Creation Through Chaos

By Tanya Sotelo

It has been almost three years since Melina, the Editor in chief of Aurtistic Zine, and I first met and she invited me on the adventure that is Aurtistic. When she first told me of her idea, I thought it was amazing. When she asked me to be a part of it, I said yes immediately, although I will be honest: I thought she couldn’t be serious asking me, someone she had just met, to work with on this endeavor of hers. I soon found out that although Melina has a wicked sense of humor, she never jokes about her projects. Fast forward to now, we have three zines completed. Issue three of Aurtistic Zine is currently off to be polished up and printed, and our work for the next issue has begun. 
It was my go at deciding the theme for the next issue. We of course had a team meeting to discuss what still needed to be done for issue three and what to do next. It’s still surreal to me to have meetings virtually and not be in the same space, but I am glad to do that for the safety of everyone involved, and it doesn’t impede us from creating. Which inevitably led to the theme for the coming issue. There really was no way to not incorporate what is happening globally. We are still in the thick of it and nothing is certain. With that in mind I felt I could also share the theme here, because although the theme is for Aurtistic, the sentiment is not exclusive to it.
Many of us have lost the comfort of our routines and have been flung into uncertain waters. With the strangeness of this new reality in mind, our theme for the next issue of Aurtistic Zine is: Creation through Chaos. Show us how you are existing through these chaotic times. Did you subdue the chaos, overcome it, or perhaps make a friend of it? Are you finding solace in creation? Are you making new routines to replace the old? Or has social distancing been your normal and you are now finding yourself as a guide to those who are having difficulties navigating this new reality?

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