Z.R. Southcombe's Blog, page 8

New Zine & Day 1 of the 100 Days Project (Nature Journaling)

Today is day one of the 100 Days Project, and mine is nature journaling. You can follow my progress on the official site or on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Over the weekend I reaaaaally wanted to start, but felt like that was cheating, so I made a zine instead.

In some ways, it was to get the ideas out of my head (where they were having fun running around in circles) and also to help me get through the 100 days. Because if I have a whole zine of ideas, then I have no excuse to miss a day!

While traditional nature journaling (or field journaling) is primarily scientific, I am approaching it more from an artist’s perspective. It’s about exploration of the outdoors, but also introspection, reflection, connection with the natural environment, and creativity.

Nature inspired journaling zine – Click to view product

Link time:

Learn more about the zine and buy it here
Check out the 100 Days Project

 

The awesomeness that was the Hamilton Zinefest 2017

Setting up at Hamilton Zinefest

The first zinefest I ever attended was the 2016 Hamilton Zinefest, so it was great to be back at this year’s event. I managed to sleep in, then got ready in a rush, and somehow arrived half an hour early. Yeah, don’t ask. It was definitely a coffee day.

I’m all set up!

What I love most about zinefests, and zines in general, is the creative freedom you get. There’s so little monetary investment that there’s less pressure to make something commercially viable, or mainstream, or even necessarily ‘good’. The room was filled with truly diverse expressions of creativity, and a huge range of people.

What really struck me this year was how incredibly nice everyone was. There was no judgement or comparison. The local school zines were as valued as a professional illustrator’s posters which were as valued as the lady next to me who’d just started drawing (Mini V – you can follow her on Instagram). This is what a real celebration of creativity looks like. More of this please, Universe!

The room begins to fill…

I also loved that, compared to other markets, there was very little emphasis on sales. What we were all there for was to share our work, to invite others to share with us, and to make connections through our zines and conversation. Kudos to the zinefest committee who made this such a successful, seamless day – I am already looking forward to the next one!

Ukulele entertainment

ALL the links:

Be in to win one of my DIY Zine Kits – just leave a comment on this interview
A blog about why I started making zines
A blog about Auckland Zinefest for NZ Book Festival
A gallery from the 2016 Hamilton Zinefest
The Hamilton Zinefest Facebook group, great for people interested in zines in NZ
An interview with me & other zinesters for Auckland Zinefest on What’s Good
A blog about the DIY Zine Kit
Interviews with Bryce Galloway and IZS on SONZA about zines and creativity

Two weeks in – Auckland (half) Marathon Training

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve signed up to the Auckland Marathon as a ‘Charity Hero’, to raise money for the Mental Health Foundation of NZ. It’s now been two weeks since I started training for the 21km run in October. What have I learnt?

For training, I’m alternating walking and running, with a day or two off. I’ve been keeping it pretty casual, and this worked well for a while. I went from only being able to run 2km (and finding it difficult) to running 4km without trouble.

My best run yet – the views helped! @ Kiwi Esplanade, Auckland.

However, I only got a couple more small runs in after that because I was too sore. I managed to push myself too much, in too short a time period, and my body was not going to let me get away with it! To counter this, I’ve spent some days ‘off’ only walking, and finding yoga routines to help stretch my muscles (see my playlist here). I might also use it as an excuse for a hot bath. To be fair, I did expect this to happen, I just thought it would happen further down the line.

What came as a surprise was how much I enjoy the act of running. I had thought that, like going to the gym, I would appreciate how I feel after a workout. Well, I do, but while I was running along the coast I was elated; lit up. People around me have noticed a change as well, in my general happiness and energy levels as well as my appearance.

So where to next? I’m going to stick to a six days on, one day off schedule, but listen to my body more. I’ll be incorporating more yoga, and doing more squats/stairs to build my quads which can’t handle the jandal right now. My goal is still to get under 30mins by the end of May (see progress here).

I’ve been fortunate to find two running-friendly tracks on the way to my two dayjobs (Kiwi Esplanade and Pakuranga Rotary Walkway). I know I can run anywhere, but it’s the views that keep me going so I’m really grateful for living in a place where views aren’t hard to find

Serving others by serving yourself

On Sunday, I wrote a post about enjoying the journey, not just the end goal (which you can read here). I was then chatting with a friend over on Twitter, and we talked about the Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

I’m not sure where I first heard about these, but I go back from time to time and re-read these as a reminder to live in a way that will be fulfilling and enjoyable on a daily basis, not just when I reach my goals. (Of course, I’m not saying I need to be happy all the time. Sadness is a part of life. I’m okay with that.)

