The Carbon Copy Collective is a new student organization at Kent State University dedicated to creating zines and giving members a chance to explore the art forms involved.
Kent State Today joined the organization for its second-ever meeting, which included a nature walk to gain inspiration for zine-making on campus.
“We’re a miniature magazine that makes all of our papers by hand,” said Bunny Lapinsky, the group’s president and founding member. “We collage, we paint and we talk about relevant things in different cultures and what’s going on in society.”
Lapinsky is a sophomore honors student studying fashion merchandising.
Zines, shortened from fanzines and fan magazines, are defined as homemade or online publications dedicated to specialized and often unconventional subject matter, of which fewer copies are made.
Whether someone is interested in joining as a writer or an artist, there is no barrier, and everyone is welcome at any skill level.
“The Carbon Copy Collective is a way for people of any background or any kind of lifestyle to come together and just create art together and to be able to connect,” Lapinsky said.
While Kent State already has more than 330 student organizations, all it takes is an idea, a couple of forms and three officers to start a new group.
“I wanted to have a publishing party, so I got it together. We came up with a name, and I applied to start a club,” said Lapinsky about her initial pitch for the group.
While the organization is just starting out, it is planning to have workshops, guest speakers and other community art events in the future.
In the internet age, physical media have struggled to keep a foothold, but that hasn’t stopped students from wanting to make art.
“I think that it is important to just have a space for people to come out and craft,” Lapinsky said. “I think there’s communication in art that is super important to try and learn how to do.”
Kent State Today also interviewed one of the organization’s members, Mia Maze-Ingram, who is a sophomore majoring in fashion merchandising and is considering a minor in journalism.
“I’m not creative in certain ways, but I love learning the process and the way in which people think about things,” Maze-Ingram said. “This club not only gives you a chance to talk to other people and learn stories, but to also read other people’s work and see their work and be able to experience it physically.”
Both shared that having a table at Blastoff was an integral part of their group’s recruitment and helped grab the attention of new students before classes started.
“We had so many sign-ups, and I think it was the visuals that kind of drew people in,” Maze-Ingram recalled about the event. “It was really good for the heart to see so many people interested in art and being creative.”
The club meets every other week and provides a collaborative space to create and gain inspiration for members’ own art projects. Once a year, the group will have a zine exchange to share its work.
“There’s no pressure to know everything about every topic or how to make a specific type of art,” Maze-Ingram said. “It’s very much a collage of just love and whatever we feel like creating.”
Follow along with “Club Hopping” as the university covers more student organizations on Kent State’s social media channels and Kent State Today.
