I’m still enjoying my Year Ahead goal of Creativity Every Day, Every Way, and I recently discovered a great motivator in the form of a website devoted to making art and mailing it. A month or so back, I heard the tail end of an interview on NPR about postcard art. I didn’t catch the name of the person being interviewed, but I googled ‘postcard art’ and found a few interesting sites. I joined The International Union of Mail Artists, as a way of creating and sharing art – in the form of a postcard. Postcard art can be made of fabric, wood, paper or anything you can imagine. You’d be surprised what the USPS will accept.
Within a week of joining, I received 4 pieces of art in the mail from complete strangers. I was curious to go onto the site and read the artists bios. One woman lives clear across the country from me, but she was so similar to me in nature, style, medium and art goals that it was kind of bizarre. So I created a piece and sent it to her, and to another random member of IUMA.
Similar to my previous post about ‘smile bags’ or leaving little gifts behind, I like the idea of creating a piece of art and then sending it off to a stranger – not knowing or seeing their reaction when they get it, but knowing they are enjoying the process.
I like surprises, I like getting gifts, I like creating art, I like viewing art and I like snail mail. If you do too, consider joining IUMA – it’s fun and it’s free.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
That is SO cool. I want to join just to get the free post cards!!! How awesome. Alas, right now I am not in ‘art mode’ at all since my daily tasks take all my energy. I love snail mail. I went through a phase in college where I cut out any images that I loved from various magazines I read and kept them in shoe box. Then, anytime I wrote a letter, I would decorate the envelope front with a collage from the shoebox collection. It was so fun and everyone loved getting mail from me. I guess this is the same kind of idea, eh?
I love snail mail too! Yup – you were doing this in college for sure. I’m
enjoying it and find I like having a ‘purpose’ in creating an art piece. I
made one on a piece of wood the other day -