(That is really the best title possible for this post. Also, I’m tired!)
LOOK AT THIS!
Wendy Xu is a letterer and designer from Los Angeles whose envelopes were inspired her recent visit to The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. The museum boasts something called The Neon Boneyard. LET’S GO NOW!!!
There she is!
Check out ALL the different envelopes Wendy made below. I’ve gotta go – need to buy markers. LOTS of markers.
Thank you, Wendy!
–Tara
Filed under all kinds of art, calligraphy, the elevated envelope
(And I’d be able to paint like this lady!)
From the wildly talented Michelle René of Arteriole, “Who hasn’t, at some point in their lives, wished for a pony of their very own?”
I love to keep up with Michelle’s artwork on her blog, Arteriolesque - it is extremely inspiring. So I actually got a sneak preview of what was on its way to me. Or should I say who was on his way? I couldn’t wait for him to arrive.
Ta daaa!
His name is:
And he came with his own stable and everything!
Here’s a better photo from Michelle that shows the stable’s window. (I can’t believe I took the above photo wrong!)
Michelle used brown paper bags and painted original watercolored horses for each person on her list – she did this in order to spread awareness about her favorite cause, the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses (CANTER).
Horseracing is a multi-million dollar, time-honored industry. Mint juleps, giant hats, and fists full of betting cash make for a dramatic three-minutes. It’s similar for the horses – the first years of their lives are fast and dramatic, but their actual racing careers are just a brief blip in a horse’s naturally long life. Even the fastest, most athletic thoroughbred is retired from the racetrack by the time he or she is 8 years old. After that, the rest of the horse’s life is a gamble. CANTER finds them new homes so they can avoid a tragic, untimely end.
I love animals – I love this envelope. Thank you so much, Michelle. If this inspires you to dust off your watercolors, check out this quick lesson from Michelle herself. I think I’ll do some painting tonight. Join me?
–Tara
another gorgeous photo from Michelle (can I get a photography lesson next?! 
Today’s envelope is from Camden Richards of Liminal Press in Stanford, CA, and it’s kind of mysterious…
It’s a self-contained envelope / book all-in-one. An envelobook. At Liminal Press, Camden makes beautiful – BEAUTIFUL – artist books. For example:
Camden’s bookvelope is sewn by hand all around the edges – you have to cut one stitch, and gently pull the thread out in order to get it open.
Summarized from Camden’s letter:
My envelobook was inspired by a difficult time of transition, so it was very cathartic to be able to make an edition of artwork about it. The funny thing is that due to my personal circumstance, I had to make these little by little, here and there, carrying them around with me everywhere for the past few months in order to finish them. In a sense, they became like little portable meditations on change, transition and passage.
Some of you are going deeeeeep. I like that. I have always wanted to try my hand at artist books – it seems very therapeutic. I think I will.
I was so intrigued by the design of this thing – and I couldn’t open it right away because I had to make sure I got pictures of it in its unopened state. I actually assumed there would be a blank book inside – like a homemade scout book. But it was actually a secret.
Not gonna show you…
-Tara
Filed under all kinds of art, the elevated envelope
Today’s envelope is absolutely gorgeous – it’s from my friend and mentor, Brigitte Hefferan – a top notch calligrapher up here in the Seattle area. It celebrates the Year of the Dragon:
The background of the “D” is shiny gold gouache – you can’t quite tell in my photos, unfortunately.
I really like it when you all share a bit about how you made what you made. From Brigitte:
Pointed pen gothic using McCaffrey’s ink.
Batarde with versal “D” using gouache.
Hand carved dragon stamp.
Not listed: DECADES of calligraphy experience!
After seeing this, I gave a little shine to my own elevated envelopes, and also made a hand-carved stamp to finish them off. (You’ll see…) Thanks for the inspiration, Brigitte!
–Tara
Filed under all kinds of art, calligraphy, postage, the elevated envelope
I really want an old typewriter so I can make cool things like THIS:
This rad typewriter-themed envelope was sent from San Francisco by Pamela Gerard who gets a LOTTA mail. She has in her house a – wait for it – WAIT!
