Postcard Swap

Who doesn't love a colorful snail mail postcard?

For the longest time I've followed iHanna's Blog & always wanted to participate in one of her postcard swaps... so finally, this past month, I signed up at the last-minute, made 10 cards, and sent them out into the world.

Creating a Postcard

I started out by finger painting on top of a set of postcard-sized bike tour maps (I got mine at a yard sale). A base like this creates an instant layer of depth when the lines of the trails and geography can show through layers of paint. I built up the background by adding translucent paint washes, collaged bits of poetry from an old book, and spray stenciling with one of my favorite Finnabair Stencils - Dots and Stripes.

Next, wanting a focal image, I drew and then painted on my birds. They were definitely inspired by Tamara Laporte's Quirky Birds - particularly the outline and "scrubbing" style of paint that she teaches, along with the small format of the project. This style of birds are something that I've been drawing for a while, and I actually have a small collection of decorative birds that look similar).

Some of the finger painting and paint wash techniques were things I learned from my recent art classes at ArtFest Rising. While I was making these I definitely met my goal of having fun while not being too serious. The good thing about waiting until the last-minute with these was that I couldn't obsess over them for too long, or worry about making them all perfect.

Sending the Postcards Into the World

I thought it was serendipitous when I got to the post office to mail them & found the postage stamps for domestic mail were bird images.

Where Are They Now?

I hope everyone who receives one of my postcards enjoys them - I had fun, and am adding "make more bird pictures" to my to-do list.

I scanned them all in (or so I thought), to have a memory of these... but it turns out that I only scanned 7 out of the 10, and I didn't realize until they'd already been sent on their way! I decided to make them available at Society6, where anyone can order these images as prints, cards, or iPhone cases (affiliate link).

Have you ever done a mail art swap? If so, what did you think of the experience?

4 comments mail art, mixed media