MUG CLUB FANZINE ISSUE 1
MUG CLUB FANZINE ISSUE 1
ISSUE 1— May 2020, 66 pages, black and white.
This is the first fanzine I’ve published in 21 years. It's called Mug Club, and I've asked 30 friends, writers, musicians, artists and actors to take a photo of their favorite mug, write something about it, and send it to me. I'm making paintings of each of the mugs and running the stories. Mug Club is about mugs, yes, but it's really about this moment in time and all of us being stuck inside and spending a lot of time with our STUFF, and feeling and processing the memories that our stuff jogs for us, and how that makes us feel while we ponder and process the Before Times and also what the After Times might be like. It's a COVID zine in that it is being born out of this time, but I want it to go on beyond just this quarantined moment. This issue has stories from: BRITTAIN ASHFORD, RACHEL BLUMBERG, LINDSEY BUCHANAN, JENNIFER CHARLES, EDEN DAWN, RACHEL DEMY, DEREK ERDMAN, ROBIN HARRIS, STEVE KANDELL, JANE KOTAPISH, JENNY KROIK, JOAN LeMAY, JODI LEO, TED LEO, AIMEE MANN, JIM McNAMEE, B. FRAYN MASTERS, DESI MOORE, PAUL MYERS, ALEX PAPPADEMAS, TAVIE PHILLIPS, CARYN ROSE, ASHOD SIMONIAN, BRANDON STOSUY, KATHLEEN TARRANT, JEN TURNER, JOHN VANDERSLICE and LANCE SCOTT WALKER.
From LIT HUB, July 2020:
"Later, I come across a picture on Instagram: stacked zines the color of ochre, an illustration of a mug with sprawling leaves across each. The project in question is Mug Club Fanzine, an undertaking of Portland-based artist and illustrator Joan LeMay. Mug Club calls for its contributors to take a picture of their favorite mug and write a short text to accompany it. Joan then makes paintings of each mug and runs them with the corresponding story. When I asked Joan what drew her to mugs specifically, she said, 'People’s mugs are really personal and individuated objects, actually—it’s why you never set a dinner table for guests with your mugs, unless those mugs are a mass-produced, uniform set. … The humble mug seemed like a perfect jumping off point for storytelling (people have stories about their mugs!) and a perfect subject for starting this zine at this time.'
Anecdotal storytelling seems to be a core element of most quarantine projects, and Mug Club especially. Wherein each narrative—about being young and shoplifting a favorite mug, or finding out years later that a favorite mug is from Pottery Barn—reads like tender and casual conversation with a close friend."
“We’ve been known to turn to Joan LeMay’s magic for a midday mood boost (if you follow her on IG or are familiar with her work, you totally get why), and her new exploit is a case-in-point perfect pick-me-up. May we introduce you to Mug Club Fanzine—a collection of stories compiled by LeMay from scads of cool contributors dishing on their most beloved mugs, illustrated by LeMay’s paintings of the near-and-dear drinking vessels. Issue 1 features folks like Aimee Mann, Ted Leo, Derek Erdman, and 20x200 artist Jenny Kroik, and all proceeds will be donated to the Oregon Food Bank. (Each issue to follow will have a different charitable component.) They’re just $7 a pop—a steal for this much mug-induced fun from a bunch of brilliant minds.
Once upon a time, LeMay was a fanzine fiend, fond of the power of the DIY, indie-produced publications to connect passionate people, foster self-expression, and celebrate interests outside the mainstream. Mug Club is the first fanzine LeMay’s published in over two decades. As she mentions in the video, the current moment feels extra right for zine-making and sharing—a way to reach out and rustle up some sense of community when many of us are itching for collective energy. And mugs are mighty good subject matter. Like a lot of the subjects LeMay enjoys immortalizing in her art practice, mugs are mundane objects that offer an opportunity to tell people’s stories, to explore personal meaning. Think about your favorite mug. Maybe you use it everyday to convey your morning coffee, but a closer look calls up memories from your college days. Or maybe it cracked in a cross-country move but you can’t bring yourself to toss it. As LeMay puts it, mugs are just one example of pedestrian possessions with talismanic properties. In this weird time while many of us are hunkered down in our homes surrounded by our stuff, we just might start to see it all in a new light.” — 20x200