Nov 20, 2013

I Get a Kick Out of iHanna Postcard Swaps!


To quote Cole Porter “I get no kick from champagne/mere alcohol doesn’t thrill me at all, so tell me why should it be true? I get a kick out of you.” Well, I get a kick out of iHanna DIY Postcard Swaps. Why should it be true? It’s really a perfect fit because I’m a mixed media artist who collects postcards.

This year I’m feeling the 60s, and was inspired by a friend of my mom’s who was the ultimate recycler. Linda used to send notes and letters all the time. She never bought a single piece of paper or an envelope. Sometimes she used fancy hotel stationary, but other times it was the back of a Christmas card she had received or an envelope turned inside out. As a kid I thought it was cool and weird at the same time. Now I realize it was totally cool and wished we’d saved them.

" Yesterday we met some people in the lobby and had supper at the hotel together."
I collect the postcards just as much for the messages written by vacationers as the cool images on the front. I love to sit with a box of vintage postcards and read them. (Cool and weird? Or just weird?) Many are totally boring “We are doing our laundry. Waiting for it to finish.” I love those. Often the messages are downright snarky “How are you doing on your diet? Having a nice vacation.” 

"We are doing our laundry. Waiting for it to finish."
"How are you doing on your diet? Having a nice vacation! See you!" 
"This is our Christmas card to you. Wish we could stay longer." 

"Well, I think maybe I had better send you our address in case Dixie didn't call you.
We will be without news if we don't hear from you." 
This series was entirely recycled. I used original postcards from my collection that had been mailed with messages, a children’s book about Leonardo Da Vinci and recycled paint chips. I created a “found poetry” and used a very minimal design approach to create a kind of collaboration with the card and its original sender. 

I called my last series “Time Warp Souvenir” and wrote about it on my blog as well. Although visually they are very different, they are both an homage to nostalgia, family and friends.


Check out the inspirational Flickr photo pool and maybe you'll be inspired to sign up for the next one. The best way to find out about it is to sign up for iHanna's wonderful blog






9 comments:

  1. Awww, thank you for the kind words about my blog and the swap. I really appreciate that oh so much! Love reading about your collection and about the recycler friend who were enviromental friendly before that even excisted. Imagine if we all took that good care of paper! And love your postcards, the poetry and the images are divine!

    Take care!

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    1. Thanks so much Hanna! I'm continuing to receive these wonderful treasures in the mail, made with so much care and love. Yes, they are well designed/pretty/well crafted/unique and on top of all that "wonderfulness" people really put their hearts into these cards and send them to strangers. Its a very special and personal art experience.

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  2. Vintage images . . . Found and reassembled poetry . . . a narrative pass through from temporary tourism to post-card art swap collector . . . paint chip focus overlay . . . Fortune cookies come alive! what could be better : ) This is some truly great stuff!

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  3. After that last one about stealing secrets, I can't help but think of the paint chips as wandering sniper scopes in a spy movie, trying to track down an elusive target! Loving this new style.

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    1. You and John have the most insightful and beautiful comments ... always. I feel like I've sent a secret message to both of you and you totally nailed it, differently but perfectly. Makes me want to do more, means so much! Thanks!

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  4. I just got your 'sunshine almost three-dimensional' card - FABULOUS idea - thank you SO much - I agree this IS truly great stuff!!!!! It has inspired me to look out all my old unused postcards and think about updating them with bit of collage, doodling and whatever pops into my head whilst doing them - I have saved al the post cards I have ever received since 1972 (!) - one thought - maybe I'll revamp and send them back to the original senders as a lovely link across the years - thank you for the inspiration! <3

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  5. Thanks so much for the positive feedback! Its great to know the card has found a great new home with another artist who is also a postcard junkie. I LOVE your idea of altering and resending the cards!

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  6. Hi, Patti - I am the lucky recipient of "especially time to make her his," your absolutely ingeniusly altered Bonneville Salt Flats postcard. I, too, am an ephemera nut who has collected for over 20 years - old books, photos, pamphlets, stamps, journals, handwriting, letters, anything vintage or unique in the paper world - I think we are kindred spirits! I find your take with the found poetry and vintage postcards so refreshing. And, the others in your Time Warp Souvenir Series are awesome, too. Thanks so much, again! ~Luanne http://www.pinterest.com/lkreutzer/boards/

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  7. I am moved by your ability to take simple and poetic art form and make it your own. By bringing the past into the present I experience both newly. "Glad you are here. Enjoying every minute of it."

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