Postcard Collective mail art, a miscellany of cards (2012-)

In 2012, I was invited to participate in the Postcard Collective (postcardcollective.org), a loose-knit group of mail art devotees with an international membership. Themes are announced seasonally by the collective's leaders, but are left wide open for interpretation. From the Postcard Collective mission statement: "To send a postcard in the Digital Age is a simple, yet grossly underestimated gesture. It’s an acknowledgement that other people exist in the physical universe; what’s more, a postcard expresses a desire to reach out and connect with other individuals, no matter how great the distance might be between sender and recipient. The physicality of such an object - hand-scribbled notes, clumsily placed postage stamps, damage incurred in shipment - carries a rich narrative and establishes a profound, interpersonal connection that simply cannot exist in cyberspace. "As members of the Postcard Collective, we find many forms of value in making postcards for each other. They provide us with a new audience for our work; they challenge us to think differently about our studio practice; they serve as an opportunity to test new ideas and, in turn, inform our artistic endeavors outside the Collective. While we continue to participate in The Postcard Collective for different reasons, we are all driven by an undeniable human need to connect with others and stretch the limits of our creativity." Making the cards has become an extension of my personal practice of creating year's-end cards, and the occasional card elsewise. My selections often include found text or added text (sometimes separately, on the back, at other times overprinted on the image). The Projects gallery presents the various Postcard Collective cards I've made, sent hither and yon through the mail, hoping they will find receptive homes wherever they arrive.