, my new muse.
check it.

B I G F A T D E A L B O N U S:
there will be a screening of this film at the Mezzanine in SF, March 11th. all the details:

San Francisco Film Society Presents:
SF360 Film+Club: Handmade Nation
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Doors open at 7:00pm, show starts at 7:30 pm
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street, San Francisco, CA
Tickets are $8 for SFFS members and $12 for non-members and are available here.

see you there!

KnitKnit Artgasm

Second only to those precious gems of fabric and random found-objectry one acquires at SCRAP, knitting books are my craft achille's heel.


Let's talk about about KnitKnit: Profiles + Projects from Knitting's New Wave. In this book you will find not only profiles on some amazing textile artists/activists/crafters but you will also find patterns for couture knitwear, installation knit pieces, boxing gloves, and possibly the tiniest knit sweaters in the world. If you're not interested in knitting anything, at least pick up the book for the pictures of two Deere tractors holding knitting needles and knitting a gi-normous american flag, or a room-sized installation replete with knit tree centerpiece. This book makes me drool.

KnitKnit started as a zine in 2002 and was released in a total of 7 issues, the contents of which you can peruse on the knitknit website.

knitknit. chinchin!

SQUEEE :D

six weeks later! seems that i am constantly falling off the horse/ready to get back on the horse.
it has probably been obvious that since i got back from the portland zine symposium in august i haven't been working very much. i spent the fall trying to fill my creative well and find new direction for my creative expression through fashion styling and design.

i have been on hiatus from fashion the last few months, though i did recently style a photoshoot for my lovely friend Sarah Swell - you can read her blog and buy her jewelry online - i'll post a link to my portfolio once i get the final images.



the creeping depression and the concurrent sinking pressure of not "producing" has been getting to me for the last six months.

so i'm finally gettin off my arse and getting back to work! i think the turning point occurred last week when i piled up my multi-gallon containers full of fabric in the hallway. when my housemate asked what i planned to do with it and i told her "get rid of it" she shot me a look like i just told her i was planning to sell my baby off the back of a truck. well it worked. i have a few textile sewing projects simmering in the brainpan already but right now i'm focusing on knitting lace from my favorite knitting book Super Stitches Knitting.

right now my hands are full of the magic sprinkles of creativity, but i will find more and more reason to blog, i'm sure, as projects come to fruition. thanks y'all who keep checking in.

many artgasms to come!

nostalgia in the new year

when a new year rolls around it somehow seems appropriate (and more appealing!) to have nostalgia for times past. here is some old writing i have found from the not-too-distant past, which was itself inspired by nostalgia. (wow that was redundant. please forgive - it has been a while since i've blogged.)

~~~~~~~~

there's a lightness
in the stench of wet
city street.
my gait is determined
focused
mindful and mindless.
i barely notice
feet slipping from
under me -
lightness shifting
to scuffed hands,
scuffed shoes.
lightness bringing blood to
the cheeks.
quickening of the pulse.

our eyes meet in passing,
our expressions
stone-etched.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

planes hang
middair above my head like
puppets on a wire
the eucalyptus sway as
we rush by.

in my mind we are together.
Canon Beach and dog
vomit on the sidewalk.
ice cream and disposable cameras,
like it was yesterday.

here the wind doesn't
rough you up as much
and the ocean doesn't
smell as salty.

here i can't find
a patch of grass to lay in,
and i take trains
for hours at a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here's hoping that a new year incites me to revive this attic of a blogsite.
happy 09!

Squid Vicious

the first year i met ladi, we joined our love for crafting to make a mutual craft exchange. that was probably our first heart to heart craft experience. since then, trips to scrap, zine-making, knitting lessons, and a weekly tuesday night craft session have evolved through our friendship.


this year i decided to initiate another fall craft exchange. she hasn't decided what she wants yet, but i know i want a hat. i was searching ravelry and came across the most blazingly glorious hat i have ever seen in my entire life. i am desperate for it.

the giant squid hat.