Issue #7, Water
The water and its shoreline has been home to all of the creative people you are about to meet in this issue of MANIFEST [zine]. The theme – Water – was inspired by the release of Water Under the Bridge: A Sort-of Love Story by Jen Payne, and is a collaborative effort featuring work by friends and fellow creative spirits Tara Buckley, Joy Bush, Jimine Camille, Anne Coffey, Juliana Harris, Rhonda Longo, Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely, Kristin Merrill, Mary O’Connor, and Laurel Valli. Read more about these folks below.
This issue of MANIFEST (zine) includes a full color, 24-page booklet, inserts, and a curated, collaborative Spotify playlist.
INGREDIENTS: acrylic paints,collage, color copies, color scans, cut paper, driftwood, freshwater pearl, gold leaf, gold wire, haiku, hand-drawn fonts, handmade paper, illustrations, love, memory, paints, photography, poetry, ribbon, rubber stamp art, sea glass, Swarovski crystals, and vintage photos. With Special thanks to the contributors above, as well as illustrator Anthony Browne, rubber stamp creator Esther Elzinga (etsy.com/shop/StudioTokek), Water Babies illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith, Virginia Woolf. With a prayer and godspeed to Ukrainian artist Arsen Savadoc.
24-page, full-color 5×7 + inserts, Cost: $8.00 or subscribe and get 4 issues for $25.00
CONTRIBUTORS
Tara Buckley
Tara wears many hats — writer, artist, Reiki practitioner, journalist, actor, musician — and was born and raised in Central Florida. She has lived in Orlando, New York City, Los Angeles, Middle Georgia and now resides in Connecticut. A life-long Pantheist, her goals include protecting the Earth and publishing her first picture book. (www.sevensistersarts.net)
Joy Bush
Joy is a fine art photographer based in Hamden, CT. Her photographs address the things that we collect in life as well as the things that we build. Her daily walks provide the underpinning of her work. She says, “my walks are daily meditations, a time to pay attention to the things that speak to me and to make a connection to my surroundings. There is always something that deserves to be seen, that may have gone unnoticed, that feels important to record. My photographs mark it in time, create its story, or make up a new story.” (www.JoyBushPhotography.com)
Anne Coffey
“I have always loved art. When I retired, I threw myself into taking lots of art classes, trying to make up for lost time? Although I have no formal art training, I do have an eye for color and contrast and design. I like things to be neat rather than messy, organized rather than chaotic, calm rather than hectic. All of this has led me to my love for collage, exploring painted papers, mark making, texture, and contrast. The pandemic has allowed me to spend a lot more time in my studio space and I’ve been exploring abstraction and using acrylics. I intend to mix my love of collage into these new pieces because another thing I love is exploration, adventure, change, and a little bit of risk-taking!” (www.annecoffey.com)
Juliana Harris
Juliana has contributed poems to The New York Times, The Mid-America Poetry Review, The Best Times, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and The Kansas City Star, among other publications. She has written several novels, as well as a chapbook of poems about her family titled Portraits. Murder at Pine Brook is the second book in her Guilford Mystery series, following the successful debut of Murder at the Tavern in 2020. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, she now lives in Guilford, CT where she is a member of the Guilford Poets Guild.
Rhonda Longo
Rhonda enjoys painting from her life experiences in acrylics and oils. Her subjects include local landscapes and seascapes, her active pets, and families on a snowy winter walk along the shoreline. “There is a lot of joy God blesses me to see through an artistic eye.”
Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely
After 35 years away, Nan returned to Connecticut to pursue what Baron Wormser calls “the poetry life.” She thrives by her association with both The Guilford Poets Guild and The Connecticut River Poets and, with Gray Jacobik, founded an ongoing week-long summer poetry retreat for Frost Place programs alums. Her first book, Letter from Italy, 1944 was noted by the Hartford Courant as one of thirteen important books published by Connecticut writers in 2013. Her second book, Simple Absence, was nominated for The National Book Award and placed as a Grand Prize Finalist for the 2021 Next Generation Indie Awards and the 2021 Eric Hoffer Award.
Kristin Merrill
“I am continually experimenting and combining precious gems, pearls and metals with found objects to create jewelry and sculptures. For the last 30 years, I have cultivated the traditional metal working skills I gained in art school, but I also enjoy breaking the rules by soldering, fusing, piercing and burning materials to bring out their natural beauty. I currently live in Connecticut with my husband and two daughters. My studio and showroom are at METRO Art Studios in Bridgeport.” (www.kristinmerrill.com)
Mary O’Connor
Author of Passing Shadows—Images and Words of Inspiration, Mary is a writer, poet, painter and lover of nature. Her watercolor paintings have been exhibited by area art associations, and her animal portraits are treasured by numerous pet owners. A docent at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, she lives along the Connecticut shoreline, source of much of her creative work. (www.mary-oconnor.com)
Jen Payne
A published poet and writer, artist, and spiritual ecologist, Jen Payne is the author of several books including LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, Waiting Out the Storm, and Water Under the Bridge: A Sort-of Love Story. She is the creator/editor of MANIFEST (zine), and writes regularly on her blog: www.randomactsofwriting.net.
Laurel Valli
“I am an intuitive artist living my joy listening to my soul’s passions. Art is my way to share feelings that don’t translate into words. I create art to inspire others. I approach each project allowing the piece to create itself, believing there are no mistakes; only creative discoveries. I love to connect with people and witness their stories through art or conversation.” (www.laurelvalli.com)
Part lit mag, part artist book, part chapbook, MANIFEST (zine) is the eclectic creation of Connecticut writer / poet / artist Jen Payne. Consider it a hold-in-your-hands art installation featuring writing, photography, and artwork, along with bits and pieces of whatnot that rise to the surface as she meditates on themes like change and transition, solitude, time, storytelling, and finding refuge in these turbulent times. Each issue also includes a curated Spotify playlist. Layered with colors, textures, meanings (and music), the result is a thought-full, tactile journey with nooks and crannies for you to discover along the way.
You can pay through PayPal using a PayPal account or any standard credit card. If you prefer the old school approach, please send your check, made payable to Jen Payne, P.O. Box 453, Branford, CT 06405.
Three Chairs Publishing 