A mail art shopping cart:
omg!
She says she’s not sure what she’ll do when it’s full. (Uh, Pamela? It’s full.)
Pamela made the envelope out of a sheet from an old typing instruction book, and she embellished it with numbered washi tape. Inside she typed up a nice letter (which must be on vintage typing paper – the weight and texture are so very Mad Men). There’s also a copy of a newspaper article about collecting typewriters, as well as a tiny envelope with a few even tinier treasures inside.
Perfect stamp choice, don’t you think?
Pamela has a fantastic blog that I just added to my reader – Cappuccino and Art Journal (go add it to yours – tons of inspiration to send some more good stuff).
THANK YOU, Pamela! It’s fab!
–Tara
PS. In her letter, Pamela mentioned that she takes part in lots of mail art “socials.” I’d been thinking once my studio is a bit more put together, maybe I would host something like that once a month out there (Redmond, WA). An Elevated Envelope meet-up? Share and trade supplies, socialize, make progress, get new ideas, pick arty brains, and of course: eat and drink. Anyone interested in taking part? If so, leave a comment here, and I’ll be sure to invite you out when the time comes.
Filed under all kinds of art, postage, the elevated envelope
You see that pesky countdown on the right? I just noticed it’s switched from days left to hours left. Yikes! Tomorrow, May 1 is the official postmark deadline for our Elevated Envelope exchange. If you’re already finished (and a lot of you are), yay! You get a gold star.
If you aren’t finished, hey, there’s still tonight. I will be working on mine tonight so I can pop them in the mail tomorrow.
If…
IF!
If life happened and you have no hope of getting them out by tomorrow, I’m about to make your day.
It’s ok.
This is supposed to be fun. It’s kind of a soft deadline. I mean, what am I going to do? Hunt you down and point at you? (I could – remember: I have alllll your addresses…) So if you’re behind, don’t stress to get them out by tomorrow. I’d rather they be FUN than merely DONE.
But! You do have to do them. Soonish. Within a couple of weeks would be good.
So, how is it going?
-Tara
Filed under the elevated envelope
Today’s envelope is impressive:
It’s from Kayte Judge across the pond in Bedford, UK, who explored the idea of Bedfordshire Lace through her envelope. Don’t know much about Bedfordshire Lace? Neither did I. Kayte writes,
It is a dying art form but one that has a vibrant local history. Lace was threatened, like most cottage industries, by the advance of the Industrial revolution. So what did the Bedfordshire Lacemakers do? They made lace that was impossible for the machines to make. They didn’t halt the inevitable march of the machines but they made a radical, human, stand against them. I appreciate the punkness of that.
Kayte commissioned a small piece of lace and employed several printmaking techniques to replicate it – there’s the actual envelope, where the lace was photocopied onto translucent paper; a linocut of the lace, and its ghost print too; and finally, an impression made with sunprint fabric.
I love this one for so many reasons. The use of strong colors provides an interesting contrast with the idea of light, delicate, whispery lace. That juxtaposition also echoes Kayte’s sentiment of the lacemakers and their “punkness.” Brilliant! It’s also interesting that the inspiration for these reproductions is a thing that’s so impossible to actually reproduce.
Just incredibly clever – and really beautiful – and so much effort for this funny little project of mine. I can’t help but feel flattered. If you want to read more about this project, Kayte has more details on her blog. So get thee to Bedfordshire.
Were you one of 6 lucky people on earth who got one of these?
–Tara
Filed under all kinds of art, the elevated envelope
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Ephemera, I love to make letterpress stationery for people who appreciate the art of the handwritten note, and enjoy having fun with it. If you're here, that's probably you! Combining my sweet, quirky illustrations and calligraphy, I'll work one-on-one with you to create stationery that will seriously say something (before you ever even put pen to paper). If you're a designer or artist, we can even work collaboratively on something that's "super you." Whatcha got in mind?
