sweet, sweet mail...

I want to share this with you because it is so perfect.

And it hits the mark on so many levels. Some sweet words, nice lettering, the colors all work in a nice subtle way and the stamps.

Yes the stamps, not only do I like the stamps but I enjoy the positioning of them and that it was hand cancelled.

But the stamp. I admired it on the envelope and then went to the Van Gogh to Pollock exhibit a couple days later and...

Here was the exact Motherwell painting. I love it that I could text a picture of this to my friend who of course had chosen that stamp especially for me.

I know you are wondering what was in the envelope. Well it is a very old Carte Postale stamped 27 4 08. For some reason I have a real connection to the Sacre Coeur.

And then a couple days later I got another meaningful card in the mail. My ex-roomie Rhonda had bought this card for me over a year ago. The illustration is an actual piece of vintage, hand blocked, painted wallpaper. And because she knows me so well the message was dead on. And just the thing I needed to read that day. Thanks Rhonda!

I realize the bar is pretty high here but ignore that and send your Mom or Grandma a card. In a sea of bills and catalogs there is real power in real mail. I know this to be true.

mail art #2

More Mail Art! This time it is for Crystal of Tart Workshop  so I had to bring my "A" game. These note cards are not hand printed. But these letters are from my as yet unnamed, new, big, script font. I created a few note cards, had them printed and mailed them off.

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Again this is not handlettered, but I did use 3 of my fonts to address.

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And I collaged the back of the envelope with things I had in my office. It was probably over kill. But fun to do.

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This little package of goodies went to my friend Laurie.

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And it appears I forgot to photo the actual Mail Art lettering piece that is in the envelope, which was Laurie's horoscope.

Mail Art... fun to do, even more fun to get.

mail art

What is mail art you ask. Well Wikipedia says... Mail art (also known as Postal art and Correspondence art) is a populist artistic movement centered on sending small scale works through the postal service. It initially developed out of the Fluxus movement in the 1950s and 60s, though it has since developed into a global movement that continues to the present. The American artist Ray Johnson is considered to be the first mail artist, and the New York Correspondence School that he developed is considered the first self-conscious network of mail artists.

Crystal Kluge's calligraphy class I took in January had people wishing they got nice things in the mail. That developed into 9 of us starting  a Mail Art group.

In February I had Susan and it was Valentine's Day. So I made a little hand sewn paper Valentine. I put it in a nice little box and added some office supplies. My personal goal for the Mail Art is to make it all out of things I have in my office or my gift drawer.

And the idea is also to send it in an interesting envelope. I think that most people will showcase their calligraphy skills. Since I don't have any I am just doing my own thing and creating something interesting. It is art after all, there should no be rules.

March's Mail Art went to A. Yes that is the name she uses. Since I did not receive anything in February or March from my group I decided to be less elaborate that month. So I did an "A is for...." piece of lettering.

While it would be nice to receive something from someone I do enjoy thinking about my April Mail Art. It is a good creative exercise.

An interesting aside is that my friend's 80-something Mom has every single thing I have ever written to her over the years. Every single thing. She now has bulletin boards and has them all up. She moved from her big house to living with my friend and that is what she brought with her. I now write to her weekly. Generally it is a postcard, nicely lettered. Or I share with her whatever font I am working on and pictures of the grand kids. Real mail does change lives. It is an connection like no other.

Do any of you do Mail Art? Or make and send your own postcards? Or send interesting mail to the elderly or sick? If so, plz share.