Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Deli Paper Mail Art!


Deli Paper Mail Art

" I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter."
- Diane Lane

I love deli paper. There's something so magical about drawing something on a translucent surface which can later be altered by adding it to something busy, colorful - and in my case lately - incredibly bright. My friend and fellow lover of the stuff recently (well okay, like a year ago) sent me a huge stash from her own collection so that I could play, play, play. Thank you Linda for sharing it with me, I've been having fun with it ever since! 

As a matter of fact, I've recently decided to create a series of mail art using deli paper as the base. Wanna see what I came up with?? Okay then, here we go. . . .

Deli paper sketch with pencil, Micron black & Sakura white pens

As she appears on top of her altered Priority Mail envelope

(Alpha stickers played a part here)

Little Blue Girl on a small Priority Mail Box

(Back view) 

And in case you wanna how I did it, here's the exact, technical-ish process:

I first collected several US Priority Mail boxes and envelopes in various sizes. Once I decided which combination of materials I wanted to work with, I began by painting both the front and back of each substrate with gesso. Once dry, I began playing with a variety of supplies and mark making materials including spray inks, homemade stencils, oil pastels, charcoal and pencil. 

In order to bring something different to the now colorful backgrounds, I decided to draw several quick sketches on translucent Deil paper to place on top. The sketches were first created in pencil and then brought to life with black ink and pops of white for definition. Once complete, I then tore around the images and glued them on to each box or envelope. 

Further details were then added with bits of collage including bubble gum wrappers, pieces of decorative napkins and other bits of dried paint on deli paper from a past project in which I used deli paper as my palette. Lastly, I added white paint over stickers that were removed once dry to create the “Somerset” and Zip on the pink envelope (so okay, for those of you paying real close attention, you now know where they're headed ;) and added stamped lines on the fronts of each piece to represent the addresses. 


Oh yeah, I also did a simple black and white pen & ink drawing on a large Priority Mail box to send the whole lot off. 


And there you have it: Deli Paper Mail Art!


Until we meet again, I wish you creative days & colorful kisses!


Kristin xo

12 comments:

Mellowood Gallery said...

These are charming but I admit to not understanding exactly what you do with the end result. Can you use the envelopes to mail things? or is it just a matter of using scraps, leftovers or unused items. I like to think these things have a purpose other than to just be colorful and fun

Kristin said...

Thank you for your comment!! And YES, you can absolutely send these altered boxes and envelopes (they're flat and strong) off as regular mail. It's so fun to send and receive art in this way! xo

Valerie-Jael said...

Lovely work Kristin, good to see you around again. Hugs, Valerie

sue :) said...

Great recycling idea, love the bright bold colours and your drawn images are wonderful as always. Sue x

Linda Kunsman said...

Brilliant mail art Kristin!! So glad you have been using that deli paper and if you need more let me know:) I LOVE that stuff! Thanks for the link to my blog. I am really looking forward to seeing your pieces in Somerset too!

K J D said...

Love what you did.... so bright and happy making :)

Karen x

Christine said...

Lovely mail art!

martinealison said...

Bonjour chère amie,

Une belle manière de donner une vie artistique à tous ces papiers alimentaires...
Vous êtes très talentueuse, bravo !


Gros bisous ❀

Sharon Fritchman said...

What a beautiful way to send and receive art, Kristin! I can only imagine the recipients delight when they see a package or envelope like this that has arrived in the mail. I would shout "YAY!!!!!"

artfullycarin@gmail.com said...

Fun and colourful! Love it Kristin!

Terri Corona said...

They're just wonderful Kristin! They make me happy just looking at them...

reclaimed wood dining table uk said...

Lovely artworks! Great recycling idea. Thanks for sharing!