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, by Bronnie Ware

I found a TEDx talk from the nurse who came up with these ideas to begin with – Bronnie Ware. Her talk started out how I had expected it to, but I especially love what she talks about near the end of her speech. She tells us that if we follow our hearts, without thinking about how it will help others, we will end up in service.

“Enjoy it. Do things that seem absolutely irrelevant to service of others if that’s where your heart is calling you. Because ultimately the more connected you become with your heart’s longing the more it will eventually lead you to service anyway but it will be in a field that will bring you joy as well.” – Bronnie Ware

A mountain of happiness

As part of my Auckland Marathon training, I’ve been trying to find timed runs to use as practice and to gauge how much I have improved. I came across Parkrun, which is an international organisation, and operates on volunteers, so is free of charge (they just ask that participants volunteer from time to time). My local one is in Cornwall Park, surrounding One Tree Hill, and is a 5km track.

Cornwall Park, Twin Oaks Drive

They also have a newsletter, and last week there was a link to an article titled: Are We Trying Too Hard To Be Happy?

You can read the whole article here, but the gist of it was this:

“Imagine you decide that the key to your own personal happiness is to walk up a mountain.  At the bottom of the climb you establish how happy you’re feeling. It’s not good, but that’s okay because this climb is going to make you feel (excuse the pun) on top of the world….

Just before you reach the top of the mountain a sense of panic sets in. You can’t help but think, ‘I should be very happy by now. Why am I not getting happier?’ 

By the time you summit you’ve obsessed so much about being happy, that you’re actually less happy than you were at the bottom.”

Definitely enjoying the ‘summit’ over Whale Pot Bay, Matapouri, NZ.

It was on-point for me. While I’m not unhappy all the time, or even most of the time anymore (yay!) I know that the reaching of goals can sometimes override the enjoyment of the journey. It is a fitting metaphor that reminds me the journey IS the goal.

This year I have been trying to focus on things I enjoy and find satisfying, and trusting that there is some sort of Greater Order: if I am doing what lights me up, then everything else will fall into place. The story from the Parkrun blog has really helped me keep this idea in perspective.

 

The Joy Diet, Wild Creative Life, The 100 Days Project & Nature

I had the last couple of weeks (mostly) off my dayjob, and took the opportunity to spend a few days away from home as a personal writing retreat. I spent it in the most wonderful cabin, nestled in native bush and kept company by the birds (or at least the sound of the birds, tui and fantail during the day; ruru and kiwi at night).

I got a fair bit of writing done, but mostly just spent time sitting, enjoying the sounds and smells of the forest, and the warmth of the fire. I felt at home.

A perfect little writing desk in a perfect little New Zealand forest.

This year I’m participating in two year-long community groups. One is Wild Creative Life and the other is The Joy Diet. Both of these are coming together in a way I hadn’t expected, and are pointing me towards teh natural world.

In The Joy Diet, April’s theme was Truth. Truth is the quality of being true; true means in accordance with fact or reality. The takeaway from my time away was being reminded what my truth is: a connection with nature; reality. Wild Creative Life is about making art in nature, inspired by nature, and with natural tools.

Writing in the cabin.

I’m also doing the 100 Days Project this year, and my project of choice is nature journalling. It begins on May 22nd and I feel like it will be a life-changing project for me – not to put too much pressure on it! But I have no doubt that taking time every day to observe, reflect on, and immerse myself in nature will make a change for better.

Shameless self-promotion time:

If you’re interested in my more nature-inspired art, have a look at these prints on Felt. Your purchase will also be supporting the Mental Health Foundation of NZ via my half-marathon run.
To kick-start your own creativity, check out my ever-popular DIY Zine Kit.
And to catch up with me in person, my next event is the Hamilton Zinefest on Sat, May 13th. See details and other events on my events page.

New editions of the Caretaker Series

Changes are in the air, as they always are around me (not always my fault, just saying). The Caretaker Series is proving to be more popular than I thought it would – around 800 have sold across the three titles! – and I’ve had time to consider how they are presented.

I love the illustrations by Jane Thorne, and Chris at Book Printing does an amazing job of binding and printing them, with lovely recycled paper. However, I’ve noticed that children older than primary school age tend to dismiss them as childish, so it’s been in the back of my mind to change the covers. Also, as lovely as they look in person, they’re just not great at thumbnail size.

The other reason is entirely based on money. I’m paying royalties, which as well as paying the actual royalties is another administrative job to do. So, the new editions will have a simpler, older cover design, and they won’t be illustrated. They’ll be done through a print on demand company, which will allow me to sell overseas more easily and buy smaller runs at a time.

