Perfectionist Makes a Postcard

Flipping through the completed postcards I’d made for iHanna’s international postcard swap, I decided two of them weren’t good enough. The Inner Critic agreed with me, so I sat down this afternoon to make a few more cards.

While I had fun, nothing turned out well enough to include in a postcard swap. The Splash ink explorations led to experiments, but nothing worth putting on a card. The new paper just in for my class in Sedona is colorful, but the card wasn’t special.

I know that any time in the studio is time well spent, and since tonight was trash take-out night, I cleaned up and picked up the paper towels to throw in the trash. There was a blue and purple one and a green and yellow one from the Splash Inks. And. . . the blue and purple one looked like sky, and the green and yellow one looked like a line of trees on one side.

I tore the paper towels into shapes, added a piece of handmade paper, and  made a postcard from them. The poured acrylic from last week, which was nicely dry, became the moon. I sewed over the edge and there was the last of the postcards, ready to send out. No time in the studio is wasted, ever.

Here are eight of the 12 postcards I made:

The brown/orange ones (mostly):

And the  blue-red ones:

–Quinn McDonald is still arm-wrestling with her Inner Critic. He won’t like the new book, either.

Postcard Fabric

I was already on my way to the check-out counter when I saw the fabric. It was straight out of the 70s–polyester, shiny, with a gold gleam, and in colors that made my eyes water 10 feet away–red and orange. And I loved it.

Now, I have a streak of bad taste. Sometimes there is nothing like sequins, shiny fabric, and rhinestones to set the mood. Yes, this is odd for someone whose favorite colors in journaling are sepia and black. Payne’s Gray is way out there for me. But this one looked like a lava flow, a gleaming spill of heat, or, well, a Sonoran Desert sunset.

The fabric was not to wear, it caught my eye because I’m participating in iHanna’s postcard swap. (You have till March 24, 2013 to sign up). I’ve participated before and find it my duty as a Sonoran desert-dweller to make at least three of the cards with an image of a saguaro cactus standing in our red-orange sunsets.

Last year one of the recipients didn’t think it was possible to have a plant that looked like a saguaro, and another one thought I’d sent her a postcard of a pickle in tomato brine, but hey, it’s all good fun.

Here are four of the completed cards:

Polyester fabric, ink on paper.

I still have to stitch around the edges to finish the fabric. The texture of the fabric, and the gold shimmer only shows at a different angle, but you get the idea.

Ink on paper (cactus), marbled paper, dark blue fabric with sparkles.

This postcard is layered–marbled paper, the cactus, and sheer navy fabric with sparkles. This one needs to be edged, too.

Acrylic paint on watercolor, cut out type.

All the postcards are abstracts, and I like the way the paint mixed.

paper collage on inked watercolor, poem.

Another favorite Lorna Crozier poem, “Twilight Angel.” I always wonder what people think when they get a postcard like this.

–Quinn McDonald is working on more than one project at a time.

Report on the Postcard Swap

When I signed up for iHanna’s postcard swap, (see the results of all the swaps)  I wanted to try a new swap idea: very few duplicates. I’ve also started to receive my swaps; you can see them on the bottom of this blog post.

When I saw my list of swappers, three of them were overseas. So I made three of these:

This saguaro cactus has a fruit set on it. The Tohono O’odoham Indians harvest these fruits as part of their ecology/economy. They make syrup and candy from the fruit. And then, as part of a gratitude ceremony, they ferment some of the juice for the annual rain-calling ceremony. To indicate the heat, I covered the image with a sheer red-and-orange fabric and sewed around the edges.

Monsoon paper had to appear on one of the cards. This one is a piece of Monsoon Paper that looks like a night sky. Around the edge it says, “The stars are always in the sky, but are visible only in the dark of night.” I love the idea that the bright twinkly stars are always there, but we can only see them when the light fails.

There is something about foreign language type I find mysterious. Here is a card divided into thirds—Japanese, Russian and Hebrew. The strips that separate them are Braille paper. I love the idea of different ways to communicate. The circle is mica.

