Awesome mail art call

Here's a fun one...

the endlessly creative and magical Mary England (of Uncustomary Art) has been selected to do an exhibit at the Top Of The World Observatory at the Baltimore, Maryland World Trade Center.  She will be exhibiting mail art from around the world, and she's looking for submissions.

The deadline to submit is January 24th, and theme is "What's Your View?"

You can read all about it by clicking here.

And if you don't already know Mary, spend some time on her website.  You won't be sorry.

Mail Art call and artist interview

Hello lovelies!

Since I won't be swapping here as often, I want to promote other artists who are hosting swaps, or putting out calls for mail art.  I'm a strong believer in using deadlines and themes to move your creativity forward.

I got a lovely email from Janel at Pinky Post, in which she introduced herself by way of this Q&A.  Janel sponsors mail art calls and turns the submissions into zines.  Her current theme is "All About Hair" and the deadline is February 28th.

Read more about it here.

Meanwhile, here's more about Pinky herself!

Q: Tell us about yourself

A: I live in California, USA, I am an Artist who likes photography, collage, pen and ink, I love dogs and have two of them. 

Q: When did you become interested in art?

A: After my dad bought me a Canon T-70 for my birthday, and in 8th grade I took a class in black and white photography.  I was hooked!  I have a BA in Art from Cal state, long beach, CA and was an exchanged student in photography and painting at Wolverhampton, England 

Q: What has your “art journey” been like? 

A: Like a starving artist...

Q: Describe the space where you create 

A: I have my second bedroom as a studio 

Q: How do you make time for art in your busy life? 

A: I  mostly create at nite, seems to be my most creative time, so I do not get enough sleep!!!! 

Q: Why do you create?  

A: I have to create, it's who I am, I feel incomplete with out it.   

Q: How does it enrich your life?  

A: I've met so many creative people because of the internet, it makes me feel not so alone in my studio, it's like all of us are in our little studios like hermit. haha, that come together via technology. 

Q: What’s your favorite thing about swapping or sending mail art?  A: Sharing it is my favorite thing, it just goes out there like a traveling show 

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your work? 

A: I have a website/blog  (it's in its beginning stages) at pinkypostzine.wordpress.com

Update

Hello, lovely swappers!

All evidence to the contrary,  I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I know it's been awfully quiet around here.  So quiet that you've started sending me emails, asking if I was okay.  I'm happy to report that I'm doing very well.

You may remember that I started a new job at the beginning of November.  All of October was spent wrapping up my old job and hiring/training my replacement.  With that behind me, I launched immediately into my new job and have spent an intense month cramming in as much learning as I can.  I feel like I'm finally coming up for air, and I can see that I'm really going to like my new position.  I'm excited and energized (and slightly exhausted) by its possibilities.

All of this day-time intensity has made me want to do nothing but read, watch TV, and sleep during my non-work hours.  

And now it's the holiday season, in which I historically remove myself from all things swap-related so that I can focus on time with my family.

So what does this mean for MMSA in 2015?

I don't know.

In early October I had quietly made up my mind to stop hosting, but now, after a number of swap-free weeks, I'm having second thoughts.  I think I will miss it if I go cold-turkey.

The thing is, swaps take a lot of time.

Each one takes at least 10 hours when you factor in all the scanning, tracking, blog posting, and actual mailing.  It's a huge time commitment, and it's kept me from working on my own art, and my personal correspondence.

I've absolutely loved doing it, and it's brought me a lot of joy, but as soon as my life got stressful this fall my feelings changed.  Swapping started to feel like a burden and a chore, and I resented the time it took away from my own pursuits.  I never want to feel this way about this group, so it's time to scale back.

We'll see what January brings.  Maybe a once a month swap will strike the right balance for me.  In the meantime, if you know of any other swaps going on out there, send me an email, or leave me a comment and I'll post info about them on the blog.  And I've been working on a detailed post about how I organize the MMSA swaps in case any of you are thinking of hosting your own swap once in a while.

Finally - the round postcards went out in Monday's mail.  I hope they start arriving in your mailboxes today!

Thanks for your friendship in 2014.

I'll see you in the new year!