The Gas Zine - Givemas Day Seven

Welcome to Givemas Day Seven! Today we are featuring wonderful Melbourne based zine-maker Madison Cravis about her recent project The Gas. Artist and Melbourne music enthusiast, Madison’s The Gas combines art and the music scene in one to create a handmade, personalised flourish for this psychedelic zine.

Thanks so much for chatting to KOS Magazine about The Gas. It’s been so great to see your new endeavour take off so suddenly! Was the zine something you’d wanted to create for a while or did it spring out of isolation creativity?

Thank you so much for having me! The Gas was definitely something that I had been wanting to create for a while, but I kept putting it on the back burner because I never had enough time to develop the concept properly. 

Thanks to isolation, I finally had nothing but time on my hands so I used that period during lockdown to really flesh out the concept of the zine and to start the production process at home.

I’m now working on the 4th issue and it’s definitely harder now that isolation is over, but I can always find enough energy to work on it as it makes me so happy. 

The Gas revolves around art and music in Melbourne and features little art goodies for readers as well! Has your love for the Melbourne scene grown through lockdown and have you felt it more important to support artists during this time?

I’ve always had a very strong love for the Melbourne scene, ever since I snuck into my first gig when I was 16, and always knew I wanted to be a part of it in any way I could.

I guess my love for it has grown during lockdown, probably because I was missing it so much. We are just so lucky to live in Melbourne - there is such an emphasis on the DIY culture in the music and arts scenes and it's so empowering that anyone and everyone can become an artist that way. 

You don’t need any expensive bells and whistles, just a strong enough passion for whatever it is you do.

It has never been more important to support local artists during this time as well, now that the industry is slowly getting back on its feet we need the support of all the music and art lovers in Melbourne to get it back to its once-thriving state. 

What are some of the bands and local musicians that you’ve featured so far and what has been one of the interviews you’ve loved conducting most?

So far I have featured three bands: Slypon, Choccy Salad and Sunfruits. They have all been incredible to work with and I’m absolutely honoured to have featured them in the first three issues. 

Working with Slypon was a highlight for me as I am very close with them and it felt very organic to design their spreads in the zine. They were also the first ever band to be featured so there was a lot of excitement and hype surrounding that interview and their contribution. It was the first stage of my journey with The Gas and so I’m super fond of that issue.

Choccy Salad are also absolute legends though. And Sunfruits!! I was so humbled to have had them contribute, I’d been following them for a while and was really keen to work with them.

They’re also very well known in the local scene right now so it was a big leap forward for me to have featured them. 

You’ve always had such a love and a knack for drawing, particularly in amazing funky psychedelic styles. When you were considering the creative look for The Gas, what were some of the decisions you made in how you wanted your zine to look and feel?

I actually threw around a crazy amount of ideas in regards to the aesthetics of the zine and had a lot of trouble settling on the final concept.

I considered the idea of each issue having a different theme, eg. sci-fi, 60s psychedelia, monochrome. But in the end I felt that instead of limiting myself to a particular theme each month, I should do the opposite.

I then decided that the overall design and aesthetic of the zine should simply be an embodiment of my own particular art style. I definitely have a strong psychedelic influence within my art, with a lot of bold colour palettes and quirky visual concepts. 

Usually what I do is I design the front cover first (each issue has a completely different cover) and then let the colour palettes and the overall feel of the whole zine be a reflection of the front cover. I find that this helps everything to tie in very nicely and create a cohesive feel. 

Zines are so old school, it’s so nice to see yourself and others still keeping them alive! What goes into making each edition of The Gas? Talk us through your awesome process!   

Ooh, such a good question. It's quite a lengthy process to complete each issue so I usually will start putting it all together at least six weeks before the actual release date. "

First and foremost I will approach the artists that I’d like to feature and conduct interviews with them, then I’ll start on the actual design aspects.

I hand draw everything from the front and back cover (as I mentioned earlier, I always start with the cover to set the aesthetic tone for the rest of the issue) to the filler pages. I’ll also make a brand new artwork of my own to feature, and write an article to go alongside it. 

Following that, I’ll draw up all of the filler pages (contents, intro page etc) and then make the spreads for the featured artists. With the artists' spreads, I usually try to create something that highlights their content without overpowering it. 

Then, once all of the pages are laid out, I print the zines, trim them to size and bind the spines by hand using a needle and twine. Once the zines themselves are put together I can then add all the extra goodies. 

I’ll construct small envelopes by hand to house the free stickers that come with each zine (usually 3-4 stickers, which I will design, print and die-cut by hand), and to also house the miniature album I make of the featured band’s latest release, complete with a tiny record inside with a Spotify code to link the reader to the music. 

Depending on the issue I’ll also make fold-out pages that I then attach to the zines. Each print run has twenty-five zines so repeat this process x25 and that’s how I do it! 

Your zine is handmade and you’ve mentioned online that not only is each edition unique, but so is every copy. Could you give us a little sneak peek into what sort of things you do to ensure each zine has its own personal touch? 

Each zine has its own unique touches in the 3D elements like the handcrafted envelopes. I’ll usually draw patterns on them and decorate them all differently so that each one is unique to that particular zine. 

Otherwise, there are always small mistakes or accidents that make the zines truly unique and special.

Considering they’re completely handmade, they’re bound to have a few little errors or flaws that only add to the very organic human element of them. 

I have some ideas in the works at the moment for future issues, focusing particularly on personalised touches to further expand on the uniqueness of each singular copy. 

What do you think it is about the handmade, personalised aspect of zines that keep people coming back to show their love and buy more? Are there some zines in particular that you are a fan of or like to collect?

I think that in an age where everything is focused so heavily on digital media and streaming and just basically living life through screens, it’s so nice and lush to have something that is completely organic and handmade. 

I love the feeling of holding something in your hands, reading it, feeling the texture of it, opening envelopes and pockets and finding hidden treasures inside; it makes me feel like a kid again. And furthermore, it’s a piece of art that anyone can afford to own. 

I make my prices as low as I can because I want everyone to be able to afford my art and to share in the joy of owning an original, collectible piece. 

I’m definitely a collector of art and I personally love collecting zines from live gigs.

Sometimes they’re just lying around the venue, strewn across tables waiting to be picked up, and sometimes they’re being sold at the merch stand. Either way, I love collecting zines as keepsakes as they’re just such a cool medium. 

What sort of reaction have you had from people to The Gas and did it surprise you at how eager people were?  

I was (and still am) certainly very pleasantly surprised at the response to the zine, especially the initial first issue. People have told me they are very enchanted by the interactive elements and love that receiving and reading the zine feels like such an exciting experience. 

I’ve also received some incredibly positive feedback about the physical quality of the zine and the craftsmanship, which absolutely warms my soul.

It makes me feel as though the countless late nights I spend fixated on all the tiny details and trying to achieve the perfect look and feel really is worth it. 

This has just been such a rewarding experience so far in terms of its reception and I’m so proud to hear from returning customers that they feel each issue gets better and better! I’m so full of gratitude for all of the incredible support for this project. 

You can check out Madison’s zine and other pieces of her art on Instagram here and follow her on facebook. You can also check out her personal film photography content and day to day life on her personal insta @madison.cravis.

This interview was part of our 12 Days of Givemas – our Christmas series that focuses on small businesses, charities and changemakers doing amazing work this festive season.

WORDS: NATALIE WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY MADISON CRAVIS