I have some Braille paper, so I made two postcards with that wonderfully textured paper.

This one is woven with irregular pieces.

This one is more of an underwater fantasy. I added some glitter, but it doesn’t show up well on a scan.

I thought that someone may have use for a very small bulletin board, so this one is made of cork, edged in copper tape. There is room in the bottom right-hand corner to use as a coaster for your drink. Hope this one makes it through the mail.

I made two found-poetry cards. Only one is shown here–the one about secrets. I love making the inked background on these.

So far, I’ve received four cards:

This card with three button flowers and stitching arrived in an envelope to protect the buttons. I love the color combination; the flowers seem just right for Spring. Thanks, Amy!

This one is mysteriously meaningful in mixed media, mixed messages. Batman sneaks a peek out of a bright red poppy, sewn onto the card. A piece of heavy lace is attached to the right side. Does Batman have a sensitive side? What astonished me is that this card survived the trip from Sweden! Thanks, Charlotta!

This big card is a visual stunner. The background is squares cut out of text. The bright red lips are cut out of a magazine. And the rest of the woman is drawn in black marker. It took me a fraction of a second to see it all, and the shift as I understood the card made me smile. Thanks, Lena from Sweden!

This card arrived just in time to be included in this blog. At first I thought it was a pencil point at the bottom, but Gail explained that she often want kayaking, and gets the nose of her kayak in the photo. It made sense to include it in the card. The quote on the front is from Rick Bass, the American writer and environmentalist. It says:

“If it’s wild to your own heart, protect it. Preserve it. Love it. And fight for it, and dedicate yourself to it, whether it’s a mountain range, your wife, your husband, or even (god forbid) your job. It doesn’t matter if it’s wild to anyone else: if it’s what makes your heart sing, if it’s what makes your days soar like a hawk in the summertime, then focus on it. Because for sure, it’s wild, and if it’s wild, it’ll mean you’re still free. No matter where you are.”

Clever and a great card, Gail!

These swaps are a rewarding challenge. If you’ve never done one before, dive into the next one you find. They are a lot of fun!

—Quinn McDonald is a creativity coach and writer who loves art journaling in any form.

PostCrossing Postcards

One of the people leaving a comment mentioned Postcrossing–the postcard swap site. It’s a work of genius–simple but lots of fun. You register, and are allowed to send five postcards. PostCrossing gives you the names and addresses and a registration number for each card. You send the cards.

This postcard from India has doodling on it--but doodling varies by culture! Who knew? And I love the quote, too.

When the cards arrive, the recipient registers it, and it counts for the sender–and the sender’s name is put into the “receive a postcard” list.

You can have five postcards traveling at any one time.

So you don’t swap postcards, you simply send them to someone and receive postcards from others. I’ve belonged a bit over a month and have sent 17 postcards, 12 of which were received. It took the one to Russia 43 days to arrive. I was afraid it wouldn’t for a while. I’ve also received seven postcards, the closest from Lake George, NY and the furthest away from Xi’an, China.

This delightful card from Finland came from a woman who sent it because she thought I might never have seen autumn leaves. I loved the sentiment, there is no way she knew about my life in Connecticut and D.C.

You can make your PostCrossing interesting by requesting direct exchanges or sending handmade cards. Your profile indicates if you’d like to do either one.

This cheery Czech sun wishes a warm and sunny soul.

I’m having a lot of fun with this–There is no pressure to send, but you should register the card as soon as you get it.

It’s a great way to connect around the world.

–Quinn McDonald is having fun seeing the world through other people’s eyes.

Collage Postcard

Chris Dunmire runs The Creativity Portal. If you’ve never visited, do take a peek. You may never come back, but I’d rather have you slip into the rabbit hole of wonder and creativity than not see it. Chris is turning 40, and wants postcards. You don’t have to ask me twice.

I wanted to make a collage postcard for Chris, something that expressed a wish and was fun to make.

Three wise-woman wishes for Chris.

After some thought, I wanted to send Chris the traditional three magic wishes. Because Chris is a powerful woman, I wanted the wishes to be women.

