Mail Art

For the past 8 years I’ve been (sporadically) making postcards and other mail art. Some are handmade collages, some are digital, and (more often) some are a combination of both. I also make envelopes, but we won’t be talking about that now!

Why make mail art? They’re not exactly huge sellers. It’s just that they’re fun to create. If they sell, great. If not, I still had a good time in the studio!

The top one’s my latest, focusing on a Noh (Japanese stage play) mask I photographed at a mask-carver’s studio in Kyoto, Japan. I added old postage stamps from my collection, bits of stained papers, and more.

Below the mask are a couple of the many I offer at Fine Art America/Pixels. If you’d like to see them in higher resolution, just click the links below.

The card “Do Not Affix Stamp” was used as part of a Dolcezza clothing line last year, which was rather exciting!

All images copyright ©2020 Carol Leigh.

Noh Mask
Do Not Affix Stamp
Mastodons Are on Their Way

Last work of 2019 . . . "Antique Japanese Postcard 945"

This was the last piece of art I made in 2019. And yes, I know it has (yet again) a Japanese vibe to it, I consider it different simply because of the color palette. There aren't any browns, beiges, sepias, solid blacks, etc. here.

I have a collection of old Japanese postcards from the late 1880s, and one of them forms the basis of this mixed-media collage -- the blue in the upper left. I added some of my own scribbles, postmarks, and a Japanese postage stamp that was issued in 1947. My own hand-painted papers are what created the unusual color palette.

Whenever possible, I make a square version of the original so that my buyers have a choice. Sometimes a square, or a number of squares, works better than one "full-frame" image.

To see these in high resolution, here's the link:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/asian+influence

Images copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh