#438
Layers upon layers.
I started mailing postcards to strangers in 2010 as a way for me to produce work outside of my sketchbook (and outside of my comfort zone)—but this evolved as a way for me to play with slow and fast design. Each card is numbered and has a QR code (or hand written url) linking it to the website meaghandee.tumblr.com that exhibits every card. However during the 2020 pandemic, I felt more of a need to connect to acquaintances, friends, and family (rather than strangers), and I focused the project in a different direction.
Additional work can be found at meaghand.com.
Additional work can be found at meaghand.com.
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#437
My friend Millie always tells me to “be gentle with yourself.” A few months ago I stenciled this card and had it sitting on my desk as a reminder to myself. The pandemic has been hard on everyone, even people who have been lucky.
In the past few weeks, the world has continued to feel more and more unstable (hopefully because we are in the midst of meaningful change!), but in spite of this, there’s still so much pressure to perform. I try to remind myself that it is okay to sometimes just get by — that it is good to try to make a meaningful difference in the world, but that you also must take care of yourself.
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#436
I’ve be thinking a lot about my maker friends — and I wonder if they are feeling inspired to make + do, or if they are overwhelmed + frozen. For me, it depends on the day, on the moment.
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#435
My friend Lori, from high school (Kirkwood HS, if you were curious), also mails people cards. She sent me #2 in her series, which can be seen here: https://iamlori.com — so I thought I should send her a card in return.
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#434
On June 7th, Able Parris hosted a lovely typographic collage workshop with the Type Directors Club. Years ago, in graduate school at VCU, I fell in love with collage inspired by Rob Carter (and a workshop by Skolos and Wedell). At that time I began this project called “The Postcard Project” where I mailed individually collaged or illustrated cards to (mostly) strangers. I’d kept up with it over the years, mailing out 433 cards. But when Trump was elected, I had lost some interest in connecting with strangers, and between that and needing to focus on trying to get tenure, I fell out of the habit of collaging. With the current pandemic, and being more socially isolated— I’ve started wanting to make in this way again (sending cards to friends, leaving notes for strangers to see). And this workshop was a great excuse to dedicate a day to making. Able Parris also gave me some wonderful ideas for how I could do some remote workshops like this with my students.
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#433
This was originally an image of Virginia Tech campus that I glitched / modified. I then drew the recent re-routed flight path of a visiting artist duo over the top (as they were diverted to Richmond).
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#432
It’s been awhile since I’ve made / mailed postcards. After the election I shifted some of my focus to larger-scale design projects. However, I decided that one of the things I love about the “postcard project” is connecting with people I don’t know in a positive way (and occasionally sharing something with those I do know). I also found I missed collage. So, here’s to the simple moments of joy and surprise.
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I’ll be showing some of my work and giving a brief talk about my “Postcard Project” this Wednesday, September 14th at 6pm in the Newman Library Multipurpose room.
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#431
It’s strange how even keys from a keyboard can seem dated.
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#430
I woke up early this morning with the urge to make. But I’m not sure that my early morning makings are the best I’ve got.