Three women, watching the dawn of a new year, each with the power of a wish. One represents travel and international friendship, one represents color and self-expression, one represents words and thoughts–all happy, of course!

Start with a base of Strathmore, ready-cut 5×7-inch watercolor paper (cold press). I cut out the cloaks–from a map, a piece of shaving-foam marbled paper, and a book page. Then I cut out the hair from black paper and sprayed it with a product called Goosebumps Texture Spray by Tsukineko. The spray adds a gloss and speckles. I used it to add gloss and texture to the hair, to separate it from the background.

When I was done, I created a morning sky with the marbled paper, added a mountain horizon with black paper that covered the rest of the card. Then I added the three wishing wise women and their hair.

Of course, the second I completed the card, I wanted to make a series–lighter background, different cloaks. Maybe different hair. It might be irresistible to try.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

–Quinn McDonald loves making single-page art journal sheets that she brazenly calls postcards and  mails.

Postcards for a Swap

One of my must-read blogs is iHanna–and she is running a postcard swap again this year. Last year, the group made 2,800 cards, and this year, joining seemed to be loaded with potential, so I signed up. I’m making a lot of loose leaf pages for an art journal, so postcards are not that different.

First, I asked artist Bo Mackison if I could use Pottery Row, one of her Southwest photographs, to alter and work with. Lucky for me, Bo is generous and said yes.  The first thing I did was print out the photo on a piece of cotton fabric and ironed it on a piece of paper. To make sure it stayed, I zig-zag stitched around the edge. Thanks for art-pal Rosaland  Hannibal who taught me how to zig-zag to make a good-looking edge.

Bo Mackison's photo printed on cotton fabric, then stitched to watercolor paper.

The image looks soft because it’s printed on fabric. I like the sweep of color; it looks like a watercolor painting.

Next, I isolated one of the pots and printed it off in different sizes. I combined it with a disc of mica and placed it on top of an inked page.

Printed photographs, mica, ink-stained pages, stitching.

The curve of the pots seemed so interesting, I wanted to focus on them. For the next card, I printed out the single pot in a series of sizes and different papers and overstitched them, using an undulating stitch that mimics a paper cut-out I use frequently. (It appears on pgs. 63, 90-91 in my book, Raw Art Journaling.)

Photographic print, stitched onto watercolor paper.

The pot series may continue, but I wanted to try some other objects. Peacock feathers are a favorite object of mine. I bought one and took the dye out, and then bleached it. The effect is interesting on a wonderful subtle fabric that blends several browns and a hint of blue.

Peacock feather on fabric.

Now I needed some more color. Rosaland taught me to save all the clean-up paper towels and see what they look like dry. One was soaked in bright colors. I trimmed off a piece, attached it to watercolor paper, and stitched over it in bright colors. This technique will get a lot more exploration, but this first try is fun.

Dyed paper towel stitched on watercolor paper.

iHanna’s swap will require 10 postcards, and I may not use these, but it’s a great beginning. I also recently joined Postcrossing, and while I haven’t found someone who wants to exchange handmade postcards, I’m enjoying sending Arizona postcards to people around the world.

–Quinn McDonald is deeply absorbed in mixed media art journal pages. She will be teaching these and other techniques at Valley Ridge Art Studio on May 5-6, 2012. There is still room in the class.

Sakura Postcards: Off to Japan

Today was the day–after many posts, and many trips to the post office, the Sakura children are just a week away from getting their postcards. Today they went in the mail. Postponing seemed reasonable as long as the cards kept arriving.  No card-maker should feel left out. Finally the cards slowed down. I had three pounds of post cards. That’s a lot.

The first cards got a card and a hand-written thank you note. When I couldn’t keep up, I sent emails when I knew who sent them. I piled all the envelopes and cards into a box, and one day, I dropped the box, and the slip that kept the thanked cards from the unthanked cards floated across the room.

To all of you who remain unthanked, please accept my gratitude now. Your cards are amazing works of art, of kindness, of generosity, of giving.

