Fitting Multiple Spaces into One Zine
Exploring Spatial Journeys Between Pages
When a book is held in the hands of a reader and flipped through, the physical medium starts to offer a richer experience that goes beyond the two-dimensional. Within a small zine, multiple small spaces can be contained, read from different angles and perspectives, leading to various possibilities of spatial exploration. – Stella.ZY
Welcome to the fourth session of the Banana Fish Summer Book Club. In this edition, our featured guest is Stella.ZY from “Circular Circumference.” As an illustrator and children’s picture book author, her years of experience in IT, computer, and architectural product design provide her with a keen sense of space and unique insights into using AutoCAD for artistic book creation.
During Sunday’s summer book club event, Stella will delve into her previous work in circular architecture, sharing her creative process and thoughts behind her architectural and space-related ZINEs. She will also showcase outstanding examples of ZINEs related to houses that she has collected from various international art bookstores and exhibitions.
This edition of the book club will include a ZINE workshop segment, where Stella has invited her close friend Fiona Jia to teach everyone how to create a ZINE in the shape of a house. The workshop will be a collaborative journey for all of us, exploring the possibilities of paper media through drawing, collage, and manual crafting, enabling us to collectively discover the spatial potential of physical books!
Guest Speaker:
Stella.ZY
Special Guest:
Fiona Jia
Date:
August 13, 2023
Sunday 15:00-17:00
Location:
7 Hongbaoshi Road, Changning District, Shanghai
Stella.ZY
Stella.ZY is a designer, illustrator, children’s picture book author, and independent publisher. She has a passion for transforming the interesting moments of life into illustrated storybooks and zines.
With years of experience in IT, computer, and architectural product design, Stella brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her artistic book creations. Many new sparks of inspiration arise from this diverse background. As a result, she is deeply passionate about exploring the significance of design, technology, and architecture for children and life within Zines and children’s picture books. She has created and published children’s picture books and independent publications such as “In the Mirror,” “Shell! A House in the Shape of a Turtle Shell,” “Sketchbook in Shanghai,” “Work from Home,” and “A Hundred Thousand Whys – Science Picture Book.” Her books and artistic illustrations have been exhibited at various events including the 2018-2023 UNFOLD Shanghai Art Book Fair, CCBF2019-2022 Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair, and the 2020 WFO “Biota” Art Exhibition.
Fiona Jia
Graduating from the Department of Architecture at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, she has accumulated over a decade of professional architectural design experience. Her primary focus has been on public architecture, educational facilities, and office buildings. Beyond my professional career, she has engaged in various creative pursuits during my free time, including graphic design, creating brochures, developing brand concepts, and textile printing design. She has also ventured into media writing and maintain a strong interest in diverse industries. With a zest for life, she cherish activities that bring joy, such as painting and sports.
Part 1: Sharing
ZINES LIST from Stella
1. <In the Mirror>
Extending the Dimensions of Physical Space Through Mirrored Reflections
2. <Work from Home>
If we were to live with our family in a small house shaped like a turtle shell without ever leaving, what would life be like?
2. <Work from Home>
A Story of Parallel Time and Space Co-Created by Adults and Kids
4. <Architect’s Studio> (Illustration Series)
Part 2: Workshop
Make a Zine with Stella & Fiona
In this workshop, we will provide markers, collage materials, and other necessary tools for creating. Participants can use these materials to craft their own ZINE based on the paper model of the house shape, adding the content they wish to create. You can either become a scriptwriter and approach the creation from a storytelling perspective, or step into the role of an architect and think about aspects like space and structure.
During the workshop, Fiona will offer insights from a professional architectural perspective, explaining the functional aspects and shared elements between book space creation and architectural space design in an accessible manner. Stella will provide assistance from the angles of story creation, reading experience, and book design.
More Photos
