Art Therapy #8

I am happy that Nancy and I are getting our lives back under control. She's moved. The Miata is gone. The Summer construction is finished. And we are back to sending weekly postcards.

A psychic once told me that I had 3 happy lives in Paris. I do believe that. I often search old photos seeing if something seems familiar. I have moments of deja vu when I see photos of the Montmarte area and the Sacre Coeur. This photo made Nancy think of me. And frankly I can't stop looking at it. When I see it I have that feeling when you are in a dream and can't quite remember something.

I think Nancy is happy in her new creative space. And it is showing in her postcards. Looking forward to a fall visit to see this new space!

These are all shots of textures from the Forge Art Show that was in our neighborhood. It certainly has a moody feel to it. Scroll down if you want to see more from that show.

I spend most of a day drawing these little mid-century looking trees for a Christmas card and then just tossed it all in the trash. One of those days when nothing works. I made this postcard out of the scraps and actually liked it. Maybe it will resurface again some day.

Art Therapy #7

Nancy and I have gotten off schedule. She is moving and my Miata died.

This was a pattern that I was playing with for a possible Minted card background.

And here are a couple brush strokes that I really like that I did use as a Minted background.

With the demise of my car I got a cool, red bike. On a bike ride I did a little watercolour. I like the water a lot. I could do this one again with much better results. For me the third time is generally a charm.

This one I did specifically with Nancy in mind. She loves the Mississippi and is in the middle of a move and rethinking the next chapter in her life.

This card is a Mother's Day card that is part of a book that Nancy is working on. Hopefully her new space will be a new creative writing space.

This card is Nancy's life right now. Lots of new changes, some life and others creative. Keep traveling in this direction Nancy, you have what it takes.

We may or may not pick this up when the dust settles. Either way this Art Therapy has been good for us, especially for me in the Winter months.

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.