liberate your art

March 5, 2017 by Kat

Mail Art = Happiness

It’s getting down to the wire in the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. The swap receipt deadline is two weeks from yesterday (Saturday March 18), and swap day is two weeks from today (Sunday March 19). That means art is liberated two weeks from tomorrow! Woohoo!

And of course, as we get closer, mail art keeps arriving! Here are this week’s favorites…

Val from Canada did some fun papercuts. I love the dimension! (Survival through the mail is sometimes hit or miss though…)

Another Canadian! Lynn stitched this lovely envelope…

…and added some cool ink art on the back.

Longtime participant Sheila from Arizona painted what looks to me like a field of blooming wildflowers. I don’t know if that’s what you meant Sheila, but that’s what I see!

Diane from Australia converted a kraft envelope into an explosion of bubbly color…

Deanie in Arizona shows the way to Liberate Your Art!

TWO WEEKS to go! Coming soon…

February 26, 2017 by Kat

Fast and Furious Comes the Mail

The envelopes for the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap are arriving fast and furious! It’s an exciting time, just three weeks until swap day.

Here are a few of the gorgeous envelopes I’ve received over the last couple of weeks. Things are getting busy enough I can’t show all of the decorated envelopes, so forgive me if yours is not featured. Enjoy these wonderful pieces of mail art!

We’ll start out with Julia from Washington, a beautiful painted piece:

Paula in Virginia created this lovely one. She knows the way to my heart… Put a cat on it!

Lisa in North Carolina created this lovely collage of red, gold and purple…

Anne from Australia created an envelope with great energy:

Vicki from New York created one of my favorite envelopes to date. The collage and color is just wonderful. There is a quote on the back: You are never too old to dream a new dream. So true!

Suzette in Utah found a new way to use a postcard back stamp. Love it!

Charlotte in Maryland put the address on what is normally the back of the envelope, as used the unmarred front as a canvas…

Amanda in the UK makes me want to go on vacation there!

Stephanie in Florida created a bold envelope. Love the colors!

Martha in California created a lovely line drawing. In a note on the back, she invites me to finish coloring it in. I will!

Gina in California says “Seeing is Believing.” I believe your envelope has arrived, Gina!

Teena in Virginia proves it doesn’t take a lot of time to create something fun!

Gloria in California ripped and layered to create a lovely envelope. I’m dreaming of spring greens after this envelope!

Wrapping up this week’s envelopes is Polly in Florida. She created this happy envelope, which matches my studio beautifully.

Thank you Polly, thank you everyone for the great mail art that is coming fast and furious! Only three more weeks to swap day. I can’t wait!!

February 9, 2017 by Kat

The Latest Mail Art

It’s that time again! More mail art has been arriving for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap, and I know you want to see it! We have just over five weeks to the swap receipt deadline of March 18. There is still time to join! Learn more and sign up here.

And while you are getting your postcards ready to mail, enjoy some of this awesome mail art! We’ll start out with an amazing alteration of a manila envelope, from Kathy in South Carolina.

Pat in Oregon created this lovely collaged envelope. Decorated front and back! A couple of letters went missing, but we can fill in the blanks, can’t we?

Tracy in Texas sketched a beautiful little scene. I’d like to visit this little town!

My longtime online friend Lynne in Pennsylvania created this collaged envelope. You’ve given me inspiration with all of that decorative tape!

I love the cats! Thanks Julie in Connecticut, for this bit of mailbox happiness!

Kate in Illinois added some lovely lettering to pre-printed paper to make a one-of-a-kind envelope.

Lots of colorful doodles brightened the day from Karen in Ohio! Thanks for all of the extras, Karen. The swap helpers will love you!!

And finally, what could be better than a decorated envelope with some awesome stamps? From Norway, no less! The lovely Linda, who has participated for many years, along with more extras for swap helpers.

Thank you all for brightening the day of everyone who has seen your mail art! The world is a better place with your art liberated in it. I can’t wait to liberate the rest!

January 26, 2017 by Kat

Art is Arriving!

It started with two and then it was four and this week it was more! Thursdays are the day I stop in and pick up the mail at my UPS store, bringing home some wonderful art goodness for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap. There is still lots of time to join in the swap if you haven’t already. You can get more info and sign up for the swap here.

