honor roll zine

february 2018

honor roll zine art by chicago teens

this is a zine that contains art created by teenagers from Chicago, IL. the theme of this zine is “the new year”. the art that you will find in this zine contains self-reflection of one’s self and of one’s surroundings and how the theme of the new year plays into that. the art in this zine is solely made by teenagers. my generation inspires me so much every day with the music, poems, paintings, photographs, etc that they create and put out into the world. they are trend-setters and out-of-the-box thinkers and life-livers and i could not be more proud to be a part of this group of super cool human beings. something that i’ve noticed recently is that, in my experience, there is a very supportive artistic community among teenagers right now. instead of putting others down for their artwork, teens are supporting and encouraging others for their artwork. so, to keep the ball rolling, i made this zine showcasing work by a few of these super cool humans and so that more people can hear what they have to say and what they have to show to the world. i hope that you enjoy and are inspired to create and showcase some of your own work!

-Lola Chalmers-Dibbell, creator-of-zine

contributors Isaiah Alvarez Kanyinsola Anifowoshe Lola Chalmers-Dibbell Dylan Comerford Jackson Fabiyi Veronica Gibson Destiny Harris Cynthia Juarez Leah Malan Nancy Perez Layla Soria Kimberly Velazquez cover work by Veronica Gibson background art from Georgia O’Keeffe by Georgia O’Keeffe, 1976.

a collage by Dylan Comerford

this is the year to start relaxing and to focus on loving yourself.

“if i am your child” i sat myself down in the grand shadow of a tree limbs folding and refracting so as not to disrupt the crooked balance my ankle clattered against the ground soon i will drag my feet when you call my name my eyes wandered upward in search of the brown, sharp, scraggly point signaling the end of your empire yet you stretched to the skies and i lay on the ground you posed the types of questions that i was not sure how to answer and that sent a loose chill through the bones of my back i would dream of a sun that sang with your eyes drooping and humming without the strength to hold themselves up miles without refuge from the simple heat of your gaze before i could take inventory of each fingertip and crooked nail you were disappearing me my mother’s blood boiled to evaporation my eyes my everything a dazzling light a poem by Kanyinsola Anifowoshe i wrote this poem when i was sitting at the beach in the shade of this giant tree. the tree was surrounding and shadowing me in a way that felt very reminiscent of my relationship with my mom. i love her but at that time, it felt like she (and her ideas about what i should be doing with my life) were casting a huge shadow over me in a way. the poem is based on a combination of my literal experiences sitting there in that tree and my emotional experiences regarding me and my mom.

a series of photos by Veronica Gibson

i try to make each picture interesting, unique if i can. i strive to create evocative images, particularly images that evoke confusion, a second glance, or questions. i really love color, surrealism, texture, and interesting lighting, but most of all, i love connecting with the people i take photos of, and giving them photos of themselves they would be proud to show someone else.

a couple months ago, i traveled to India with my parents in order to visit my Indian family. i focused on the people I saw around me: street vendors, children on motorcycles, rickshaw drivers, you name it. everything was so new and interesting to me, and i attempted to capture it all. it was a little difficult since we were often in moving vehicles, or in regions where being a mixed family makes you stick out like a sore thumb, but i managed to capture thousands of photos. overall, the trip was a truly life changing experience.

a series of photos by Jackson Fabiyi

this year has held a ton of surprises for me, and most of them have been unpleasant. these surprises threw me into a cycle of self-destruction that destroyed the person that i was a year ago. through self-destruction, i am rebuilding myself into a new and better person this new year. these images are a representation of that.

“new year, same good ol’ music” a series of photos by Isaiah Alvarez

there is something gritty about live performances. the haunting feeling of being vulnerable. these pictures remind me that if you’re yourself, it doesn’t matter who’s in the crowd watching.

the bands pictured are Case and The Slaps.

“Reflection Of A Year” 1- 1/30/17 1:25pm Aura of your approval meant more than your love 2- 2/14/17 5:50pm I didn’t think I loved you until you loved her 3- 3/16/17 8:26pm You never left but the smile in your eyes did 4- 4/20/17 12:05am Caught writing a poem I would never share before midnight 5- 5/20/17 2:00pm You held my glass heart inside you but it shattered and somehow I was the one bleeding.

6- 6/16/17 2:36pm I’m sorry for forgiving someone that never even wanted to be sorry.

7- 7/21/17 12:17pm Right now there’s someone missing you like crazy just like you’re missing someone else.

8- 8/20/17 10:19pm All my stories all my writing was just our story rewritten again and again.

9- 9/22/17 10:21pm You came back after breaking my heart but your actions were like cheap glue; they only made things messy.

