Random Acts of Mail Art Kindness - part 5

 Joanne is at it again!  She is sending more wonderful mail art into the world, and has written this lovely post for us.

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FIRST KINDNESS ART

R., one of my mother’s good friends, still lives in my hometown. She’s a shut-in, but I walk down to a visit every time I go back. R. attended china painting classes with my mother for many years (before my mother passed away), and because she likes flowers, I had been thinking that if I got a nice, painted, mail art postcard, that I should send it to her. When I made this one for the orange/aqua swap, I knew this had to go to R. (The white checkered inclusion is from a roll of sheet rock tape that I got at a thrift store. It’s a bit sticky on one side, and I find it adds a nice dimension to mail art collage.)

SECOND KINDNESS ART

I wrote another letter to Nicole, who is on a mission in South Korea (see RAK posting #3), and and sent along a couple more APCs (these, with a rain theme).

Below: The front of the envelope at the post office, stamped, cancelled and ready to go. It also has my first two artistamps on the front.

Below: The collaged envelope back, including more sheetrock tape. 

I sent the two umbrella APCs (watercolor and water-soluble crayons) in another cut-down, adhered, baseball-card plastic sleeve. The musical background was a happenstance find. The vertical staffs situate the umbrellas in a visual downpour, and the quarter and eighth notes (like the big drops in the larger deluge) hint at the staccato sound that rain makes when it hits the roof. 

THIRD KINDNESS ART

Of all the aqua/orange postcards I made, I kept a few aside to send for RAK. This unfortunate individual (guy? gal?) started out as a random watercolor blob that I developed with ink to create a spoof on the fashion industry, by creating what had to be the worst-dressed sea-monster ever 

I sent this to a friend, C., who attends our local church, in part because she signed up to receive some of my mail art. This came about as a result of a family history fair that we had at our church.

Below: Four of the many displays immediately after set-up. 

This month, each family was invited to create a table display of something relating to their ancestors. These included stories, pictures, genealogies, antiques, or even a favorite food item (the two most unique being vinegar taffy, and arepas, which are fried corn cakes that a Bolivian family brought).

I had lots of options for my display, but if I focused on mail art, I could talk about the artists on my father’s side of the family. In addition, I could showcase some of my own mail art, along with many of the pieces I had received from MMSA. I also printed up the partial entry for RAK #3 (see lower right, on the table), which featured Nicole Naatjes, whom everyone there knows, and I was able to have several good conversations with people and explain what mail art was. 

The clipboard in front was for people to sign up if they wanted to receive a piece of my mail art sometime. C. signed up, so she got the poorly dressed man/woman. 

Below: My mail art display, featuring my artistic ancestors.

Below: The elementary school children enjoyed seeing the various states and countries where the various MMSA cards had come from. (Photo used with permission of the boys’ mothers.)

As an interesting side note, one woman, realizing my interest in snail mail, invited me over to her exhibit, where she showed me a genuine, 100-year-old penny postcard. Her great-grandfather, “Yours, with love” Asahel (pronounced like “basil,” only without the “b”), sent it to her great-grandmother, “Dear Edith.” 

The two were courting at the time, and in a barely legible scrawl, he let her know that he’d be there at the train station waiting for her (“I will be very glad to see you again it -- has been too long,” it says), and that if she wasn’t on the 8:45 train, he’d wait for the 9:45. 

What was interesting about this old Massachusetts postcard was that Asahel (a sawmill worker) was 27 years older than his wife, whom he married shortly after sending this card. On their wedding day, he was 52, she was 25, it being a first marriage for both of them, apparently. Thus despite the age difference, they met, fell in love, and went on to raise a lovely family. How’s that for a romantic Valentine’s Day story?

Random Acts of Mail Art Kindness - part 4

Our random acts of mail art kindness series continues with these lovely contributions.

Here's the card and story from Judith:

I'm going to send this card to people who befriended us last year when we spent a month in Venice, Florida. It wasn't a hardship but the "befriending" still made an enormous contribution to my happiness. It turned out I had some experience that was relevant to a project these new friends were working on, so we had a lovely exchange. This winter, I'm remembering them and saying thank you. The card didn't take long to make, but I love how it came out. Drugstore disposable cameras are overwhelmed by the bright light of the tropics, and the results are sometimes very interesting.

Terrie made a batch of Valentine's day postcards for children who are hospitalized.  (read more about the project here.)  She wants to remind you that you still have time to join this great cause!

Random Acts of Mail Art Kindness - part 3

Today's random act of mail art kindness deserves a post of its own.

Joanne sent a “mail-art show in a bag” to someone from her city who is serving a mission in South Korea. She sent me a wonderful narrative of her project in words and pictures.  Enjoy!

