Take
off your bag, coat, and hat. Peel away your clothes and wipe off
your lipstick. Strip it all away. This is who you are and this is
what you’ll get when you read Indigo, a personal zine (perzine)
created by Michelle Aiello in 1995. She started Indigo after becoming
inspired by the publisher of “Bomb.” It initially consisted
of a few bits of writing, random clippings and drawings scattered
about, but it has grown into a literary journal of sorts, a live
memoir if you will, often used as an outlet to get through the rough
times. Some of her stories are told with the same kind of vigor
found in fanciful tales, but this isn’t a tale, it’s
her life story, retold in her own words.
Michelle’s
process for zine writing could only be described as organic. “I
mostly write about things that have happened or are happening in
my life, I can’t really put a timetable on it. I just do it
when I’m ready,” she says. But as organic as the zine
making process is for her, she is extremely meticulous about the
layout of Indigo, often spending hours creating a master copy with
a just a glue stick and her hands. She also incorporates her love
for old patterns and motifs in every issue.
“I
think what keeps me doing this is that it makes me feel like I’m
a part of something greater than myself. Being a part of this underground
publishing movement has created a feeling of community and belonging
to which nothing can compare,” she says.
Indigo
is sold at the following stores in Chicago including Quimby’s,
Chicago Comics, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, and Reckless Records.
It can also be ordered online at Quimby's or directly from Michelle
Aiello herself. Simply send three; well concealed dollars to Indigo
Zine at P.O. Box 180143, Chicago, Illinois 60618 and your zine should
arrive within five to seven days.
Ms.
Aiello is currently working on a web site for Indigo, which can
be accessed at: www.indigozine.com. In addition to this, she organized
an event called Ephemera last November, which was held at DePaul
University in celebration of “do it yourself” culture.
It gave over thirty artists an opportunity to showcase their work.
Look out for the next Ephemera Festival in the summer of 2007.
Michelle
Aiello has also created her own line of greeting cards, which can
be viewed and purchased at www.copilla.etsy.com.
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