Now, the old editions of Lucy’s Story are all sold out (there are a few left at the Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop if you want to snap them up!) BUT there are a dozen or so copies of The Caretaker of Imagination left, and a bunch of Beyond the End of the World. There are also the gorgeous special editions – illustrated, printed on recycled paper, hand-bound right here in New Zealand, and signed by both myself and Jane – which are limited to fifty copies for sale. If you’re interested in any of these, you can get them from my Felt shop. Once they’re all sold, that’s it!

So this is what the cover of Lucy’s Story will probably look like. I’ll be ordering a proof shortly, and then it will be available for purchase. I’m hoping to get this out by June this year

On having nothing to prove

There has been so much happening, and so little blogging, so I’m going to try and catch up on this over the next little while. 

I feel like I’m finally becoming comfortable in my own skin, and confident in sharing my me-ness with the world. I think this started with I Am A Writer & I Am An Artist. These books were both very personal (and not hidden behind fictional characters) but had a great response from the contributors and audience. It was what I needed to believe that actually yes, I am a writer and artist – and other people think so, too.

I also feel like I’m not trying to prove something anymore. I’m not trying to prove to myself that I’m capable of writing, or prove to you that I’m not a one-book-wonder, or prove to past-Zee that I can be an author. What’s driving me now is: “Am I enjoying this?”

And I am. I’m in my happy place every day with Ramble On (my current wip – a non-fiction book about walking) and I’m pleased with SONZA, and generally happy with what I’m doing.

A page from “Ramble On”

Another thing I was trying to prove was that I could be successful – that is, financially successful. I’d still like to make a living at this, but it was stressing me out so much that the goal was preventing me from reaching the goal. Which is just stupid, really.

What’s been interesting is that when I began to focus on enjoyment, the money started coming in. I made 50 sales online last month – the most ever for me – got a few art commissions, and was offered my first paid writing job. It may be delusional, but I believe it’s got a lot to do with this fresh attitude. I’m only alive for a while – I’m going to spend it doing stuff I love & giving back when & how I can.

Life is good.

On irregular blogging, and the year so far

So this weekly vlog thing isn’t working very well, but I am not giving up yet! I still get excited about doing a video, but when I go to actually record it I feel something akin to stage fright and it doesn’t happen. Hopefully, admitting it here in this public space will spur me on! I am aiming to record every Friday. Routine helps.

In other news, I’m enjoying the creative freedom I have given myself. I Am An Artist and I Am A Writer have been received well, and I enjoyed them so much I am working on a new non-fiction book. This one is on an activity I can spend hours doing: walking. It may or may not be titled Ramble On.

My picture book, The Train to Nowhere, has been outlined, but I’m not sure when I’ll start working on it.

SONZA is off to a great start! The artists I’ve interviewed so far have dug deep for me, and I hope that I can broaden the range of artists. “The Arts”, I think, are incredibly broad, and I would like to reflect that.

I’ve had an enry for the NZ Young Writers Anthology and it’s had a fair bit of exposure. I hope to get as many wonderful stories and poems as last year!

Unfortunately, I’ve been quite groggily tired for a while, and it’s intefering with my enthusiasm and energy. I am hoping that more walking and a better diet are the cure!

I’m already behind on my university readings (sigh) but I still have time to catch up. I have some art workshops coming up soon that I am looking forward to (mandala drawing, and a learn how to draw session) as well as teaching creative writing.

All in all, it’s been a creatively satisfying start, with enough books sold for me to feel like there is an audience who like & want my books. I have a few things to catch up on, but I do have time on my hands (or I will, once I can drag myself out of bed at a decent hour) and the bottom (three) line(s) are that I’m enjoying myself, I’m learning, and I’m helping others. That’s what matters

On ego, self-publishing, and collaborating with your peers [week three vlog]

Over on YouTube, I’m working on getting a regular vlog going. This week, I’ve talked about something that is really important to me – and really frustrating when people don’t get it!

There seems to be a ‘prestige’ that comes with being an author, but I want to say that becoming an author has not made me any more – or less – valuable as a person. It’s an achievement, sure, but it doesn’t alter my worth.

I also love working with my peers. To be able to share the work of people I like and admire means a lot to me. Sometimes, like in my (wo)manpower zines and NZ Young Writers’ Anthology, it’s the first time for them to see their words published. This is really special to me, and I hope to continue this long into my future – no matter how much a famous name acts as a draw card.

Listen to me ramble on about this in more depth below. And, if you like what I say, check out my Patreon page.

Shop: http://zrsouthcombe.felt.co.nz 

Support: http://patreon.com/zrsouthcombe 

Follow: @zrsouthcombe on Insta, FB & Twitter