Everyone loves receiving mail that has nothing to do with bills or junk mail. So why not consider starting a project that involves “fun” mail? A gratifying way of keeping creativity alive on a regular basis is starting a mail art project. Start small by beginning an ATC round robin or swap.
Materials:
- 3 ATC blanks
- Supplies to create your ATCs
- Membership to a mail art group (there are many on Yahoo! Groups, as well as in the ebay.com forums)
Instructions:
- If you have not already done so, sign up for the mail art group, introduce yourself, and learn the group’s guidelines for posting new mail art projects.
- Determine the theme for the ATC round robin or swap, and work on the ATC blanks using the materials that have been gathered.
- Determine how many people will be participating in this mail art project, determine the deadline for submissions, and when returns will be sent to each participant at the close of the project.
- Post this information to the mail art group.
There are so many ways to go about these types of ATC swaps and round robins. For example, you could ask each participant to mail one ATC to you, and two ATCs to the person listed below him or her. Then, you mail one of your ATCs to each participant. Another option is to put your ATCs in an envelope, and ask everyone to pass the envelope down through the list. Each participant takes some ATCs out, and then replaces more in the envelope. You could also set up a separate mail art project for each idea you come up with.
The main thing to keep in mind during mail art projects such as this is you have to remain accountable and dependable. If you expect participants to mail out their portion of the project on time, you must follow these same expectations. If you do not want any of your participants to leave the project or disappear, you have got to make sure you do not do anything like that. Mail artists are weary about signing up for new projects online because, more often than not, there are problems with participants keeping work, losing work, or disappearing never to be heard from again. All the does is frustrate everyone, and give these projects a bad name. Keep your end of the project running smoothly, and all of these problems are preventable.
The bottom line: keep it simple, be dependable, and have fun!
