Saturday, December 4, 2010

Postcard Assemblage!

I set aside a day over Thanksgiving weekend to try something new--constructing a series of 25 postcards, destined to be sent to 25 different places around the world. Art Therapy Without Borders had set up a world-wide exchange, asking people to sign up in order to create and send postcards about how each of us practices art therapy in our neck of the woods. The goal of this collaborative art project is to allow community members from the Art Therapy Alliance, International Art Therapy Organization and Art Therapy Without Borders to create a greater sense of connectedness throughout the world, as well as, to see how practices differ from country to country or even state to state.

I wondered where to begin. I could collect medical packaging for collage. That would give people a good clue about where my art therapy is located. (I didn't get too far with this because the wrappers are routinely tossed.) I also considered taking some of the drawings that children leave behind and adding them to the collage mix. The truth is, in the back of my mind, I knew that I would end up utilizing my "everything but the kitchen sink" method, where I grab papers and cloth and treasures from every part of the studio. I just wanted to pretend that I might be a more thematic and organized this time. But wait--there could be an organizing principle: the baby press.

I had received a baby press for the hospital during the last holiday season (courtesy of those good people who ask us for wish lists.) It had been sitting captive in its crate for the better part of the year. Never enough time or tools during the day to unpack it.

What better activity for Thanksgiving break than to get my sister and her big red truck to help me haul it to my studio and put it together? I could test it with these postcards. She was game for the adventure, and we wrestled the crate up my studio stairs and began to unpack it. Before long, with the help of various hex wrenches, we assembled it. Fabulous!

Filled with anticipation, I laid out 25 cards in rows and got to work. I cut up leftover postcards from earlier shows, a rice paper kite and slivers of the book that I had been altering. Throughout the process, I tried to suspend my own sense of judgment, that nemesis on alert, whenever I'm in artist mode. Instead I intended to follow the direction of my fingers and eyes, inviting in the critic only after the composition was basically there.

I wanted my images to allude to the art therapy work I do--not to spell it out in words and images (enough about that was written on the back)--but rather create a riddle for the viewer to solve. I've created a slide show of the postcards which you can see below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yh0JBuEkiU




21 comments:

  1. Hi! I am working on my postcards today too! Love seeing the slide show of yours. :)

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  2. These are beautiful, Hannah; there are so many interesting visual ideas in this small format.

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  3. Sonrie--Thank you for coming by. I'm looking forward to seeing yours too. Will you post them?

    Thanks Altoon, it's true, I found that the whole notion of creating a series of postcards moved from having a solid "thread," or idea,--to a thread unraveled in many directions...lots of ideas for the future.

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  4. Thanks Hannah, I enjoyed the slide show. "Work for the hands to do" was a nice touch.

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  5. these are wonderful Hannah! I'm so happy I stopped by to visit. Happy Chanukah!

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  6. Beautiful work as always...nice sharing. Happy holidays Hannah!

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  7. Beautiful Hannah. I am always inspired by your work!

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  8. Robyn, Thank you all for taking time to look at the slideshow. My first on this blog! I learned so much putting it together especially with my daughter's tech savvy help.

    Laura, Thank you and Happy Hanukkah as well!

    Lynn, Thank you too! and I've been loving your Hanukkah posts.

    Kelley, I happy you came by with your art therapist's eye. This was definitely a challenge.

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  9. Thanks Hannah for being a part of our postcard art exchange and sharing your experience, process, and postcard art... Lovely and also love the slideshow! Best wishes, -gretchen

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  10. I skipped out on this swap since it was right around crunch time in the semester - but each time I see a post like this I am so jealous! I think its great you found a reason to get your press set up - how very cool.
    And I so enjoyed the slide show. Great cards!

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  11. Oh wow! Really WOW! The cards, the video, high five girlfriend! Copies of the cards together on a board or display would be awesome. A little marketing package right there. The cards are truly great. Score!

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  12. Thank you for the slideshow! These are beautiful and how cool is that baby press? I agree with Beth - displayed together would be very powerful.
    Looks like you had fun too!

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  13. Gretchen,--Thank YOU for helping to set up the exchange. There was so much benefit in making them and imagining the paths of the cards as they traveled to different parts of the world--And as I was making them, others arrived, completing that exchange...

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  14. Phoenix, I hear you. I had to take time to consider it--and figure out how it fit my art practice and my art therapy practice. Rx for jealousy:)--I'm sure they'll do it again!

    Beth--great idea--I could make something like a folding accordian book!

    Dianne--Absolutely--that baby press is so much fun, I've decided it would be a good investment for my studio. And yes--it was a good time!

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  15. Hi Hannah...great project...love the slideshow...and the possibility with your baby press stretch out before you...ooooo lala

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  16. Hey Donna, thanks for your comment on the U-tube slideshow--another first!

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  17. Love the postcards and liked the idea of the youtube link. I only wish I was in the receiving end of one of these beautiful pieces :)

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  18. Wonderful collection! I really enjoyed seeing them in the youtube slide show.

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  19. Joyita and Claudine--thank you! The u-tube link was my daughter's idea and was simple to do once she figured that out:)

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  20. What a wonderful idea-- postcards from around the world- all so different and creative.

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  21. Thank you Donna--as with all exchanges, it brings with waves of new ideas.

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