Some have called Karine Rupp-Stanko’s drawings childish — but she takes that as a compliment. From an impassioned ode to the corner of shops beside the Haywood Road Ingles to a humorous notion that more tattoo artists occupy Haywood Road than bakers, her whimsical illustrations paint a charming picture of West Asheville.

You may have seen Rupp Stanko's Instagram page, @up_and_down_asheville. But we're stepping beyond the paper to find what inspires her meditative and observational work — particularly her latest zine, available at AVL Zine Fest this weekend.

Asheville on paper

Rupp-Stanko doesn't drive — it's walking, biking, or riding the bus where she gets inspiration for her art. "Not driving gives you a very different pace and gaze on the neighborhood," she said. As she explores the smallest of areas, like her block, she says there's a never-ending supply of new things to draw.

"I've never lived in a place like this," she said, comparing Asheville to the historic town in France where she grew up. She admires the beauty of her hometown's tall white buildings, but said, "It's always the same." Since she moved here in 2020, she has seenI don't think you need to qualify it with "she recounts." It reads more cleanly to just say it homes, shops, and art change. "It's just so alive," she said.

Her colorful illustrations are penciled and inked onto paper scraps, old notebook pages, junk mailers, and sometimes grocery bags. Pieces are then put in a collage to illustrate personalized local scenes.

Rupp-Stanko is a self-described ambivert, striking a balance between introverted and extroverted tendencies, and that is evident in her art. Although her illustrations are intensely personal, for example illustrating the smells she encounters on a walk to West Asheville Library, her ultimate goal is to connect the community. "If I can even encourage 10 people to pay attention, I see the result in the way people talk — like 'Oh, did you notice this?'"

Pick up a copy of the zine at AVL Zine Fest. | Photo by AVLtoday

Inside the latest zine

Recently, Rupp-Stanko has been focusing her efforts on a zine highlighting the street art of West Asheville. She didn't start with the intention of creating a zine, but local murals are a source of inspiration for her, so the collection was a natural progression. It's somewhat of a return to form for her, after going back to school to study letterpress printing at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and earning her book arts certificate at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. She's previously published several solo and collaborative zines and was eager to get back into it.

You can find her "Haywood Murals" zine this Saturday, Sept. 21 at the AVL Zine Fest market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center for Craft. It illustrates a myriad of the masterpieces that grace the street with stories, anecdotes, and a map. The zine comes with a small scavenger hunt booklet, where you can mark off the locations of the murals included in the book once you visit them (bonus points if you find the manatee).

Psst... There's also more programming for AVL Zine Fest on Sunday, Sept. 22, including workshops at Firestorm Books and The Odd.