If you are already signed up, you are probably anxiously awaiting some photos of the mail art I’m receiving! Here is the first batch…

The first two decorated envelopes to arrive were a couple of smiling ladies. Kate in Michigan sent the happy vintage beachcomber (wishing for some sun?) and Natasa in Slovenia created the cute woman with the fox hat.

This envelope is from Annie in California, a lovely valentine theme! This is Annie’s first year in the swap, so give her a great big LYA welcome. Annie, the UPS store owner was especially enthralled with yours. “This one has texture!” He pointed out to me especially. Thanks for making his day (and all of ours!) a little brighter.

Mary Jane in Canada sent this lovely envelope. It had texture too! Loved it both front and back. I was especially enthralled with those dragonfly stamps…

And wrapping up this week, it’s an irish themed envelope for Jacinta in Ireland. Made me smile!

And it’s all just starting! There are still six weeks before the swap deadline, and I look forward to sharing many more envelopes in the coming weeks!

December 27, 2016 by Kat

2017 Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap is Open!

The holidays are wrapping up and you know what that means… It’s time for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap to get started! That’s right, when the festive lights start coming down and the parties are ending, you still have something to look forward to in the dark winter months.

The Liberate Your Art postcard swap is in it’s seventh year. Wow, I can hardly believe we’ve been doing it that long. If you haven’t joined before, this is your year. You don’t want to miss it!

This year’s swap receipt deadline is March 18, 2017. Get more info and sign up for the swap here.

And to inspire you, here is last year’s video of participant’s art… I hope to see your art in the 2017 video! Join us.

April 14, 2016 by Kat

Liberate Your Art 2016 Final Celebration

It’s time to celebrate! This weekend we wrap up the sixth annual Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for SIX YEARS now. It’s still so much fun, isn’t it?

But let’s not delay… Here are the stats you’ve been waiting for on the 2016 swap:

1050 pieces of art liberated
175 artists participating
12 countries represented

The total number of participants was lower this year, but the enthusiasm was just as high as ever! We even had artists in two new countries participating: Israel and Belarus. Awesome!

I created this year’s final celebration art piece to remind each and every one of us that we are on a journey. We may start on the path of liberating our art timidly, fearful of the response we are going to get. Art is such a personal thing, it can feel like we are putting a piece of our heart and soul out there, where others may reject it. But you know what? The more you liberate your art, the easier it gets. The more confident you get. You just have to keep taking small steps.

Liberating your art is a lifelong journey.

Take a look at where you are today compared to where you started. You will see how far you have already come, even if you have a long way to go. Whether this is your first year, or your sixth year, or your twentieth year of liberating your art, there is a supportive creative community here to help you take that next step. Celebrate where you are, and encourage your fellow artists, no matter where they are at.

Let’s celebrate with a video! About 60% of participants sent me a digital image of the art featured on their postcards for use in the 2016 video. As you watch it, imagine 40% more! That’s how much art was liberated. Enjoy! (And if you can, watch it in HD.)

Thank you to all participants for liberating your wonderful art, and for connecting to celebrate each other on this lifelong journey.

Now, it’s time to HOP! I have a special bonus for the blog hop participants in the form of a giveaway drawing! At the end of the final celebration, by random drawing from all blog hop links, I will be giving away:

One copy of my book Art with an iPhone: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Altered Realities. It’s so exciting to finally have my book in print and I want to share it with you!
One 6×9″ fine art print, matted to 11×14″, of this year’s Final Celebration image “Lifelong Journey” shown above. Having this image in your studio will be a reminder to honor and celebrate wherever you are on your journey, and to take that next step.

If you would like your own 6×9″ fine art print of this year’s image “Lifelong Journey,” it is only available for purchase during the time of the final celebration. To order, click here if you are within the US and here if you are outside of the US. Postage is included in the purchase price. Thank you! Your orders help me defray the extra expenses I incur on behalf of the swap. (And don’t worry, if you purchase the print and then win the giveaway, I’ll refund your money.)

All right, are you ready? Let’s celebrate! Share your experiences with the 2016 swap. You can link in from a blog, Flickr, Facebook, even Instagram! Make sure your image is public, and you are good to go.

An InLinkz Link-up

« Previous Page