Mail Art 2011 / Community Building 101
"this travels far, naked and vulnerable as friendship"---Joanna Niemann
Dear Friends,
In the spring of 2011, I had the opportunity to work with sculptor Patricia Tillman. She challenged me to think conceptually in relation to wood. Take this 2 x 4, she suggested, and cut it up (power tools!) and then reconnect all the pieces to create a sculpture. The 2 x 4 (of course an actual 2 x 4 is 1.5 x 3.5) as a building tool, as a wooden "post," yes, the associations inspired me. I put out a call to 80 or so artists of all ilks (writers, painters, sculptors, film makers, photographers, wood workers, etc.): would they be willing to participate in this community building mail art project? Some folks I hadn't seen in years. Others live right next door. Still others I've never "met" except via the internet. Yet 47 artists responded yes. they'd contribute, thus beginning a new interconnectedness. Cutting up three 2 x 4s (three! My original concern was not being able to get all the pieces of one 2 x 4, like Humpty Dumpty, back together again!) into 6 inch pieces, these blocks would be the consistent element used to post whatever messages these 47 delicious artists chose to send.
To date, 29 artists have returned their "posts." Most came through the mail without additional packaging, no envelope, etc., as I'd requested. Some artists ignored that and other of my requests entirely. This is the essence of community building/friendship, no? Or perhaps it's a lesson in "One must learn the rules to break the rules." "Must I meet the deadline?" "Must I send without an envelope?" It's been superb to realize--and to help to make manifest--that one MUST do only what one feels compelled to do. One collaborator found an ingenious approach to both protecting and posting her mail art. Her local postal clerk looks forward to seeing the final result of the project. I'm grateful to all those artists who have sent their contributions, and grateful that folks who have not yet sent their contribution tell me they are still thinking about it, working on it. I too, am looking forward to the results of the project: a fine network of artists/art!
As mail art continues to arrive (and my own postal clerks become curiouser and curiouser), the sampling below will expand as well. Try clicking on an image; individual (internal) artist's pages, with biographical info and links to external sites, are also under development.
Don't hesitate to comment, question, participate in Mail Art 2011/Community Building 101 (onehundredbowls@aol.com). It remains a collaborative work in progress!
Cate Bourke
Facilitator, Mail Art 2011/Community Building 101 Project
September, 2011
Dear Friends,
In the spring of 2011, I had the opportunity to work with sculptor Patricia Tillman. She challenged me to think conceptually in relation to wood. Take this 2 x 4, she suggested, and cut it up (power tools!) and then reconnect all the pieces to create a sculpture. The 2 x 4 (of course an actual 2 x 4 is 1.5 x 3.5) as a building tool, as a wooden "post," yes, the associations inspired me. I put out a call to 80 or so artists of all ilks (writers, painters, sculptors, film makers, photographers, wood workers, etc.): would they be willing to participate in this community building mail art project? Some folks I hadn't seen in years. Others live right next door. Still others I've never "met" except via the internet. Yet 47 artists responded yes. they'd contribute, thus beginning a new interconnectedness. Cutting up three 2 x 4s (three! My original concern was not being able to get all the pieces of one 2 x 4, like Humpty Dumpty, back together again!) into 6 inch pieces, these blocks would be the consistent element used to post whatever messages these 47 delicious artists chose to send.
To date, 29 artists have returned their "posts." Most came through the mail without additional packaging, no envelope, etc., as I'd requested. Some artists ignored that and other of my requests entirely. This is the essence of community building/friendship, no? Or perhaps it's a lesson in "One must learn the rules to break the rules." "Must I meet the deadline?" "Must I send without an envelope?" It's been superb to realize--and to help to make manifest--that one MUST do only what one feels compelled to do. One collaborator found an ingenious approach to both protecting and posting her mail art. Her local postal clerk looks forward to seeing the final result of the project. I'm grateful to all those artists who have sent their contributions, and grateful that folks who have not yet sent their contribution tell me they are still thinking about it, working on it. I too, am looking forward to the results of the project: a fine network of artists/art!
As mail art continues to arrive (and my own postal clerks become curiouser and curiouser), the sampling below will expand as well. Try clicking on an image; individual (internal) artist's pages, with biographical info and links to external sites, are also under development.
Don't hesitate to comment, question, participate in Mail Art 2011/Community Building 101 (onehundredbowls@aol.com). It remains a collaborative work in progress!
Cate Bourke
Facilitator, Mail Art 2011/Community Building 101 Project
September, 2011
The Community Gathers
 Eric Willumsen (front view)
|  Cate Bourke (front view)  Lori Robeau (front view)  James Stidfole (front view) |
 Linda Marie Smith (front view)  Sheila Fuller (front view) |  Maegn Boone (tracking number)  Joanna Niemann (end view)  Lori Robeau (end view) |
 Norton Young (side view)  Sabrina Fadail (side view) |  Maegn Boone (mailer view) |
 Dennis Keeffe (front view)  Sara DeWire (front view)  Patricia McInroy (mailer view) |  Olaitan Callender Scott (front view)  Kathy Brunet (front view)  Pam Humphrey (front view) |
