Wenchkin's 366 Mail Art Follow-Up

Carolyn Curtis AKA Wenchkin made 366 pieces of mail art over the past year, wrapping up on December 18th...



What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Collage - oddly I had not dabbled with it since high school. It is funny since I have since gotten others into mail art who said "you must be really fast at this now". Not really unless I already have a vision in mind. I do make a better, cleaner, nicer card however than I did at the beginning and I have a solid feel for collage now.

In what ways did the project change your life? Mail art is up the beholder. When I first started I asked what mail art is and I was simply told - you make art and mail it, there are no rules. Working completely unhindered of any art rules is interesting. One of the few projects I have ever done I was completely free in.

What now? Stalk Noah more, kidding. I am taking a day or two off and launching directly into another 365 project. Up next will be what I should have done to begin with, calaca a day where I will do small 4x6 black and white illustrations of people as sugar skulls.

See all of Carolyn's mail art HERE.

For more from Carolyn follow her on Google+ and be sure to check out her store and blog.

180 Degrees

Tiffany Parris in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is creating 365 Postcards in her 180 Degrees project. She explains, "I am taking mail that I receive, some of it pretty yucky (read the description on the blog), and repurposing it into new postcards. I am opening the project up to any readers to send me mail and if they choose, I will send them a 'repurposed postcard' in return."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this because I am in a season in my life when my mail really sucks. I hate opening my mail. I wanted to turn it around into something positive.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I actually enjoy looking into the gruesome mail slot these days. I know that whatever financial, emotional, and spiritual struggles I am currently in right now will not last forever. There is a light at the end of the PO Box. I enjoy these little moments of creative energy. I am not setting out to make a piece that will be sold or that will ever hang in a gallery, but it makes me happy to unwind and just tear and glue paper.

If you'd like to send/get some "happy" mail from Tiffany contact her through her site HERE.

Card-A-Day

Flo Kane in Buffalo, New York is making a Card-A-Day...

Why did I decide to do this project? I wanted to be more conscientious of reaching out to friends and loved ones on special days this year. I also happen to love working with paper, collage, etc. The two seemed made for each other. Oh, and also because my Free Will Astrology horoscope said I would have both the creative stamina and willpower to be prolific this year.

How has the project affected my life? It's been 13 days. But, I've felt progressively more creative and curious about learning new things. I've also been more creative in general. I also feel more connected to the people I'm mailing cards to.

She even made this card for me!

See all of Flo's cards HERE.

Mail Art 365 Follow-up

I've decided to periodically check back in with some folks who have completed their 365 projects...

My mother Mim Golub Scalin recently completed her project to create mail art every day for a year! She started on December 1, 2010 inspired by fellow mail artist Andy Hoang who initiated the MailArt365 project.

I just love the sweet face on this one, and use it as an avatar sometimes.

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? The best thing I learned was that having a daily practice was a very centering/grounding thing. No matter what was going on in the world or my life, it got put on hold, as it were, while I  made Mail Art. It became my meditation practice, my quiet time. Even while traveling.

This was done by covering a board with scraps then cutting the board up. I liked the randomness.

In what ways did the project change your life? This is a difficult question. Perhaps not a change, but an affirmation, that making something daily is important for me, and that I can do it. No excuses, just get in the studio and make something. I think the knowledge now that I can, and did, dedicate myself to that is reassuring.

This just makes me feel happy

Now what? I'll continue to make Mail Art. I was doing it before the project began. I probably won't scan and post it regularly, however. I'm thinking of a new project, something to do with childhood memories of clothing my mother made for me, things I had in my childhood and the memories attached to them, the apartment building I lived in that no longer exists, something along those lines. I'm not sure of the format yet, but this seems to be where I'm headed. Of course, this could change if another idea pops up.

This is an early Tiny Town one & the scale change is perfect for me.

See all of her mail art on her blog HERE.

This was part of a series using water soluble graphite. I loved the way it looks.

Using old photos and negatives was very satisfying.

Mailart365

London based mail art aficionado Andy Hoang decided to corral a group of fellow mail artists and create Mailart365. All told 20 artists around the world agreed to commit to making (and mailing) a piece of art every day for a year starting on December 1st!

Why did you decide to do this project? 2 years ago I decided to close my facebook account and send and receive letters instead and the idea of my REAL wall was born. REAL posts on a REAL wall. It didn't take long before I started to receive mailart and discovered a whole artform and community of talented and positive individuals, who inspired me to find my inner artist. Mailart365 is a homage to the worlds mailartists and to that community of people who keep the postal system not just alive but positively vibrant. It is my way of saying thanks to the people who strive to send a smile through the post.

by L-plate

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? The excitement of the participants building up to the launch date of December 1st, 2010 has been incredible and initial signs are that everyone is really thrilled to be involved. It's been such a buzz and the whole challenge has really galvanised many people into creating. The creative spirit that everyone has shown has made the project seem like it's going to be a breeze, but I suspect that it won't be. Already, I've found that I've been really busy keeping the site looking good and making sure that all participants are happy, but I think that this will die down and I will soon get back to the creation of artworks, which I can't wait for. If it's had an effect on my life, so far I can say it's given me a huge feeling of pride to have created and seen through the idea and to collaborate with so many people I admire.

 by Mim

I have personally started thinking in terms of collage and picking up every scrap of paper I see "because it might come in useful somewhere" and both me and my fiance have now got a legitimate excuse to spend Saturday mornings on eBay buying rubber stamps again!

by Camel

Follow the progress of all of the participating mail artists on their site HERE.

365 Inspiration: A Year of Letters

Another great thing about 365 projects is that they can give you an excuse to spend a year doing something you love, but don't normally make the time to do! In the case of A Year of Letters, Angelia missed the letter-writing days of her youth and decided to send 365 letters to different people in one year! Since my mother is a prolific letter writer and mail artist herself, she connected with Angelia and gave her my address, so I got my very own letter from her just this past week! It came in a handmade envelope made from a map of Virginia, which was covered in vintage stamps, and included a lovely blank note card for me to use as well! Now I just need to find the time to write her back...

Angelia still has many more letters to go and she's looking for suggestions of people to mail them to, so if you want her to send you one, why not get in touch with her through her blog: A Year of Letters