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Nicole Naatjes (Sister Naatjes) is 20-year-old young woman from our local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). She is on a break from college to be a volunteer missionary for18 months. She lives in a South Korean neighborhood, and is learning to speak and read Korean, while sharing our religious beliefs with others. She’s also eating lots of authentic food such as pig intestines, pigs’ feet, kimchi, and seaweed.
Since Sister Naatjes has asked for snail mail from home, and since she might be homesick sometimes, I decided to send her some mail art, full of uplifting quotes and artwork. I suspect that there’s enough for her there to curate a rotating-but-nevertheless-mini art show in her apartment, providing an endless exhibit for her three roommates, as she changes what’s on display. Either that, or she can play a very short, very uninteresting game of APC “Go Fish, while doing her laundry each week. (Just kidding on both. She’s no doubt plenty busy with other things, but I suppose she could what I suggested, if she wanted to.)
Below: Sister Naatjes is on the left. Sister King, her current missionary companion, is on the right) 

Sister Naatjes on a South Korean street. (These two photos from Nicole’s missionary blog, http:// nicolenaatjesmission.blogspot.com/, reposted with permission of Nicole’s mother) 

Here are the contents of the “mail-art show in a bag,” spread out on the table: 

I started by making four altered playing cards (APCs). The muted collage elements, along with the inspirational quotes, came from a coffee table book with Asian designs. I was going for a clean, zen-like look: 

I decided to make a “frame” for the cards to travel in. You can’t see it here, but the top layer of this collage is a plastic baseball card sleeve that I trimmed to fit. 

Here the three cards are slid into their pockets, with the fourth in process of going in: 

All four cards will now be kept separate and jostle-free during travel: 

I turned the APC frame over and painted a watercolor, inspirational piece, this being the largest painting (6” x 9”) in her collection: 

In the “random act of kindness” spirit, I included two blank mail art postcards for her to pass along, so that she can join in the fun. She’ll have to write the message on the back in Korean, but it’s exciting to know that these cards will be a good-will international message.
It was a bit challenging to come up with a design that could be understood visually, but I hope my two contrasting fishies encourage people to look on the bright side, rather than be like “grumpy fish” in his rainy day “glums.” The idea of fish thinking about suns and umbrellas added a touch of whimsy to these mixed-media cards. 

Then I wrote Nicole a letter. I used another page from the Asian book as a “wrapper,” and attached the letter to it with yarn. She’ll lift the top page up to read the letter, as it continues onto the back side:

I included a note (the light blue paper “cummerbund”) explaining the “random act of kindness” postcards that she is to give away: 

Then folded the letter wrapper in half with the fish postcards slipped inside. Once folded, I stuck her mailing information to the outside of the wrapper. 

I used a 4-mil plastic, zippered bag for the outer envelope, which made the contents “peek-a- boo” visible, and allow the postal people between here and there to enjoy the art show, too. Here’s the back of the zippered envelope, showing the APCs, which is what people en route can see: 

And here’s the front of it, at mailing: one art show in a sealed bag, stamped, hand-cancelled, and much less expensive to mail than I had feared. 

Random Acts of Mail Art Kindness - part 2

A few more lovely artists have sent me pictures of their random acts of mail art kindness.

First up, one from Care:

"I immediately thought of my aunt Pat, whose paintings hung in my grandparents' house. Aunt Pat studied fine art at BGSU, and many years later I received a BFA from there, too. Pat lives across country from me now, and I've never really talked to her much about art or acknowledged the seeds of inspiration she unknowingly planted in my young mind. I took this opportunity to create a collage centered around an old b&w family photo of Pat as a little girl. I'm sending it along with an overdue thank you note."

Next is one from Jennifer:

"I made this postcard and decided to send to my aunt. She lives close but don't talk very often. Life can be tough for her so thought it might brighten her day."

Last is this from Tina:

"I've attached a PC that I sent as a thank you note.  I drive by a house that puts out a tremendous amount of decorations for each of Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. They have tons of giant blow ups, lights everywhere - just a chaotic mess of happiness. Each time I drive by, I laugh at the their exuberance. They have clearly chosen a way to stand out."

Random Acts of Mail Art Kindness - part 1

Random Act of Mail Art Kindness Month is off to a great start!  Four of you have wasted no time creating and mailing your art.  Thanks for getting your stories to me so quickly!

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Amy sent this beautiful postcard to her favorite library:

"I sent this to the local library we use most, although all the librarians in town seem to know us. ;) This is the one that I always put as our pick-up spot for inter-library loans, and we request LOADS of books between me and the kids. So, happy thank-you mail art is heading their way!"

