ZMACS JUL: Ancestral Wild Foldout Mail Art

This essay by bell hooks appeared as a link in my email inbox the other day, and it got me thinking about my own Appalachian ancestors. I could hear them speaking in the essay, and I wanted to honor that connection with nature and with ancestry ... with fold-out mail art. Folding outward, like the generations of ancestors that came before you. Art, because that is a way that we express connection and inspiration. One fold-out piece of mail art, honoring in any way the idea of connection to nature and ancestry, to one partner.

Whether you tell a story, express some thoughts, write a poem, or just draw a very long family tree of totems or totem pole or ancestral designs, the big idea is connection to the inspirations of ancestry and nature. You may or my not know about your ancestors, you may choose spiritual ancestors rather than genetic ones, you could see your ancestors in the nature around you, you could come from 27 generations of city dwellers whose connection to nature was through garden plots and cracks in the pavement -- as always, the expression of ancestry and nature is up to you.

Here are some examples of fold-out books and things: fold-out totem book, Accordion book youtube tutorial, triangular landscape accordion book, topographic map book that creates a landscape that looks like mountains, envelope accordion book tutorial, artist accordion book, one folded out single image book, or another fold out single image book -- from our member katarinanavane!, journal - like accordion foldout book, Some really cool digital image foldout books of different styles, an awesome collage accordion book, some examples of creative folding / foldout work, an artist's book that connected her to nature and her past, tiny accordion book that is very simple to make, if kids can do it -- check out the spinning plant and accordion books here, explosion accordion book and on the same site about half a zillion other tutorials .... The fold-out idea can include something more banner like or a hanging sort of thing like the spinny plant book above, it does not have to be an accordion-style book.

Here are some art inspirations on the theme of connecting to ancestors and nature: art and genomes, songlines and visual art in Aboriginal Australian culture, connections between humans and nature throughout the world.

Here are some totemic sort of inspirations that could honor ancestors and nature in some way: pinterest page of vertical totems, inukshuk, jangseung, hareubang, totems in China, mutupo: totems prevalent among the Shona people of Zimbabwe -- Google Shona or Zimbabwe art for more examples, totem poles in the Pacific Northwest, European heraldry, only one form of European totem -- check out the many Celtic, Nordic, Germanic, Italian, Spanish and other totemic art of Europe by looking at any ancient art in the area.

As always, gird yourself for adventure and shed the excess guilt and worry about your creative work so that your artistic steed may carry your impulses to glory (well, hard work, a little luck, and romantic ideals would help any knight errant)! Open to all members of ZMACS in good standing (we are a round table)! I will knight-errand all unsent swaps. Huzzah!

Image is from Mary Quite Contrary's Tumblr page.