Real Words

I mentioned not that long ago that I was starting to get really interested in altered art. Specifically, I was looking at altered book art. However I was also just kind of getting inspired to start making more collages and doing more with altering items that I had around the house.

During the time that I was doing a whole lot of research into altered art, I stumbled across mail art swaps. These are groups that commit to some sort of art project. Each member of the group creates their part of the art project and sends it to the person they’re assigned to send it to. For example, I completed a swap in which we were each supposed to make two 8×10 collages for two people; we made our collages and mailed them off. In exchange, we got mail art from someone else in the group.

These groups are a source of inspiration because they challenge you to create something artistic given certain guidelines or parameters. You also have a tendency to try to do a better job than you might on a collage piece for yourself because you know that you’re giving it as a gift to someone else. Plus you get art in the mail and get to see how someone else in the group interpreted the same artistic instructions which can give you a lot of insight into creative perspectives.

I’m not sure how often I’ll participate in these types of swaps but I think it’s a good thing to do every now and then. I’d love to find a writing group that is similar to this. Perhaps sending a poem to someone in the group based on a certain theme. That’s something to think about …

Question of the Day: Have you ever participated in any sort of mail art swap; if so, how was it inspiring?

[Tags] altered art, art, collage, mail art, swap, creativity, inspiration [/Tags]