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Next is a gorgeous painted envelope from Laurie:

"It will be a bookmark for a friend. Why an envelope? So it can hold a one dollar bill. Why a one dollar bill? We are in a book discussion group, and each time we contribute one dollar towards supplies. This way she can put the dollar into the envelope and have it ready. Sometimes it's easy to forget the dollar, and if we arrive with a $20 bill or a $10 bill it could be difficult to make change.

I will finish the front with the person's name"

 

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Ellen has sent out two postcards:

 

 

" I sent as a thank you note to my husband's mother for her Christmas gift
to us.  I usually write letters, but thought maybe a card would brighten her
day. She has had a lot of snow and cold temperatures lately and the
glitter accents might bring some sparkle to her day."

"The second postcard will be left for our
favorite waitress at our favorite restaurant. She is always very nice to
us and makes us feel very special every time we go. Waitressing is hard
work, but she always has a smile and goes out of her way to see that we
are happy. This will be a thank you card."

 

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Here are three that Joanne sent (fronts and backs of each followed by their story):

 

This first one was sent to her Grandson:
"The leashed “smake” (imaginary animal) and his owner each started from an index card of random squiggles. I collaged these to a watercolor base, with ephemera, and wrote the story on the back, which is loosely based on a real-life happening with my six-year- old grandson" 

  

"I have a good friend who is a former elementary school teacher, but currently is a parent-volunteer at her childrenʼs school. As such, she helps facilitate art enrichment once a week, which rotates through various art movements each year. Last year was modern art, which she perpetually found “interesting” . . . in an abstract, head- scratching, “Huh?” way.
To have some fun with this, I made this modern mail art piece, which essentially is a clear, zippered bag full of confetti (office cast-offs from our binding machine), along with a large, stiff, neon-layered floating piece that says, simply, “Read me.” However, there is really nothing to read in this, at least in the conventional sense -- besides the “Do NOT open” threat that seals up the zippered side, the address info, and a short blurb on the back describing what mail art is and giving a link to the MMSA site. So, no folded letter that she can extract, unfold, and enjoy. Not even a telegraphic “having a great time, wish you were here” note postcarded on the outside. Nothing much to read except the maddening directive: “Read what?”.
My guess is that sheʼll find it enigmatic, in a “I donʼt get this” way, which, I guess, is what modern art does: disorients us a bit" 

  

 

This one was sent to a woman in her church who recently moved to her community.

"Some creative writers write very short, compressed pieces, often called flash fiction, postcard stories, or prose poems. I wrote a nature story of about 250 words, folded it in half, and (using adhesive paper) “wrapped” it around a base of clear laminate cast-off from our office. I drew the tree limb with ink and, for extra stability, added the stylized trunk/leaves to the side. [The blue sheet is to show the transparency effect. I love depth, layers and “peek-a-boo” transparency in mail art.]"

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Aren't these wonderful?

I love this project.

Let's keep it going!

Send me a picture of what you sent and a story of why you sent it and I'll keep posting.

 

January is "random act of mail art kindness" month

Hello swappers!  

 I’ve had a wonderful little break from the computer, and I’m almost ready to announce some  new swaps for the new year.

In the meantime, I’m taking a suggestion from Joanne and hosting a Random Act of Kindness “swap”.

Here’s the idea:

Make something and send it to someone who isn’t expecting it. Take a picture of what you created and email it to me with a note about who you sent it to and why.  I will post all pictures and stories on the blog. You won’t get anything in return expect the joy of knowing you brightened someone’s day.

Who should you send it to?

It could be someone you know but never send mail to – your mom, your cousin, your grandfather, your faraway friend.  (I send mail-art to strangers all over the world and somehow never send anything to my friends and family.  That just doesn't seem right!)

Or how about someone in the military stationed far from home?  Or someone in a nursing home?  Does your church have a list of people who would benefit from a nice note?  How about sending a card and note to someone in your neighborhood whose garden you admire?  Or a thank you note to one your former teachers?  Now that I'm thinking about thank you notes....you could send one to your town fire department, or your local librarian, or to your mail carrier!  There are so many possibilities for spreading postal love.

 

Make a postcard, decorate an envelope, send an ATC – anything at all – but don’t send it to one of your usual mail-art contacts.  The idea is to send some handmade cheer to someone who never receives things like that.

So let’s get started!

1.     Create something

2.     Take a picture of it

3.     Mail it to an unsuspecting recipient

4.     Email the picture and your story to iamrushmore@gmail.com any time between now and January 31^st.

5.     Please write “RAK” in the subject line of your email, to make it easy for me to sort my mail and keep track of this project.

6. Feel free to send multiple pictures/stories