DO's & DON'Ts

[Poison Label Productions]

DO

 

• Have fun!
• Be Creative
• Make friends
• Express yourself with art
• Report any member you think is a spammer for review by the admin team

all artistic expressions are good - but make sure the person you are sending to is cool with your subject matter.

I know i send some strange, disturbing or sexy mail - but to people that want strange, disturbing or sexy mail.

 

DON'T

• Publish addresses to your personal blog or the internet without permission

it is customary to blur the address when posting

• Don't use stamps that are not real as postage.

artistamps are cool - but i am getting a lot of fake stamps thru the mail & this could affect postal service in the future

• Using copyright images is a violation of the terms of this network...
• Spam people

Sure - we all use images, but be aware when making art!

 

 

[Carla Cryptic]

DO

 

• Keep an open mind and remember that not everyone has the same tastes or ideas as you do - so if something comes to you through the mail which offends you, it probably wasn't meant to offend.  I have learned a lot over the years participating in mail art but one of the best things that has happened to me is that I've had to rethink a lot of my assumptions.  I consider that a good thing. ;)

 

• Try new things!  This is a safe environment for you to play, be inventive, grow.  

 

• Get serious when you feel like it.  We are complex beings, us humans - it's not always positive stuff that we feel.  Many of us have dealt with the bad stuff in our art as well as the good.  If it makes you angry, or makes you cry, or makes you feel numb, that's a good reason to make art just as when it makes you happy, thrills you, or fills your heart with love.  All human emotions are ripe for inspiration.  Don't forget, too, that making art about difficult emotions can be very cathartic.

 

• Be honest with yourself about projects and/or deadlines.  OTOH, don't beat yourself up to the point of no return if you can't meet a deadline!  Just keep communication open and let people know what's going on with you if you're late or can't participate for whatever reason.  You can even just realize that you've changed your mind. 

 

DON'T

 

• Assume too much - you will not become friends with everyone you meet through mail art any more than you will in any other area of life.  On the other hand, you will rarely make enemies.  ;)

 

• Take things too personally.  Most mail art is coming from the heart and/or mind of the artist, not in response to who or how you are.  

 

• Expect a lot of mail if you don't send a lot of mail.

 

• Compare people's art in a hierarchical fashion - especially your own. ;)  Way too many people fear that their art isn't good enough to exchange.  Everyone has something to say, though, and every voice makes up the full choir. ;)  If you think you're better than everyone else who sends you art, or put other people's art down in general, it's more your loss than theirs.  Being hyper-critical can eat you alive.

 

 

[Poison Label Productions]

Great stuff Carla!!