BackerKit Preorder Shop & What's Coming Next
over 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 10:31:19 PM

Hi, everyone! Real quick update, since we're hard at work on getting the files for the zine and extras out to our printers, but if you had a friend who didn't get a chance to grab Hazel, the BackerKit shop is up and open for the next five days! If you've already backed, you do NOT need to order any extras that may tempt you separately from your main order. After the 15th, we'll be able to start sending surveys, at which time you'll be welcomed to the BackerKit shop just for Hazel KS backers, and can add any extras you want! That will be the time for you to add a tote, since we were so excited to unlock that stretch goal. 

Click here for the Preorder Shop. 

Backer Surveys complete with Add-ons yet to come! 

Talk to you soon, 

Lucy

Campaign COMPLETE! Final Details for Hazel Before the Next Phase
over 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 03, 2020 at 01:42:12 AM

We made magic together thanks to you!

Thank you all so much for making Hazel Issue V what it became this week. We hoped and dreamed that we would reach some of our big goals, but we never knew for sure WHAT was going to happen, and we're so glad we got this far with you! We have been over the moon (speaking of which, we started on a full moon and ended on a full moon - is that WILD?), talking about having another livestream party or at least some kind of wrap party (let us know if you'd like to see this or not!), and just trying to get some rest, honestly, but there's still so much hard work yet to be done behind the scenes. We're just so glad we can do it all thanks to you and your interest in making Hazel a reality once more. 

In case you missed it, yes, the totes are totally happening! We are partnering with BackerKit to make it easy for you to add the tote if you want it and ordered physical rewards, to send out our digital rewards to you, and to even let any last stragglers get a second chance to grab an issue early (it usually takes me a while to get the new issue to the Cottonbook shop after all the fulfillment work is done - see again, needing a nap). You can also get one more chance to update your address or add any extras before things close up. 

Now that we've got that fairly ready to go, our next steps are finalizing the book files, sending them to the printer, and prepping and ordering the extras once the funds come in from Kickstarter. We'll have a backer survey out to you around that time (about two weeks from now). We'll share when the books come in and when things are getting ready to ship, but the best way to keep up with us is via the Cottonbook Instagram account or Patreon. 

Seriously, my favorite thing about Hazel is that we get to use our collective voices, our wishes, our love to make something exist that hadn't existed before, and you participate in casting that spell with us. We give form to our dreams, the kinds of things we want to see in the world, by each contributing what we have, and the results in this case are an uplifting, kindhearted zine that tells the stories and shares the knowledge of thoughtful people of different gender expressions and backgrounds, people once and often still cast away as witches. I hope whatever we do next, we'll still get to make this kind of magic again and again. Thank you so much for five amazing years of Hazel.

Best wishes, 

Lucy Kagan, @cottonbook

Almost There! Update on Totes & BackerKit
over 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 10:42:22 PM

We did it, we reached our tote bag stretch goal!! Thank you so much for bringing us this far with all of your support! Everyone on the Hazel team is absolutely over the moon that so many people are excited about Hazel V: Spirit, and we are extra excited to offer a cute tote to stash all those Hazel goodies. You can find images of the tote bag design all mocked up on the campaign page, so be sure to check it out. We can't tell you how much everyone on the team wanted this tote to pretend that we, too, attended a magical residence program in the lush-sounding Evergreen Mountains! 

While the Kickstarter campaign ends tonight, you won’t need to rush to change your pledge level to include a tote. We will be partnering with BackerKit to make sure that our backers can add a tote to their order later on. So, no rush! We can sit back and relax a bit. Here's what we're listening to keep ourselves distracted until midnight.

The Witch Wave - Wonderful interviews with mystical people, hosted by Pam Grossman

Witches Betwixt - Witchcraft through an LGBTQ+ lens, with a focus on inclusivity and consideration of all bodies that practice

Mabel - A spooky fiction podcast that begins with an old woman's next of kin being called to come visit when mysterious things are happening in her home.

Magick and Mediums - Anielle Reid was kind enough to feature Hazel creator Lucy Kagan (okay, that's me!) on her podcast last year, and her interviews are always a treat to listen to.

Interview & Playlist with Artist Cody Tenaglia, and Countdown to the End Begins!
over 3 years ago – Sun, Aug 30, 2020 at 09:59:53 AM

Y'all have had us doing little happy dances over here and cheering for every milestone, and now it's all beginning to come to a close. We're doing a last social media push to let people know that now's the time to get involved if they haven't already, and we appreciate any bit of sharing you do, too. While we're savoring every moment until the campaign ends, here's littlemousedeer one last time to bring us a mood-setting playlist and interview with Cody Tenaglia about music, printmaking, and the love we put into objects we make and interact with.

