Kat Eye Studio

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Liberate Your Art 2018 Final Celebration

Wow! We had another fantastic year of sharing art in the 8th Annual Liberate Your Art postcard swap. Here are this year’s stats:

804 pieces of art liberated
134 artists
10 countries
31 US states

It was a crazy year for me personally, since the swap coincided with the FIRST Robotics Competition season, and we are heavily involved with my son’s team. We completed the season at Pacific Northwest District Championships in Portland, OR last weekend, and we are completing the postcard swap this weekend. Whatever will I do with my free time??

But no matter what is going on with me, this postcard swap is all about YOU. The swap is really made great by the active participation of all of the artists, and you were a wonderfully active bunch in the Facebook Event Group this year! Thank you for continuing the fun of getting happy mail by reaching out to the artists who created your postcards and sharing the postcards you received online.

As always, a theme emerges from each year which inspires the special edition art I create at the end of the swap. This year’s message, Art brings Light to the World, was inspired by a comment one of my swap helpers made on swap day. As we were sticking on labels and stamps, Kate said, “Wow, there is so much positive energy in this mail!” Such a great observation! Collectively, the art and personal messages of inspiration and encouragement you all liberate into the world is positive and powerful. Your art is a light in a world which is often characterized as fraught with conflict and division. Keep liberating!

Thank you to everyone who participated this year. Enjoy the video of the art from ~70 participants who send me images. It’s always amazing to see the range of creativity in this group of artists!

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 6×9″ fine art print of this year’s Final Celebration image “Art brings Light to the World” shown above. Having this image in your studio will remind you to keep liberating that art to make the world a better place.
  • One copy of the second edition of my book, Art with an iPhone: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Altered Realities, which was published at the end of 2017. Sharing my process is another piece of the art I liberate in the world!
  • Eight packets of postcards from other participants. You all were a generous bunch, and even after sharing them with the helpers on swap day, I have extra postcards to share with the rest of you! 

If you would like your own 6×9″ signed fine art print of this year’s image “Art brings Light to the World,” 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 this year’s swap. You can link in from a blog, Flickr, Facebook, even Instagram! Make sure your image is public, and you are good to go.


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Liberate Your Art 2016 Final Celebration

2016-Lifelong-Journey

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.


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Liberate Your Art 2015 Blog Hop

2015-Art-knows-no-Boundaries-600x400

The Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap has wrapped up another wonderful year! Here are the stats for the fifth year of the swap:

1290 pieces of art liberated
214 artists participating
12 countries represented

Every year, there is something new that the swap brings to the fore for me. This year, it was the idea that art knows no boundaries. Boundaries are a human invention. They are imaginary lines used to mark territories on a map, or they are imaginary lines in within the self that limit our actions. Some boundaries are good, but it’s amazing how many boundaries we gather up in our lives that artificially limit us. Art helps us to find the boundaries, push on them and break free.

Liberating your art is about pushing beyond the boundaries of fear and doubt.

Every one of you who participated this year is a unique, talented individual. You and your art deserve to be seen and heard. With that in mind, here is the 2015 video! I asked participants to send me a digital image of the art featured on their postcards for use in the video. About half of the artists sent me an image, so enjoy this amazing celebration of liberated art, realizing this is only a fraction of the artists who participated in the swap. If you can, watch it in HD. It’s gorgeous!

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for liberating such amazing art, making new connections and showing that art truly has no boundaries.

 
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 blog hop, by random drawing from all blog hop participants, I will be giving away:

  • One copy of the book Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art. I bought two copies of this gorgeous book in the gift shop at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC last year, and I’m giving away the second copy to one of you!
  • One 6×9″ fine art print, matted to 11×14″, of this year’s Blog Hop image “Art Knows No Boundaries,” shown above. Having this image in your studio could be a reminder to continue to push those boundaries and liberate your art!

If you’d like to purchase your own 6×9″ fine art print of today’s image and help me defray the extra expenses I incur on behalf of the swap, I am making it available for purchase during the time of the blog hop. 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. (Don’t worry, if you purchase the print and then win the giveaway, I’ll refund your money.)

Enough words from me… Let’s hop!

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Liberate Your Art 2014 Blog Hop

Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap Kat Sloma

Round the world the postcards go. Where they stopped, we all now know!

The Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap has wrapped up for 2014, and the fourth year was just as much fun as the previous three. Just when I think I have everything in this swap figured out, there are new things for me to learn about. This year, it was the US Postal Service changing the postcard rate and not yet having stamps available, right before the swap deadline. It keeps things interesting! I didn’t quite meet my goal of 250 participants this year, but that means I’ll just have to keep the swap going another year. 😉

Here are the final stats for 2014:

1254 pieces of art liberated
209 participating artists
10 countries represented

Every year as I open the envelopes, see your art and read your notes, a message seems to emerge for me. This year’s message:

When you liberate your art, you liberate your heart.

Your heart goes into what you create, so when it’s liberated, a little piece of who you are is sent into the world. Because of that, it can be incredibly hard to liberate your art. Exposing your self in this way is difficult, but it’s the first step on a journey that will take you to amazing places. You can’t help but grow and expand your heart as you send your art out into the world.

How do I know this? The first art I ever liberated to others was in the form of postcards. From that small beginning, I’ve continued to evolve the way I share my art, from postcards to cards to individual prints to collections to exhibitions. I have found my voice artistically and I have a confidence in myself around my art I could never have dreamed when I liberated those first few postcards into the world. That’s a very big reason why I run this swap, to encourage others to take this small step too.

Whether you are at the very start of your journey or somewhere further down the road, this postcard swap gives you the chance to go back to the basics. You liberated your art and your heart into the world, where it can do the greatest good. Thank you so much for your participation. I hope you’ll join in again next year!

 
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 blog hop, by random drawing from all blog hop participants, I will be giving away:

  • One copy of the book Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art. I found this gorgeous book in the gift shop at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, and couldn’t resist.
  • One 6×9″ fine art print, matted to 11×14″, of this year’s Blog Hop image, shown above. I love how this image came out, and thought the message could be inspiring on your wall. It’s already up on mine!

If you’d like to purchase your own 6×9″ fine art print of today’s image and help me defray the extra expenses I incur on behalf of the swap, I am making it available for purchase during the time of the blog hop. 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. (Don’t worry, if you purchase the print and then win the giveaway, I’ll refund your money.)

Enough words from me… Let’s hop!


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Liberate Your Art 2013 Blog Hop

The postcards have been mailed, received, swapped, mailed and received. The Liberate Your Art postcard swap is complete for 2013. It’s time to party a little bit, and celebrate what a fabulous swap we’ve had for 2013!

2013-BlogHop-Image copy

The Liberate Your Art 2013 stats:
1290 pieces of art
216 artists
11 countries

But there is so much more to the swap than the numbers. Every year a phrase or theme comes to me as I look at all of the art that passes through my hands. This year, it was “connection.” You are all doing an amazing thing, connecting through art. Each piece of art that was liberated represents a connection, or two. I saw these connections sharing love, joy, nostalgia, encouragement, acceptance, color, creativity, beauty, peace, emotion, inspiration, light, laughter, memories, words, and life. You are influencing the world in a positive way when you connect through art.

Of course I had my own moments of connection, too. All of your notes and extra postcards and of course, your art, touched my heart. As I opened the envelopes, I found the art of old friends I’ve been in contact with online since I lived in Italy. I saw the art of local friends, people I see often in my real life, going out to make new connections. And one of the most special things was seeing a couple of postcards from artists where I was with them when they took the photograph they shared, both in the US and in England. Wow. I got chills, from the way these connections reverberate and spiral back.

Who knows how this year’s connections will spiral back to you?

Enjoy this year’s video, which includes one piece of art from every participant. The collection is an amazing tribute to the individuality and expression that comes through art. (Be sure to watch it in HD if you can, it looks awesome! Also note that there is a pause partway through, as the songs change, so don’t stop watching too early.)

And now, there’s one last opportunity to connect through the 2013 Liberate Your Art swap. Let’s hop!


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Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap – The Blog Hop

1020 pieces of art
170 participants
37 US states
13 countries
2 homes
1 swap
done.
I am struggling to find the words to describe how wonderful the Liberate Your Art postcard swap turned out to be. I set a crazy-big goal, to make myself reach farther and higher than ever before. You all came and answered the call, joining in to liberate some beautiful art and brighten someone else’s day. I knew it would be fun. I never anticipated what you all would give to me. At a time when life could have been sad, with my move from Italy to Oregon, your mail filled up my post box with love and encouragement. Color, beauty, passion, peace… your art helped me through a difficult transition. The image above is the art that many of you gave to me, unexpectedly, unasked, along with the swap. I am honored to have them. I am honored to have met so many of you through this swap. I look forward to hopping around this weekend, visiting your blogs and seeing your swap experiences. Seeing what liberating your art and making connections brought into your life.
Thank you.

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