Art Collected 2010 – Part Four

As I was saying in Part Three, you can collect art without a huge budget. Along with that, you can also collect art without any money exchange at all. I’ve actually acquired some great pieces this way over the last few years. Here are a few ways to go about this:

Be really nice to your artist friends

Okay, you’re not going to build up a vast, intense collection just by waiting around for gifts, but this year my lovely friend Brittany Peterson gave me a beautiful blown glass ball that she created, and it’s a great addition to my art collection. So remember to appreciate any art gifts you receive!

Trade Art

If you are an artist or maker yourself, trading work is also a fun collecting option! Talk to your artist friends and see who would be interested in swapping art. Or even if you’re not an artist, there is bound to be something that one of your artist friends wants and that you could give them/do for them in exchange for an artwork. I know I would definitely give up one of my paintings for someone to come in and help me paint a room or something.

Here’s a piece my friend Tashana Kjelland traded for a zine and some mail art I sent her:

Mail Art

When I first started feeling the acute desire to fill my home with artwork, I didn’t have any money whatsoever and so I got really into Mail Art. If you haven’t heard of this phenomenon, basically you send art in the mail to a participant and then they send you something back. Simple and effective. It’s fun to make, because there is absolutely no pressure, and it’s fun to get something in the mail besides bills. Plus, you’ll be surprised at the quality of work that abounds in the Mail Art community. A great place to start is the International Union of Mail Artists (IUOMA) website.

Unfortunately, in 2010 I was too busy to participate with my mail artist friends. This year, I’ve already made something that I’m sending to Jennifer Kosharek for her Utopia/Dystopia exhibition.

 

Here are some of my favorite collected Mail Art pieces from recent years:

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Read Art Collected 2010 – Part Three (collecting on a budget)

Part Two (documenting/insuring your collection)

and Part One (selected pieces collected in 2010)

Happy Collecting!

show me the buttons!!

So, some of you know that I am getting married in September–yay!

Since I am a DIY gal, I am making lots of things for the wedding myself. My dress is a big project–my best friend Steph did the alterations, and then I am making an embroidered sash, and decorating the bodice with all sorts of white buttons (I have to credit Steph with that amazing idea) !!! Originally the dress had sequined flowers on the bodice which is definitely NOT me. So….with buttons in our heads, we thought the theme needed to keep going, as I am a textile geek and such….so we are going to use buttons on like everything…favors, centerpieces, etc. etc…..there may be a button tattoo involved….

The point is I need more buttons….my supply has been slowly dwindling over the past few months, so I need your help. If you have any buttons you could spare–any color, size, shape…even the dirty ones….I would really appreciate it! You can bring or mail them to me–Sarah Condon–507 4th St. Algoma, WI 54201 and in return, I will send you a snazzy piece of my own original mail art and your buttons will forever hold a place in my heart.

Thanks!!

Mail Art: UR Toy Story

Got this postcard in the mail the other day from my Florida friend Jennifer….

and this morning I actually had a little bit of time, kinda, so I decided to actually make some Mail Art! Haven’t done any for a long time so it was pretty awesome!

you can’t really see the stitching but it says “UR Toy Story”

The theme was perfect for me because I am using broken toys a lot in one of my Process Quilts (which I am done with and will be photographing this weekend YAY!!!)

If you would like to be involved in this Mail Art Call, check out Jennifer’s blog :)

MOMA acquires A Book About Death postcards

The recent show, A Book About Death, organized by Matthew Rose and exhibited at the Emily Harvey Foundation in NYC proved to be a great success! It was an open call for artists–many of my mail artist friends were involved, and the image above is the front of the postcard that I sent in for the show.

It was really a tribute to Ray Johnson (his original Book About Death), and a “global exploration of death”. Each artist contributed 500 postcards to the show, which created an “unbound Book About Death”. Visitors to the gallery were then able to select some or all of each postcards to create their own book about death.

The reason I claim that this show is a success is because MOMA (New York) just acquired a complete set of postcards from the show! So in a small way, I can say that I’ve been “collected” by MOMA, and that makes life pretty good! I think the artists involved in the show are excited about this–because even though mail art operates mostly outside traditional establishments, isn’t it true that we all want our artwork to be seen, we all have a voice we want heard, and isn’t it nice to be recognized a little?

Good Mail Day!

Some of my mail art has been published in this great book by Pod Post! You can find Good Mail Day here on Amazon.

Make sure to check out the Pod Post website where you can find some awesome info, pics, and even mail art merit badges!! For more info about the book project, check out the blog!!

I’m so happy to be part of this publication–how fun!!

In the Mailbox: Richard Canard

Artist Opportunity: A Book About Death

Whether or not you are an artist into Mail Art, this exhibition opportunity is an interesting one.

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH takes its inspiration from the late, underground American artist Ray Johnson (1927 – 1995). Ray Johnson’s unbound “book” of the same title was mailed to his New York Correspondence School “students” and included pages in his idiosyncratic style that were funny, sad and ironic “one-page essays” on death.  With the A BOOK ABOUT DEATH project, artists are invited to plunge into subject in creating their own pages that score the dramatic final dance of death.

How to Contribute: Produce an artwork about death. Make 500 postcards and mail the package to A BOOK ABOUT DEATH c/o Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery 537 Broadway New York City, New York 10012.  All submissions will be accepted if they arrive in time.  Artists may produce more than one card if they wish.

DEADLINE: Postcards should be in the gallery no later than 5 September 2009.

2. Once images are produced, a light-weight jpg should be e mailed to MATTHEW ROSE, along with the artist’s name and URL (artist web site address) for publication on the blog – http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com/.  This will allow the organizers to archive the works and artist details. Other artists will also be able to visit the exhibition in progress.

Note: An “official” website is now being created by artist Caterina Verde at the address: A BOOK ABOUT DEATH

TECHNICAL DETAILS
The artist is 100 percent responsible for her/his image and card and delivery to the gallery.

FORMAT: Postcards should be at least 4 x 6 inches or 10 x 15 cm, but can be any size, but no larger than A4 or 8 1/2 x 11 inches.

To help unify the edition, please include the words “A BOOK ABOUT DEATH” on your printed post cards.
Each artist contribution will be displayed in the Emily Harvey Foundation gallery space in New York. Visitors will be free to take cards and create their own book about death. As the cards are removed, the exhibition will disappear.

For detailed information, visit Matthew Rose’s blog, A Book About Death

And of course I will be contributing as well! This is the main image on my postcard:

Three Suicides
Monoprint