Check out the Hazel playlist, curated by Cody, here: https://spoti.fi/2Exw6B0

Early on in our planning process, you were asked to make a Hazel playlist, which ended up becoming a group project with the other contributors. Can you talk about that process a little?

Cody: I enjoyed making the playlist, it was really fun. I haven't really made public playlists before, unless it was for work so this playlist was an experiment in figuring out what Hazel is to me through a music lens, and combining that with everyone else's vision by asking for suggestions. It was really eye-opening because I had my one perspective on the Hazel series and this particular book, but then everybody had these other viewpoints that came through in their music choices and it helped expand my own understanding of Hazel. There is this core theme of coziness, feminism, witchery, and the forest, but then you see how it branches out through all of our different perspectives and different mediums. We have entries on recipes, stories, guides, poetry, and visual art, which are inherently incorporated into the playlist. It makes it a really unique and immersive experience. There are happy songs, but the playlist definitely explores a melancholy place that's not necessarily dark. It allows space for all of these different feelings, so it has an authenticity to it. 

What are a few of your favorite songs from the playlist?

Chelsea Wolfe, Flatlands - I found this song through The Witch Wave podcast where Chelsea Wolfe was a guest. When I first heard the song, I didn't quite know what to think about it because it was a genre that I had never really engaged with before. It has a melancholy sound, and a yearning. She's wanting to expand her world and some of that feeling resonates with me. I would love to be out in flower fields or surrounded by orchard trees. I want to be in that natural place, which to me is a “Hazel” feeling. But it also reflects on embodying this place. You create it inside yourself when you aren’t able to be there physically.

In Love With a Ghost, feat. Ukuletea, heart of the woods (ending theme) -It has this simple structure where it only has a few vocal lines and an electronic rolling sound to it. There isn’t much of a narrative, but the main line is, “In this life, we have so much time, just give it time,” and it’s repeated almost like an incantation. One day this song started playing as I was walking to work, and I just started to cry. As an incantation, it really speaks to me about slowing down and not worrying so much about the future, especially right now.

Joey Pecoraro, The Sea - This song has such a happy, soft tone and it sounds like you're at the beach in an animated film. Relaxing, or maybe watching for mermaids, or collecting seashells. The atmospheric layering of sound puts me in such a good headspace.

S.J. Tucker, April Fool’s Day -It's one that's a little more upbeat. It's a first-person story about the musician and her group of friends traveling to meet up with their coven. I really enjoy the visual she uses about driving with all the windows down through the North Carolina mountains. We’re coming along with her for this ride, and it's full of this bright, spring energy. There are other voices recorded with her or talking in the background and they have these fun casual exchanges. It’s really sweet. 

Music can really set the mood for a project while you’re working. What are some other playlist themes that you gravitate towards?

Cody: Ever since I was a kid, musical scores have been a comfort for me. I have phases where I’ll listen to one soundtrack over and over while I’m working. I have a library of specific soundtracks that I turn towards when I’m not feeling one in particular. Having a score helps me to focus better than songs with vocals. It’s different with chores or when I need something to occupy my busy head. Admittedly, I really enjoy singing along with some musicals. It's totally opposite of most of the other music I listen to, but having something to sing along with while I'm doing a meaningless task is nice. But if I'm working on something that I'm trying to put my spirit into, then I’ll listen to instrumental video game soundtracks, like the score from Journey, or Stardew Valley, or Hollow Knight.

I also wanted to ask you about your patches and printmaking. How did you get into printmaking?

Cody: My interest in printmaking as an art form started in high school and evolved in college. A high school teacher had us do a lino-cut project at one point. Mine wasn't great because we were all just trying to figure it out, but that was my introduction to it. My college art program had a lot to choose from and I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do so I took a few printmaking classes, and that had a huge influence on me. We went to a printmaking convention in New Orleans which was wild - meeting all these people that do that for a career. I grew up pretty sheltered and didn't have a whole lot of internet access, so an art career was something I wanted but had no idea how to make a reality. I went to anime conventions every year and interacted with artists at their tables and that grew my interest, and I just thought, maybe I could figure out a way to make this art thing work.

Printmaking is where I learned a work ethic. There's a lot that goes into making a print. But I had professors who were just not understanding what I was going for visually. I eventually took an illustration class because I still wanted to draw and felt that maybe the printmaking direction wasn't for me. In illustration I made instant friends because all of them were nerdy. It was definitely a home for me, so I walked that path for a while and at one point, my instructor gave us a suggestion to carve rubber stamps. After the first one, I decided to make a couple more. It eventually translated into a couple of my senior projects. It was really relaxing to carve, and the small scale gave me a lot of control over the details and room to play with subject matter because I wasn't trying to create a full printed image on linoleum or MDF board. I was just making an octopus, for example. There was nothing else to it.

