As we turn the page into March, we’re thrilled to welcome back a very familiar face: Gemma Dunnell! Gemma will be with us throughout spring and summer, bringing her signature joyful, playful energy to the group. We can’t wait to see what unfolds next.

The wonderful world of zines 

Hello everyone! I’m so excited to be back hosting another set of Online Art Group sessions with Somerset Art Works. For this run of sessions, we’re going to be exploring the wonderful world of zines! Zines (pronounced ‘zeens’) are DIY mini magazines or pamphlets that come in so many different shapes, sizes, and forms. Just like our ‘sketchbook sessions’ last year, we’ll be approaching making things that don’t need to be ‘good’ or ‘perfect’, instead putting an emphasis on fun and play! 

March 4

Session 1: Map Zine

Using the standard one page zine setup, we’re going to be making our own mini journey maps. These journeys can be real or inspired (or a mixture of both!), and are a really cute memento of a trip you may have taken. 

You will need: 

• An a4 piece of paper 
• Scissors 
• Any colouring / drawing materials you like using (I will be using coloured pens) 
• A journey that you would like to memorialise (and any pictures you may find useful to have as reference!)

April 1

Session 2: MICRO zine

Today we’re exploring going teeny tiny, making zines of tiny (and maybe very big…?) things, pushing the boundary of what pictures we can fit onto tiny spaces, and having fun with the medium.

You will need: 

• An a4 piece of paper 
• Scissors 
• A Stapler 
• Any colouring / drawing materials you like using (I will be using coloured pens) 

May 6

Session 3: Landscape Zine 

Using an ‘accordian’ zine layout, we’re going to be making our very own panorama picture. You could go traditional and create an outdoor mountain range, or maybe play with the genre and create a 360 view of your garden or bedroom! We’ll also be playing with different ways of making ‘belly bands’ for your zines, keeping them together to store and display easily 

You will need: 

• An A3 piece of paper 
• Scissors 
• A ruler 
• Any colouring / drawing materials you like using (I will be using coloured pens) 
• Any coloured or patterned paper you enjoy 

June 3

Session 4: Scrap zine 

Collecting found ephemera, or taking from packaging card and other ‘waste’ paper, we’re going to be making our own scrap collages which we will be turning into zines. This fun exercise will push what we consider to be ‘art’ materials, and hopefully create something that looks fun and completely unexpected!

You will need: 

• An A3 piece of paper 
• Scissors 
• Glue / Pritt stick
• Your found ephemera (think receipts, paper packaging, anything that’s clean and ‘waste’ paper) 
• Any colouring / drawing materials you like using (I will be using coloured pens) 
• Any coloured or patterned paper you enjoy 

July 1

Session 5: Blackout Poetry Prompts 

Using text based ephemera (newspaper articles, books, letters etc) we’re going to be making our own ‘blackout poetry’ zines, using the leftover words on each page for prompts. These abstract zines are going to push our ability to explore prompts without pressure or a set outcome, and also learn a different way of making a zine layout. 

 You will need: 

• An A3/A4 piece of paper 
• Scissors 
• Glue / Pritt stick
• Your found written ephemera that you don’t mind drawing and cutting up  (newspaper articles, books, letters etc)
• Any colouring / drawing materials you like using (any pens which have BIG black nips to darken sections will be really useful) 
• Any coloured or patterned paper you enjoy

August 5

Session 6: 3D Scene Zine 

For this last week’s session, we’re going to be making our own ‘3D layered landscapes’ within our zines. Returning to our concertina fold and collaging, we’ll be cutting out each ‘leaf’ of paper into a new shape around our images, until we have our own created 3D scenes from foreground to background. 

 You will need: 

• An A3/A4 piece of paper 
• A cutting scalpel and board
• Glue / Pritt stick
• Any fun collage material with lots of images found in it

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Join us for creative sessions, delivered online by a range of exciting artists. Keeping creativity as accessible as possible – either join us live or watch back in your own time.

New members can join at any time, and to help us keep the sessions running, we kindly ask for a small donation of £5-£50 for access to the group. However if this isn’t affordable for you, please let us know – we never want cost to be a barrier to taking part.

First Wednesday of the month 6.30 – 7.30pm on Facebook Live, plus a library of recordings.
Contact for more information and bookings: admin@somersetartworks.org.uk
www.somersetartworks.org.uk

Images: group members and the lead artist

With thanks to funding support in 2026 from Arts Council England