To those of you who sent money, thank you so much. After three trips to the post office, and three different suggestions of how to send them, with three different prices, they fit, so they shipped. It cost just under $45 in postage, and I’m grateful for the help.

While I am sorry I did not send individual thank you cards, I’m hoping that seeing a display here (and many more here, and many more on my Flickr site, here) will convey some idea of how grateful I am.

Thank you for sharing your art for no more than a request. It will be a story the children long remember, and I hope someday an adult in Japan, who still has her postcard, will do what I did–and repeat the cycle.

–Quinn McDonald still has the postcard sent to her to make her feel welcome.

Upcoming Classes

Thanks for asking where I’m teaching. Here are the ones around Phoenix:

Make Your Own Raw Art Journal. June 28

Explore Raw Art Journaling–whether you’ve done it before or just want to find out about art journaling, this class will answer your questions and let you take home real journal pages to work on, maybe even a few completed ones!
I’m a certified creativity coach, so you will experience coaching as well.

When: June 28, Tuesday, from 6 pm to 9 p.m.
Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Union Hills campus of Paradise Valley Community College 
To register, phone: 602-787-7000.You can see the class listed on this page, New! Getting Started with Your Art Journal
Price: $39. No supply fee, bring the basics to class–scissors, glue, pens or colored pencils you like to write with.

Postcards and folder for Postcard Nation class

 

Postcard Nation: July 9

Make postcards from paper, fabric, ephemera. Bypass glue and messy paints. Oh, wait, we WILL get messy. Because in addition to the postcards, we are going to make a folder to put them in, and the folder is gorgeous, but messy to make.

When: July 9, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: The Creative Quest, Glendale AZ
To Register: Call The Creative Quest:623-847-2215
Price: $30

Sakura Postcard Update

Note: I’ve received more poscards than these from Angie and Bo. I’m learning how to make videos, and wanted to post this now. There will be another video with more cards later this week. Thanks for all who are sending cards.

This weekend, two more people gave me postcards for the Sakura children.

I’m gathering postcards for the children who went through the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. These children had every right to expect a normal life, and now their lives will be forever changed. You can read a previous part here. And see more postcards for the kids here. I called them the Sakura children, because Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese. One of the heartbreaking facts was that the Cherry Blossom Festival, culturally important in Japan for parents and children, was cancelled this year because the terrible destruction made it impossible.

Cherry blossoms had been ripped from the trees by wind and water, and many parents and children weren’t alive to celebrate. Others were separated, lost, or injured.

You’ll love these postcards. The first set were made by artist Angie Platten, with the help of the children she teaches in her art classes. The second set are photographs from Bo Mackison at Seeded Earth studio.

You can still send make and send postcards to:

Sakura Children
P.O. Box 12183
Glendale, AZ 85318
“Sakura” means Cherry Blossom in Japanese.

–Quinn McDonald is an artist and creativity coach.

New Postcard Journaling Class

Postcards are interesting and versatile. They are fun to make, because you have full access to them. Unlike bound journals, you can turn a postcard and keep it flat. You can use one side for writing and the other for the design. You can make them in themes (travel, books read, nature) or for days or time periods (visits, vacations, holidays). They can be sent (to yourself or to others), traded, shared. All in all, a flexible and satisfying art medium.

I’m going to make this my next in-person class. It makes a good 2- or 3-hour class, and if we add foil, fabric, and sewn cards, along with a container, it can be an all-day class.

If you want the class taught to your art group, calligraphy group, art journaling group (yes, you can gather postcards into an art journal) or book club, please get in touch at QuinnCreative [at] Yahoo [dot] com. I travel easily, and the supply list is short, making it a practical class to offer.

I’d prefer to teach the class in person before I do it online. I find that in-person classes allow for more personal work, allow me to be a creativity coach as well as an art workshop facilitator, answer questions, and offer encouragement. Eventually, I will do it online, but it needs to be an in-person class first.

Get in touch and let me know what you think! Or call me to get pricing for a group rate or class. Classes can be varied for the age or ability, and work well for creative writing classes in school, book groups, and corporate retreats. Get in touch: QuinnCreative [at] Yahoo [dot] com.