WHAT IS “ABRA-ZINE!” ?
Abra-zine! which is a play on the terms “Abracadabra” and “Magazine” is a seasonal E-mag that spotlights the magic of creativity and inspiration! My goal is to give all creatives a platform on which they can speak their minds and share their talents and creativity with our ever-growing global reader base!
Hi! I’m Justina – I am a self-admitted art supply hoarder and ex-Art School Geek who probably spends way too much time binging on quirky Netflix docs and Photoshop. (I should probably have carpel tunnel by now with all the blogging and editing I do!) Oh yea… I also LOATHE kidney beans… but besides the point! I bet you’re wondering how this groovy little E-mag came about and what inspires me to keep churning out all of these magically wonderful and creative issues? Well here’s its story…
When I was in high school, I would carry around a 5-Star Notebook (OH BOY, REMEMBER THOSE?!) and interview my friends about certain topics. Sometimes I would even let them write their own stories in it, so by the end, I would have a creative compilation of everyone’s thoughts and streams of consciousness. It really ignited a flame inside of me, and I truly enjoyed bringing everyone together through the stories in the notebook. Back then, the internet wasn’t really a thing yet, and I wasn’t really aware of programs like Photoshop or InDesign to aid me in the production of finished issues. I was just having fun playing “Editor” with some pencils and a notebook!
I officially started Abra-zine! in 2007, upon graduating art school I stumbled upon an online artist’s community that changed my life. It was called Deviant Art, and it was loaded with beautiful and inspiring visual art, photography, poetry, stories and the seemingly popular “Photo Manipulation”. These were digital art pieces created out of stock photography and a little creativity using the Photoshop Application. I could surf this artist’s mecca for hours and hours, wasting the day away, just downloading stocks, brushes, and reading tutorials on how to create my own pieces. It was here that I really started to come into my own with digital art platforms, as I was constantly working on honing my skills as a graphic designer and digital artist on a daily basis. I don’t remember exactly what gave me the urge to actually start the magazine, but I did it with a little help from my friends (Obvious Beatles Reference): my real life ones and also my newfound DA Family.
I only produced two issues after my startup, and ended up totally burnt out. I started to put my Sagittarian A.D.D. focus toward other projects and eventually discontinued the magazine indefinitely. The truth was, I was taking on way too much of a workload for just one person, on a monthly basis! I always had it in the back of my mind that I would start it up again, and I left it up to the universe to decide when that would be. Who would have thought it would be a whole 7 years later! In the winter of February 2014, I was going through some art withdrawals and was surfing the internet for more art communities I could be a part of. It was then that I found the WILD SISTERHOOD MAGAZINE. I believe I was truly meant to come across this, because Jenn Saunders, the WSM Editor in Chief had completely inspired me and reignited that flame that I once had, about editing and creating content for others to enjoy!
I told myself that if I did things this time, it would be what I KNEW I could handle, hence my decision to make it seasonal, creating only 4 issues a year. I am still to this day, a ONE WOMAN SHOW! I’d love for that to change one day and get more help so I could expand and put out more issues per year, but I am in no rush! I am just taking things as they come and enjoying the ride! I have already met so many lovely and creative people in the process and I am forever thankful to Miss Jenn Saunders for making the editor in me come alive once again!
I hope by running this magazine, I can also help ignite the passion inside each and every creative spirit who devours these pages. I hope they can take the inspiration served up here, and run wild with it! This passion project of mine, is truly for each and every one of them….
Justina
xoxo
Abra-zine! which is a play on the terms “Abracadabra” and “Magazine” is a seasonal E-mag that spotlights the magic of creativity and inspiration! My goal is to give all creatives a platform on which they can speak their minds and share their talents and creativity with our ever-growing global reader base!
Hi! I’m Justina – I am a self-admitted art supply hoarder and ex-Art School Geek who probably spends way too much time binging on quirky Netflix docs and Photoshop. (I should probably have carpel tunnel by now with all the blogging and editing I do!) Oh yea… I also LOATHE kidney beans… but besides the point! I bet you’re wondering how this groovy little E-mag came about and what inspires me to keep churning out all of these magically wonderful and creative issues? Well here’s its story…
When I was in high school, I would carry around a 5-Star Notebook (OH BOY, REMEMBER THOSE?!) and interview my friends about certain topics. Sometimes I would even let them write their own stories in it, so by the end, I would have a creative compilation of everyone’s thoughts and streams of consciousness. It really ignited a flame inside of me, and I truly enjoyed bringing everyone together through the stories in the notebook. Back then, the internet wasn’t really a thing yet, and I wasn’t really aware of programs like Photoshop or InDesign to aid me in the production of finished issues. I was just having fun playing “Editor” with some pencils and a notebook!
I officially started Abra-zine! in 2007, upon graduating art school I stumbled upon an online artist’s community that changed my life. It was called Deviant Art, and it was loaded with beautiful and inspiring visual art, photography, poetry, stories and the seemingly popular “Photo Manipulation”. These were digital art pieces created out of stock photography and a little creativity using the Photoshop Application. I could surf this artist’s mecca for hours and hours, wasting the day away, just downloading stocks, brushes, and reading tutorials on how to create my own pieces. It was here that I really started to come into my own with digital art platforms, as I was constantly working on honing my skills as a graphic designer and digital artist on a daily basis. I don’t remember exactly what gave me the urge to actually start the magazine, but I did it with a little help from my friends (Obvious Beatles Reference): my real life ones and also my newfound DA Family.
I only produced two issues after my startup, and ended up totally burnt out. I started to put my Sagittarian A.D.D. focus toward other projects and eventually discontinued the magazine indefinitely. The truth was, I was taking on way too much of a workload for just one person, on a monthly basis! I always had it in the back of my mind that I would start it up again, and I left it up to the universe to decide when that would be. Who would have thought it would be a whole 7 years later! In the winter of February 2014, I was going through some art withdrawals and was surfing the internet for more art communities I could be a part of. It was then that I found the WILD SISTERHOOD MAGAZINE. I believe I was truly meant to come across this, because Jenn Saunders, the WSM Editor in Chief had completely inspired me and reignited that flame that I once had, about editing and creating content for others to enjoy!
I told myself that if I did things this time, it would be what I KNEW I could handle, hence my decision to make it seasonal, creating only 4 issues a year. I am still to this day, a ONE WOMAN SHOW! I’d love for that to change one day and get more help so I could expand and put out more issues per year, but I am in no rush! I am just taking things as they come and enjoying the ride! I have already met so many lovely and creative people in the process and I am forever thankful to Miss Jenn Saunders for making the editor in me come alive once again!
I hope by running this magazine, I can also help ignite the passion inside each and every creative spirit who devours these pages. I hope they can take the inspiration served up here, and run wild with it! This passion project of mine, is truly for each and every one of them….
Justina
xoxo