The Beginnings

Hello all,

Welcome!

Here is where I shall share art pieces I send and receive, but let me start over.

What is PostalArt, you say?

PostalArt is an ongoing art Networking project I started while unemployed for a month between jobs.

It all started with a book, and a need/requirement to create art that made people happy. Something I didn't have to worry about making a buck or two off of; just for the pure enjoyment of it all. The book is "Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art," by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler.

The idea is simple, really. You mail off a piece of art you make yourself, whether it's how you creatively fold the envelope, used multimedia elements, or just doodled on the paper you wrote the letter on. JUST MAIL IT! And hope that whoever receives such a beauty has smiled.



Here are the "Basic Mail Art Rules," created by Hinchcliff and Wheeler.

1. Every piece of mail art that comes into your mailbox should receive some sort of acknowledgment in return. (This is one of the unspoken "golden rules" of mail art Networking: if someone has sent something to you - at the very least send a "thank you!" in reply.)

2. Mail artists do not charge money for their mail art. (Mail art is a gift that you give selflessly, because you want to. Money only complicates the whole thing.)

3. No returns. (Each piece that arrives in your mailbox is yours to keep. It stands to reason that every piece you send to someone else will become part of that person's mail art archive. Mail art is about giving away, not accumulating and hoarding.)

4. You Give as good as you Get. (If someone sends you an out-of-this-world piece of mail art, you are honor bound to send back something equally fabulous.)

5. Be sure to document. (If you are running a mail art project on your own, be sure to send documentation to all participants in a timely manner.)


From here on out, I shall post images of real PostalArt examples, as well as tips concerning PostalArt documentation. I'll even post creatively crafty ideas to help you get started.

Mail as a means for staying in touch has dyed.

Lets bring it back, and bring it back better than it was before.

So, in the words of Henchliff and Wheeler; "Happy Mail Day!"