10- 10/24/17 10:49pm You’re confusing yet familiar. You’re a whole new chapter in the book of my life but it’s almost as if I’ve read it already. Like looking at the flowers I pass everyday there’s comfort in the familiarity of a maze I’ve never been in but you contradict words you’ve not yet spoken that leave me feeling dazed with some many emotions having been awoken so I’ll just sit and wait for a story to write itself while blowing on a dandelion just as well.

11- 11/4/17 8:11am I met you when the leaves started to fall and maybe that’s why I let myself love you so quick. The leaves were there to catch me.

12- 12/10/17 3:41pm I’d search far and wide just for a ribbon to tie us back together as if nothing changed.

a poem by Nancy Perez the theme for this zine was “the new year“ so i decided to take one poem from each month to kind of reflect how i was feeling and even though a lot of it was crazy stupid feelings i was going through, i enjoy going back and reading what i wrote about because at the time it was everything to me and now it’s just a distant memory i can let go of to start the new year.

a series of photos by Layla Soria

the process of photography is a very difficult one, but i don’t mind it. it is something that i want to do in life and hopefully i make it far in the photography field. i hope that you enjoy these photos as much as i enjoyed taking them.

embroidery by Leah Malan

i made this because my mom liked to embroider and sew, and i have always thought that anatomical hearts looked interesting.

Untitled piece I wish I could mold my self hate into a piggy bank. A piggy bank to be stored into my unconscious mind so that each self criticism becomes out of reach once placed in the bank And once the criticism is in, it can’t be reused And the way to access this self criticism again is to break the bank and I’d never be confident enough to break the bank The only way to get rid of this bank of self doubt and criticism on this tall shelf would be for me to reach my peak of self love and to gain the length in my body to reach the bank and smash and cleanse my life of every toxic self doubt and criticism But this would be too hard because the bank would placed on the highest shelf closest to self actualization and self love and all this shit I preach to others in #treatyourself tweets but don’t practice But I’d find a way around the system of entering self criticisms by reincarnating them into a slightly different wording and become all the creativity my mind was lacking when creating this poem In this new year I hope to only access this piggy bank of self criticisms on rainy days I hope to have few rainy days Rainy days will be rare because the radiance of self love I am learning to have will be radiant enough to outshine any dark day.

a poem by Destiny Harris poetry for me is a creative outlet that allows my voice to be heard and allows me to tell my story. poetry for me is a form of creative resistance. it is what i use to speak out against the discriminations of systematic oppression and to release the emotions and thoughts i for so long internalized.

a photo by Cynthia Juarez new years is a time to self reflect and give thanks for what that year gave you. maybe it wasn’t your year but you got the chance to grow as a person. learn from those experiences and grow.

“nine day freeze” are you bored of me? this is the first day of the freezing and i can’t help but wonder. temperatures are dropping the world is getting colder my heater is broken my skin is ice cold to the touch and i texted you one hour ago. three risky words. i am still waiting for a response you never used to take this long to respond. did i scare you away? each minute that creeps by at Time’s pitiful pace breaks me just a little bit more tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. i text you again “do you love me too?” i wish i could feel nothing as easily as you do. today is the third day of the freezing they say that there’s a snow storm coming and the cold breeze turns my lips a shade of purple and shatters my bones to tiny little bone pieces days are passing and you still haven’t responded.

tears are frozen on my face as if time is at a stand still. are you sick of me? on the fifth day of the freezing it starts to snow and my lungs have stopped working i can no longer breathe. on the seventh day of the freezing no one is allowed to go outside anymore the blood has stopped flowing through my veins and i can’t help but wonder are you done with me? on the ninth day of the freezing temperatures reach below zero the earth is now covered in ice and my heart has stopped beating. i walk to your house and glance through your window where you are curled up in a blanket on the couch innocently watching tv as if you’re not responsible for my brokenness. as i knock on your door my fingers start to fall off one by one you meet me at the door and your breath fogs the air around us but i can see you perfectly clear now.

one hour passes bloody deed done and now you have been broken just like i have your breath no longer able to fog the air and my hands are covered in the red blood that once flowed through your delicate veins and it won’t wash off in the freshly fallen snow no matter how hard i try and your lips are a deep shade of purple and your gaze is cold as ice and i bet that now you regret not caring about me.

a poem by Lola Chalmers-Dibbell the freezing temperatures and icy weather that come with the new years season inspired me to write this poem about a person who is treated very coldly and reacts very coldly. another inspiration was Macbeth, which i have been reading for class.

photos by Kimberly Velazquez

this picture to me means that people always need to look for a different path even if there are obstacles in the way. it may be one of the simplest paths but it’s better than nothing.

everyone deserves a new adventure.

thank you for reading.

INSTAGRAM: @honorrollzine