In which we discuss Zine Fests, Christmas Fairs and travel; oh my.
What’s been going on?
As I write I am on a rather quiet train from Dundee which is travelling through the picturesque Scottish Countryside. It is every bit as beautiful and as peaceful as you can imagine that it is.
It would be more peaceful if the character sitting immediately next to me in the otherwise empty carriage who has decided it’s appropriate to eat sushi as a train snack and thinks that shouted conversations down a mobile phone are appropriate in public had exercised their liberty to sit literally anywhere else, but I’m trying to romanticise my journey never the less.
This eye twitching journey is the briefest pauses in my otherwise packed schedule which is getting more and more booked up as time goes on, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll approach things chronologically shall we?
Weren’t you at Dundee Zine Fest?
Dundee Zine Fest 2024
Dundee Zine Fest was one of the first big in person events that I’ve tabled at since COVID, so beforehand I was predictably a little nervous.
It wasn’t the COVID of it all, I’ve become used to and desensitised to being approached by people in public. I’m a prolific user of public transport, so I spend hours a day breathing in other people’s sweaty exhalations. I’m as disgusted by the thought as you, but the licence-less unfortunately don’t have any other alternative.
Instead I was nervous about whether people would like my stuff or not, and whether would take me seriously or not. How normal, predictable and not at all insightful. We’re all afraid of being judged, and despite how much working as an artist in 2024 takes a certain amount of “well I just have to show up every day whether people like it or not” there can be few feelings as bad as being surrounded by people who’s work people are enjoying, and having very little engagement yourself.
In hindsight I was probably so afraid and so unprepared for that during my degree show it’s probably what led to me having a mini breakdown.
It turns out however; that I didn’t have to worry, because not only were people more than happy to engage with my work (which I was over the moon about), but as is usually the case with Zine Meets, the other people tabling are your biggest supporters.
I ended up sitting next to Jared Schiller, who was great company for the day.
Jared is the artist behind the world’s first contemporary art exhibition for chickens and if James Dyson has no haters, then something has happened to Jared and someone should check on him immediately.
Despite having great work, including a stunning print of Henry Hoover which drew a lot of attention over the day, Jared was also just good company and it was an absolute pleasure to hang out with him during the day.
I also had a good chat with Jake Parappa Hainey about horror film, and how excited we are for the new Nosferatu film, and how much we love Willem Dafoe in the last Nosferatu film he was in. Jake has some stunning horror themed stuff like this zine, predictably about Count Orlock and this cute vampire zine, you can check out more of his work on instagram here.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Ele Roscoe, @KippleAndPelf on instagram, whose badges I had clocked before the day, and then promptly got obsessed with. I picked up Zine Goth and Zine Gay, and bemoaned the fact that I couldn’t pick up a Gay Zine Goth badge, loudly and repeatedly in the hopes that it joins the roster. I also managed to trade some zines with them before everyone skedaddled for the day.
And before anyone really knew where they were it was suddenly time to pack up and go home. The weather was starting to turn in Dundee that night so understandably most people were keen to get away, after having a long day even if it were with pleasant company.
There were many more people than I could possible mention here, but Dundee Zine Fest on Instagram gave everyone a great shoutout before the event and honestly everyone who attended deserves a follow, so you should check everyone out.
I never know why packing things to go home always seems to take less space than packing things to take them down somewhere, but once I was packed up it was time to head home and then just get back on with my life, but things are never dull for long, because we were immediately back into the studio because I was trying to get things finished for the Verdant Works Christmas Market, because at this time of year, the events keep coming and they just keep coming.
We did manage to get a nice little team photo before everyone went home however.
A few days in the studio was thankfully enough however, due to the benefit of always being anxious that the worst will happen, and planning for that eventuality, so by the time it reached Saturday and it was time to head down to the Verdant Works I was as prepared as it was possible for me to be, and even prepared for a mad couple of outcomes which wouldn’t happen in anyone’s most distant and seediest nightmares.
The one thing that you can never prepare for however is the weather, so when Storm Bert and the madness that came with it paid everyone its first visit on Saturday, despite the warm hearts of the Crafters and Makers in the market, I can understand why people stayed home, and more importantly stayed safe.
Despite the weather however, the Craft and Makers market still managed to go ahead, and still managed to play host to Dundee Community Youth Orchestra on Saturday, and the choirs The Notables and The New Dundee Choir Who Doesn’t Have a Name Yet.
And despite the damp, windy and disrupted Saturday, Sunday was thankfully a lot clearer, brighter and most importantly warmer, so the footfall was higher, and I managed to have a great chat with a lot of the people passing, and that’s always the part that I enjoy most, regardless of what part of my job I’m doing it for.
So why are you travelling today?
Tomorrow The Young Scotland Programme November 2024 kicks off, so again I’m working as a member of the team for the rest of the week.
We have the same fun and thought provoking sessions that I never write about in case a delegate finds my Studio Updates and gets a leg up on the competition (even though everything is outlined in the pack they receive before they attend), but I’m really looking forward to our Programme this year.
It’s not only our first programme since our big run; so the first time we’ve all been together since the big day, but it’s also our last Programme of 2024, which has me feeling a bit bittersweet.
It’s got me thinking a bit about the future, and although I’m excited about what 2025 has to bring; at least when it comes to Josh Moir Art, the rest of the world I’m less sure about.
On that note, it’s Question of the Week Time.
What are you hopeful for in 2025?
It can be something personal, something for the world to try to improve how bleak everything feels, or just something simple that will bring you a bit of joy in 2025.
One thing that’s brought me a little joy recently?
The Anime Dan da dan on Netflix.
I’m not really one to be bigging up Netflix. They’ve cancelled too many shows that I was too heavily into for me to ever forgive them, but Dandadan has grabbed my attention. It was a recommendation that came to me through TikTok and if you know anything about me, you know that I’ve got a mad list of things TikTok has recommended to me that I am DESPERATE to get through, but I keep adding more to it than I can get through.
Dan Da Dan is something that’s managed to cut through the noise however, mainly because the opening is some of my favourite animation I’ve seen in a long time.
With that, I’m going to have to get ready to meet the team for dinner, so if you follow me on instagram you can keep up with the cool things I’ll be getting up to this week.
Apart from that, have a nice week and stay safe, because the worst of the weather might be over, but there are still remnants of Bert out there.
-Josh x
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