Since then I've continued to carve and found that using erasers and other soft rubber is the medium for me. I feel like you can do a lot more with it, especially if you don't have a printing press. I don't have a press and don’t usually have the time to carefully rub a larger print with a wooden spoon, which actually works well if you’re patient with it. But when you use soft rubber, you can just put your weight on it and that’s enough to print the image onto whatever surface you’re working with. I just stick with what feels best. 

My background is in art history instead of fine arts so I’ve never taken a printmaking class despite always wanting to, which means I only have theoretical printmaking knowledge. I’ve tried to do my own linocuts and they never print well. You’re talking about your rubber stamps and it makes so much sense!

Cody: If I were to give you a starter kit, the first thing I would get is… or this might even be something you already have laying around - the Staedtler Mars eraser, the white rubber erasers? I sand one side smooth really gently with sandpaper, then I draw out whatever it is I want to cut. Sometimes I use a Speedball Linoleum Cutter but more often than not, I just use an Exacto blade. I'll take the blade at an angle on both sides of the line, which will create the foundation to hold ink. I think trying simple shapes is the easiest way to experiment with carving, finding little things you like that you can use to decorate letters or a journal. Because you can use it over and over again, it’s rewarding to put a lot of time into making them.

Thanks for explaining that! I can’t wait to try making my own stamp now. Your website has a bookplate which you also printed, can you tell me more about it? I love it!

Cody: Thank you, I actually have a little story about the bookplate. My illustration professor gave us an optional assignment to create a bookplate. At the time, I was really frustrated with reading, so those feelings came out in the first bookplate illustration I made. I was trying to do some sort of half-hearted, satirical thing and my professor did not appreciate it. The assignment turned out fine, but I had to get through some feelings first. So the bookplate I made recently was an effort to mend my relationship with books. In high school and in college I just wasn’t reading a lot and wasn’t retaining what I read. In 2019, I decided to read a book every month and that helped to rekindle my love of books. I started with His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman because not only are they easy to read, but they have a very unique story so I was engaged with what I was reading. Continuing to read a book every month invigorated my interest in the bookplate project.

When I was redoing that project, I did a little research on bookplates and I enjoy the concept of books as timeless objects being kept in a family library, rather than something mass-produced to be consumed and then forgotten. Making the bookplate gave me nostalgia for a time I never experienced - there’s a word for that I think, “anemoia.” I want to honor and treasure the books that I have by putting artwork inside them. Even if I pass the book on, there's something unique in there and it becomes kind of historical in its own way. 

I love when I find a used book that has a treasure in it!

Cody: Oh my gosh, that’s when you know it needs to come home with you. Seeing notes inside written in the margins or when you open a book and it's been dedicated to someone. Someone loved it once. You have to think, “Now I can take this home and treasure the book just like they treasured it.” It gets really sentimental, and it's also an energy exchange. You can feel this positive energy because there's writing in a book or because it's a little dog-eared. You’re taking that “beloved” feeling into your care and into your space.

Thanks so much, Cody! I would love to get into block printing again - it's a lot of work, but it can be quite meditative, and very satisfying at the end when you can print as many copies as you like. Cody's Etsy shop and Instagram are a great way to find their work. Don't forget to help get the word out for our last couple of days, and have a lovely weekend~ Lucy

Stretch Goal Unlocked! Interview with Lulu VanHoagland on Art, Mental Health, and Potatoes
over 3 years ago – Sat, Aug 29, 2020 at 07:08:37 AM

Wow, we hit our next stretch goal! We unlocked better pay for our contributors, and that calls for a big thank you from everyone on the team, including an extra special one from Kirsten Petersen: She will be sharing her secrets to sourdough in the form of a video on the Cottonbook channel just for our backers, as a supplement to her wonderful piece in this year's Hazel issue. More on that, and our next revealed stretch goal (tote bags!) in a bit. Today, littlemousedeer brings us an interview with artist Lulu VanHoagland on her process, her cats, and most importantly, potatoes.  

 In your illustrations you combine clean lines, vibrant colors, and fashion with horror elements to great effect. Unrelated to all of this, you’re also a fan of potatoes. Where did this love start?

Potatoes are the universal food. They go with everything, haha. I find them to be a great comfort food. I have an issue with textures, and potatoes generally have a good one.

Is there one style of cooked potato that’s superior to all others regardless of the situation, or is it always context dependent?

