I’ve been contemplating this for a while now, but coming
home to such a back-log of mail has given me some clarity.
I need to limit the number of items each person swaps.
I’ve always said “Make as many as you want” and some people
send one, and some people send a dozen, and it’s all worked out wonderfully.
But as we continue to grow, I have to recognize my time
limits. It takes a lot of time to scan,
log, post, swap, address all of this mail.
It’s pleasant work, and I enjoy it, but I need to be careful not to burn
myself out.
Rather than putting any limits on the number of
participants, I will limit the number of items any one person can send.
For most swaps, that number will be 4.
Certain swaps (such as the duct-tape journals
or the matchboxes we did last year) take a lot more time and effort for me to
document and package, so I might put a limit of 1 or 2 items on those.
I will include the specific item limit in each swap
description.
This will go into effect with all future swaps. The current open swaps will remain
“unlimited” since so many of you have already submitted your art.
I LOVE that these swaps get your creative juices flowing and
inspire you to create. I get messages
from you all the time telling me how a certain theme will really resonate with
you and expand beyond the specific swap and into your journals, canvases, and
other mail art.
If a future swap leads you into a late-night creativity
frenzy and you end up with 20 ATCs, consider sharing them with the good folks
on the “informal mail art exchange” list.
It tickles me to see how many MMSA swappers have connected with each
other outside of the official swaps, and have started exchanges and
collaborations on their own.
Relationships and connections are what it’s all about for
me. It’s what excites me about running
this group and makes all the administrative work so much fun. Yes, it’s glorious to see all this art in
person and be able to hold it and be inspired by it, but even more rewarding to
me is getting to know you all through your art, your notes, your comments and
emails. Art friendships are real and
sustaining, and I thank each and every one of you for enriching my life!