I save and tack up handwritten correspondences from far and wide, adding to the small tableaux around my art space. These serve to inspire me and remind me of loved ones near and far. To me, they are more than just decorative art, they become devotional and didactic.
I have long been fascinated by religious art, landscape and architecture.. “Religion” comes from an ancient Latin word that means simply “to tie things together.” Religion is the human quest for coherence and meaning in the understanding of the world
During undergrad at Saint Louis University (1997-2001), I had the fortune of connecting with professors who not only continue to send snail mail after all these years, they too continue to be captivated by their search for meaning and connection. (Shout out to Mark Chmiel, Beldan Lane and Fr. JJ Mueller!)
While waiting out commuter traffic in the Bay Area, I took Screen Printing Classes at the Richmond Art Center and Book-Making at San Francisco Center for the Book. My current artistic endeavours of screen printing, social justice inspiration and mail art took off in 2016 when I was living in Capitol Hill, in a 250 square foot studio apartment in Seattle, that had more room for my art table than my bed. On cheap paper grocery bags, I printed 100’s of posters to hand out at the January 2017 Women’s March and found that people happily took them home with them, later sharing pictures of them taped up on their fridge or bathroom mirrors. My niche continues to be making small art prints for folks who want to build connections through snail mail.
Correspondence art—also known as mail or postal art—is a dialogue, a connection, a testament to the enduring power of creativity. See this article from The Art Institute of Chicago: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Correspondence Art https://www.artic.edu/articles/1100/signed-sealed-delivered-correspondence-art
Check out this article: What is Religious Art? by F. Thomas Trotter https://www.religion-online.org/article/what-is-religious-art/
“The artifacts, landscapes, architecture and arts that make up material culture are not discrete units…they fit into a system of exchange organized and given meaning by individuals. Material Culture in itself has no intrinsic meaning of its own. Objects or landscapes are understood and gain significance when their human elements can be deciphered. Objects become meaningful within specific patterns of relationships.” Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America By Colleen McDannell (page 3, Yale University Press, 1995)
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