It depends on context. I feel like a good mash or fry are at the top of my list for food that is good all the time, especially loaded fries. I went to Disney World with friends during the Food and Wine Festival and poutine was the first thing we had. It was so good! It was such a hot day though (p.s. the mango lassi drink from the EPCOT India Pavilion is amazing, but only when it's boozy because it adds an extra creamy texture to the drink).

There’s not a lot of room for gardening in Brooklyn. Have you ever tried to grow your own potatoes? Given the opportunity, would you give up the city life to become a potato farmer?

I'm not that much into gardening but my mother is. When we lived in a house, our backyard was her baby and it had lots of plants. We had SO many tomatoes and basil which are two important ingredients for Italian cooking, so that was a good move on her part. For example, caprese is made with tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella which we would often have on Sundays since it was our habit to buy fresh cheese from the pork store near us. Having two out of the three things at home all the time was useful. 

Speaking of food, you have a series of personified food pins. What inspired you to create these? Which one do you think would be the tastiest?

Honestly, the reason why food features as much as it does in my work is because of a lifelong fight with disordered eating. Food can do a lot of things, ya know? You can use it to celebrate, to bond with others, etc., but for me it's always been a symbol of isolation and failed coping mechanisms. I apply this to both directions of the disorder eating scale. Since it's something I struggle with, I put it in my work a lot.

Udon girl would be my personal favorite in terms of what I would eat. Kitsune Udon with a raw egg is a food I love so much. 

That udon sounds delicious. Mental health plays a big role in a lot of your creations, including a recently successful Kickstarter campaign (congrats!), zines, drawings, and enamel pins. Do your drawings act as catharsis or a way to help process feelings you have around mental health?

I don't know if they help me process my feelings. I don't know if anything ever has. Part of why I do what I do is because I realized that so many people don't know that their issues and struggles have names. They sit and assume their issues are only theirs and that creates a feeling of isolation even if the struggle is common. That isolation can be painful and even deadly, so it's more a "service," I guess. I'm not a mental health professional so I wouldn't say I'm an educator but I think it would be helpful for people to know that there are terms and ways to deal with the struggles they have. 

It's helpful to be able to put a name to a thing which may give people the option to learn more about themselves or seek help if they want it. Is this a theme that you'll continue exploring throughout your artistic process/journey?

Yes. I don’t like most “relatable” art because it feels too generic and doesn’t actually reveal anything about the creator, so I aim to make art that someone can relate to but have it hit deeper, if that makes sense. If that's what someone wants to read, I'm happy they've found something they enjoy. I am concerned, however, that it "quirkifies" very common behaviors. The human experience doesn't have to be overwhelmingly positive, but I do feel like even the less "attractive" bits should be seen as human, too, and that has to do with personalities and illnesses, too. One thing that surprised me was that so many people didn't know trichotillomania/dermatillomania (hair pulling and skin picking) were conditions with names. Some people said they felt too disgusted by it to even talk about it with a mental health professional. It's unfair to label these struggles as "too gross to talk about." That idea causes so much harm. It starts with knowing there's a reason why it happens, that it has a name, and you aren't weird for having it. In terms of lived experiences, everything that isn't an issue from birth has a reason why it has developed within a person. Maybe not everything has to be beautiful or loved, but you shouldn't hate or blame yourself for it either. 

You have a dedicated space on your website for cats, which is something we should all aspire to. How do your cats influence your art?

It’s a holdover from when I made cat comics. I’ve had life long depression. It gets worse and better in phases and at my very worst I could barely get out of bed. Sitting upright to do any kind of work was so hard, so I decided to make things I could finish within a few minutes. My depression would get worse the less I produced, but if I could finish a task in 5 minutes, that project completion was enough to satisfy me until the next day. I did this repeatedly until I was able to build myself up to work on something more extensive.

While I’m not proud of those drawings, they were somewhat popular and they were a stepping stone to making other things, so to honor them, they have their own section. 

With a couple of successful kickstarters and zines under your belt, it sounds like your method really helped! Were the cat comics inspired by your own cats? I’d love to hear a little about them.

Yes, they were just based on silly little things my cats do. I did this because I didn’t really have to think about or plan anything. They’re all simple real-life things. My cats each have their own personalities, so I gave them a silly voice to match, haha. 

We have to go meet these cats now! More seriously, it's great that art and media can make us feel seen and connected when we feel trapped inside ourselves and too weird to talk to others. I love that Lulu's art gives shape and name to problems people often struggle with alone, so they can start to talk about those things, and maybe it's a bit less scary when it takes the form of a girl in a pretty dress in an illustration. Check out Lulu's incredible work in her store and on her website, or just follow along with her art updates and cat updates on Instagram.