wonderful people. issue 1.
People don’t credit inspiration nearly enough, we are all products of that which inspires us. Without inspiration would we be the people we are today? Would we still hold the same opinions? Influence can be found in the most bizarre of places, but it’s when you forget to be inspired that life can get a little boring. With the internet at large, and information available at the click of a button it’s easy to be lost in the sea imagery and words. Influenced by everything but inspired by no one particular thing. This zine is to help focus on small individual influences and inspirations. To create a chain reaction of inspiration, so that the people that have inspired us can in turn inspire you. I have been inspired recently by everything that physically surrounds me, but above all by the people whom I meet.
1.
It is beyond interesting that we gain influence from people who we will never encounter in our lifetimes, and yet the impact they have on us as individuals can account for so many magical things. This zine is dedicated to wonderful people and this wonderful chain reaction.
2.
“I’m inspired by Terence McKenna because he drove past the stigma about psychedelic drugs to see what they were about and did extensive research into their effect on the evolution of human intelligence and culture”
“Alan Watts inspired me because he took all of the religious philosophies, mainly buddhism and hinduism, and explained all the concepts within them in a really simple and entertaining way.”
3.
“George Lucas because he created Star Wars, taking all the lessons from myth, legend and religious text and turning them into an epic cinematic saga that demonstrates the ideas of fate, and the cyclical nature of the universe.�
words - ryan parker. 4.
POWERFUL WOMAN.
“Frida Kahlo is a massive inspiration to me because she never let anything get in the way of making art work: from spinal injuries to relationship problems, she embraced it all and made work about it. Also, no one rocks a unibrow like this woman does.�
art&words - pippa mccolllom. 5.
6.
7.
“This is a strange print i did, which is inspired by Odilion Redon, a french symbolist.�
art&words - david pearson. 8.
9.
i am inspired everyday.
“It’s not specifically one person for me, i get inspired everyday. seeing how french people interact with one another inspires me to go home and learn my french, so i can interact like they do”
words - fern pearson.
For over 50 years she has completely devoted herself to so many people above and beyond being a wife, a mother, and nana. Yet she takes it all in her stride. If I can go through life being half the woman she is and has been to so many people, it would make me so proud. She is the ultimate reason for my happiness. She is my hero.
words - samantha younger.
“This image was inspired by when self developed a roll of film and some of the images overlapped and cut off from the reel. I mixed that with a pabo-esqe layout and theme.�
words - richy huck.
Dita Von Teese is my inspiration. To me she is the physical embodiment of sex appeal. Through her femme fetal persona and her role as a burlesque dancer she emancipates woman, freeing them of society’s usual constraints, by being both sophisticated, and daring.
13.
She has shown constant dedication for her art form . She is who she is and her unapologetic manner strips back the conventional ideals of femininity and how a ‘beautiful woman’ should be. She has helped liberate the female body, presenting it as something which belongs to one’s self and not an object to be controlled or dictated by others. Her work flares a sense of controversy and debate but is not limited to this. She tackles issues which have restricted social change for woman of all generations. Her self-expression should be understood as a mechanism used to embark on ideas of self appreciation. Her voice and actions I believe effectively provide a platform for women at the forefront by regaining power over our own female experience.
words - christina tavaya. 14.
PAINTING - DAVID PEARSON. My own inspiration for this zine.
16.
When I found an old box of jewellery in a garage clear out I was more than surprised to find out each pieces had been handmade by my grandmother. It struck me as odd because these bold and beautiful pieces had been created by a woman whose life was actually quite dreary and ugly. She was a single mother providing for her three children in a country foreign to her. She spent her days managing care of a self-made mattress business and her nights defending her children from her drunk tenants. I used to think of her in a melancholy light, wondering if she was ever resentful that her life was snatched from her the moment she was married off at the age of 18, to a budding politician who got bored after the birth of their third child and left for England. Still innocently in love with her husband, my grandmother left her children in Bangladesh to London, only to discover he had in a relationship and was no longer interested in their marriage. Despite this, she wanted her children to have a father and so she had them sent to England where she made sure they knew him as they grew up even though he denied the existence of his marriage and refused to provide any financial support. The effects of these experiences became evident on her later in her life and she grew into the tough and stoic lady that I had only ever known.
However, these pieces of jewellery have given me the chance to think of her in a way I never have before. For the first time I’ve been able think of her as a woman who still found beauty in her broken life. The grape bunch earrings show me she possessed a creative vision that probably saved her from breaking down in times more emotionally taxing than anyone could imagine. Her choice of defiant colours reflects her own defiance against defeat, never admitting to it. Unable to afford the clothes she wanted to wear and the jewellery she wanted to buy, she found this way of expressing her own ideas of fashion. These pieces speak a lot about the woman that became smothered underneath such a burdensome life and though she’s gone now her jewellery pieces speak volumes of her independence, optimism and strength.
words - fabiha anwar.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
19.
Of all the inspiring people I have met, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is by far and away the crown jewel. What he has given to the world is the most extraordinary presentation of how to enter progress and complete the spiritual path to a fully happy mind and the true solution to all of our problems. When the world seems so troubled uncertain and confused he gives hope that genuine world peace is possible. His tireless efforts in providing books, Buddhist centres, and temples, prayers, ordained and lay sangha communities, festivals, celebrations, meditation cd’s, children’s programmes, qualified statues and images, retreat centres, study e books, and so much more. These are his gifts to the modern world. He has forged a new wave of incredibly practical instructions, taking the ancient wisdom of Buddha and Je Tsong Khapa and bringing i into the context of peoples everyday situations to transform them into happier more meaningful and beneficial lives. From my first encounter with him my life was irrevocably changed for the better. All that I am and all that I enjoy and can give to others i attribute to his kindness. He is my everything.
Words - Ke;sang Dragden. 20.
i am inspired by words.
21.
What does your tattoo represent? I left my notebook out whilst in Cambodia and one of the children used it to practice her English, I have had it tattooed because the words mean so much more because of what they meant to her. Who is one of the most inspiring writers to you? It has to be Tolken. Why? He created something out of nothing. He created something that didn’t exist, he took everything that had ever inspired him and put it into something that now we can stand and look at. Something we can physically hold. Wouldn’t some say that what he’s created isn’t physical? Those characters exist, whether that is through words or through film they are something physical in my life. They are real to me through words.
words - eleanor thirlway. 22.
THE END OF THE CHAIN REACTION.