The fourth and final issue of The Man Called Uncle Tim has arrived back from the printer. This series has been an ongoing investigation into the life of my enigmatic uncle who lived in a queer, polyamorous household in rural Ohio and who died in 1995. The final issue features conversations with Don, one of only two surviving members from the J. Hartzelbuck household.
Aunt Judy, featured in issue #3, facilitated my introduction to Don and I've been talking to him by email since 2013 when I started this project. He still lives in Raven Rocks so when I went to scatter my grandma's ashes in the woods near my grandpa's ashes and Uncle Tim's grave, I was able to talk to him in real life.
At the beginning of this
project, I assumed I would be making five, six or more issues of the
zine. When I started pulling together all the conversations Don and I
had over the years though, it really felt like a conclusion to this
story. He was able to provide so much insight into a portion of Uncle Tim's life
that had remained largely hidden from the rest of my family. I also felt seriously relieved when this became clear. I'm ready to move onto new projects.
No doubt, there are many more potential perspectives to and opinions about his story. In fact, one of the
things that has made me really happy about this project is the number of
new conversations about Uncle Tim that have occurred in my family as a
result. The impetus for starting
this was to ensure that Uncle Tim's story doesn't get lost once the
generation who knew him directly are not around anymore.
The fact that
it became something so many people were interested in was a
surprise to many of my family members who I collaborated with. But it is
a fascinating story about alternative ways of living, risk taking and
the unwavering conviction to be true to your own desires and values. So
I'm not so surprised people have been able to find meaning in it even when they don't know the characters personally.
Issue #4 is now available to buy in my shop. You can also buy the full set for yourself or as a gift and save some money.
I developed and riso printed a new mini-zine. It's fairly simple and self-explanatory. If my lifetime of experience is at all representative, I think it will be relevant to many people in many situations. That is unfortunate.
I truly hope you will never have cause
to use this but you probably will. When that times comes
(maybe it's right now), it will be here for you. You can give it directly to someone you think needs to read it or leave it lying around in a space where theory bros hang out. You can even share how it goes
down by posting a comment below.
This is on the inside when you unfold it. If you want, you could just print this out on another sheet and keep it for yourself. The whole thing is a copyleft publication so you are free to duplicate and distribute it.
Print it in black and white, on exciting paper, in different riso colors or even embellish it with your own drawings or hand written notes. Seriously, do whatever you need to do.
Free A4 pdf black and white download here
Folding and cutting instructions here
The third issue in the series of zines about my uncle who lived in a queer polyamorous household is now published. Based on conversations I've had with my Aunt Judy, it is a further exploration into Uncle Tim's family/community and the values that influenced his life. To find out more about the project, you can read about issues #1 and #2.
Aunt Judy was there when I conducted the oral history interview with my Grandma that features in issue #1. In fact, it was Aunt Judy's suggestion that we talk about Uncle Tim in the first place because she was so proud of how her had mother supported him. Since that talk so many years ago, we've had a long and fascinating correspondence about Uncle Tim and about what this project has meant to our family. Any silence that might have existed around his life has been well and truly broken.
Although I've obviously been itching to find out more detail about Uncle Tim's life in Raven Rocks and the make-up of his unique family, what I found most rewarding was hearing about Aunt Judy's relationship to him as a sister. It was especially interesting to hear about how that relationship evolved up until his death.
This issue features plenty of new information that sheds light on Uncle Tim's life though, particularly about why it ended up being so separated from his biological family. Aunt Judy provides personal insights from her visits to Raven Rocks over the years as well as philosophical reflections on the life they chose to live. In this issue, I have made the choice to move the focus on from Quakerism and start looking into some of the other influential values embraced by the J. Hartzelbucks.
These will be available exclusively at DIY Cultures at the Rich Mix in London on Sunday the 24rd of May. After that, they will be available to buy through my store.
This is the second issue in a series of zines about my uncle, who helped to found an intentional community in rural Ohio in 1970, where he lived in a queer polyamorous household until his death in 1995. I never got to know my uncle while he was alive so these zines are my attempt to understand how he lived and loved during his brief but extraordinary life. Issue #1 is based on oral history with my Grandma and this issue is based on conversations with my dad.
A major factor that led me to start this project was the general silence about my uncle that existed throughout my childhood. To be honest, there was a lot of silence in my family when it came to anything that was difficult to talk about. But it wasn't just not knowing about how Uncle Tim lived, I had no idea what it felt like for my dad to lose his brother so young.
Talking to my dad openly about my uncle was revelatory. Not only did I learn about how close he and Uncle Tim were when they were growing up, it was the first time we'd had a real, profound conversation about things like death, sexuality and difficult emotions. It may have taken more than 35 years but it was also the first time we communicated about what it feels like to be the weird kid desperately searching for a different life, something Uncle Tim and I shared.
As important as anything was hearing how he felt about Uncle Tim's death, especially after such a long period of not being in contact. There is still so much more to learn about Uncle Tim's life from the other people who were close to him so the search continues. For now, pick up a copy of issue #2 in my shop.
My first zine in many years is finished. Well, really this is half comic book, half zine. I posted the introduction back in November, which other than a few minor changes and the addition of color, is still the same. This first issue is based on oral history I did with my Grandma about 5 years ago. She died last year so it really was time to put the words she shared with me to use.
Because in real life, romance doesn't always triumph. Because just being in a relationship isn't the key to happiness. And because sometimes, the worst choice you can make for yourself is the one everyone else thinks is right. Inspired by this Belle and Sebastian song, I present to you:
A free minicomic to help you prepare for 2014.
To see the rest, download the full comic as a pdf (3MB) here.
I've started the epic task of uncovering the hidden life story of my Uncle Tim. For now, I thought I'd share the introduction to show what an important and exciting project this is for me.
I made this little comic for a friend who is putting together a zine about PMT/PMS. It's been put on hold as she's got lots of other stuff going on so I thought I'd share it. You can see the actual zine layout is at the bottom. I'm planning to work on more short comics for my own amusement. Hopefully this is the first of many.
Every day on my ride to work, I witness people on paid 'street art' tours around Shoreditch. The tour guides are inevitably highlighting the work of famous (white male) street artists. As a result, I've increasingly turned toward making more art directly for the people I know and love rather than sticking it up on random walls. This 40th birthday book for my partner is an example of what I mean.
This Saturday, I'm participating in a group exhibition about feminist graphic artists as well as giving a talk about my art at The Feminist Library. The title of the exhibition is 'I call myself a feminist because...' and there will be a zine making workshop, talks about things like Jewish women's comics, films and food.
Lam Fung was a wildly successful 1960s actress known as the Jade Girl in Hong Kong cinema. Although her career only lasted 11 short years, she appeared in over 100 films and started her own film and fashion companies (plus she could spin plates!).
Despite her success, she retired to become a wife and mother at the height of her career. She died of an overdose 10 years later at age 37. There is speculation about her death being intentional, induced by botched plastic surgery or unintentional, from mixing sleeping pills, diet medication and the painkillers given after plastic surgery, both of which are horribly sad endings.
She is honoured on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui for her contributions to cinema in Hong Kong. Although she doesn't have a wikipedia page, you can read and see more about her here
A conversation between someone's anonymous stencil and my wheatpaste. Original print (with more legible text) can be seen here.
It's been a long time but hopefully worth the wait. Introducing Pivo the street artist and her project to help the people of London rediscover the lost art of empathy. There's something really exciting about making one off work and handing it over to the world. These photographs will be the only evidence that this painting ever existed in a few weeks.
Any preferences?
