Mail Art News #1

How does a person get into mail art? They are living their life and then one day, the idea comes to them to send something creative to a friend. This can be a decorated envelope, a self-made postcard, or an envelope full of random or perhaps carefully curated content. For me, the editor of Mail Art News, I was actively involved with art forums and discussion groups online since about 2004. Then around 2010, I decided to make a zine called The Brown Mega Corporation Arts Newsletter, to document the works of my online art friends and associates. These were then mailed out to a list of dozens of people. I was also sending one or two hand made postcards in the mail at this time. And somewhere around this time, though I cannot pinpoint the exact order of events, I watched How to Draw a Bunny, a film about the life of celebrated correspondence artist Ray Johnson. The zine only lasted about a year and a half due to time and costs associated with producing a free zine and mailing it out every month or two, but I was getting more and more into producing and collecting rubber stamps. So rubber stamping has been a driver of my adventure into the world of mail art. Somewhere around 2014, I was regularly mailing rubber stamped images, but also whatever media I felt like working with, such as collage, ink, paint, or typewriter. I've taken a year or two off from mailing. There are costs associated...postal costs. I wish there was a discount rate for the mailing of art, but no. And sometimes other demands take priorities, but the thought of sending and receiving something that will look good on my/their fridge, wall, bookshelf/social media page keeps me involved. I'm checking IUOMA daily again. It's humbling to me on my quest for mail art fame and glory that there are people who have been at it for decades and decades. It's really quite a phenomenon.  

The intention of Mail Art News is to promote the work of artists who work in the field of mail art. The goals: regular posts featuring interviews, meandering reviews of the possible meanings of selected images, and documentation of any interesting events/happenings.