Mail Art and Inspiration

This is the front and back of a mail art card that I made for a friend. I found out he received it today, so I’m okay to post it without ruining any surprise. I love making mail art cards, and hadn’t made any in awhile. As usual, I waxed it with melted beeswax on both sides after I was done. For more info on making mail art cards, check out my article “Mail Art Cards on the Edge” in Kaleidoscope: Ideas + Projects to Spark Your Creativity by Suz Simanaitis.

The photos on this card are “through the viewfinder photos”, which means I used a digital camera, and took a close-up picture through the viewfinder of a very old-style camera–the kind that has a square glass viewfinder that you look down into to take a picture. It’s a very cool way to have a digital photo with a vintage look to it. If you are interested, there is a very good tutorial on shooting through the viewfinder here. There is also a group on flickr (that I belong to) that has all kinds of fabulous through the viewfinder photos. Check it out for some cool inspiration.

And speaking of inspiration . . . even though I’ve been dealing with neck problems, and haven’t been feeling so hot, I’ve been feeling incredibly creative and inspired. Creativity begets creativity. I’ve been working in my journal a lot, so I’m sure that has something to do with it. Nothing like gluing shit down and slapping on some paint to get the creative juices flowing. I’ve been feeling so wonderfully creative and inspired, today I thought I was going to pop. Luckily I didn’t. But I did buy a bunch of books at the used bookstore . . . Here’s some of what I got. Soul Coaching: 28 Days to Discover Your Authentic Self, and Altars: Bringing Sacred Shrines Into Your Everyday Life, both by Denise Linn; and Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting And Completing Your Work of Art by Eric Maisel. I really need more books like a need a hole in the head, but they are my weakness. I have so many in line, waiting for me to read them. A book that I really want to get by Eric Maisel is The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person’s Path Through Depression. I’ve heard is very excellent! I’m hoping Fearless Creating can help me to harness my creative energy and focus it productively. I need to master the skill of time management so that I can regularly work on my book that’s been on hold for too long and also work on “regular” work that pays the bills. And, I have to balance all of that with keeping my health in mind . . . taking time everyday to do yoga and other things to keep my neck from getting worse, work in my journal, and to also keep myself balanced.