Make Every Day a Good Mail Day
"What is a Good Mail Day?"
A Good Mail Day is a day when, instead of just bills, catalogs, and advertisements, your postal carrier delivers artful, beautiful, personal mail from friends and acquaintances all over the world.
Mail art is a collaborative art form with a long and fascinating history populated by famous artists as well as everyday practitioners. The term "mail art" refers to pieces of art sent through the mail rather than displayed or sold in traditional venues. Mail artists often use inexpensive and recycled materials including postcards, collage, rubber stamps, and photocopied images.
Mail art is a truly international activity and a fun way to connect with people in every corner of the globe.
Readers will learn to create decorated and illustrated envelopes, faux postage and artistamps, find penpals, make a mail art kit, and much more!
Contents
Introduction
Make Every Day a Good Mail Day
Chapter 1
From Dadaists to Dilettantes: Mail Art Is for Everyone
Chapter 2
Make the Mail Carrier Your New Best Friend: Guidelines for Getting Started with Mail Art
Chapter 3
You Can Take It with You: The Traveling Mail Art Kit
Chapter 4:
From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Gleaning Inspiration and Materials from a Walk around the Block
Chapter 5
Judging the Post by Its Cover: Decorated and Illustrated Envelopes
Chapter 6
From a Single Sheet: Paper Folding, Texturing, and Pattern Ideas
Chapter 7
Outside the Box: When It’s Too Big, Too Strange, or Too Wonderful to Fit in an Envelope
Chapter 8
Beyond the Flag: Faux Postage and Artistamps
Chapter 9
Correspondence Charm School: Refining Your Handwriting, Finding Pen Pals, and Developing Your Postal Personality
Chapter 10
DIY and CFEs: How to Start a Mail Art Project and Become a Seasoned Networker
Chapter 11
Mail Art Mailbox: Artwork from around the Globe
Contributors
Resources
Jennie Hinchcliff has been an active part of international mail art circles and communities for over a decade, has curated San Francisco mail art shows, and produces the quarterly mail art zine Red Letter Day. She teaches book arts and bookbinding at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Carolee Gilligan Wheeler teaches popular classes on bookbinding at the San Francisco Center for the Book.