Serial Collages

Please read the instructions carefully. If you aren't 100% sure you can complete this, then please, don't sign up. No newbies. There are plenty of easy noob swaps. This is international, plan accordingly. If this does not make sense to you, please don't sign up. This is not about responding to your partner, it will be about saying something of your own. The turn-around will be quick, so you should get your pieces done before the deadline. 4.85+

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Artists often find that it is good practice to conceive of art pieces in a series. Working with many bits allows the artist to develop ideas, take tangents, revisit and add footnotes. It also is very marketable as gallery owners can buy into/market a series instead of many individual one-offs.

1) Chose a theme. It could be something simple like a color or a repeated shape, or even a collage element that is used in each postie. This is an important step because you will need to write about it later. Spend some time with this, you will not regret it. If you chose something abstract or complex then this step is even more critical. Map out where you want to go and if you don't arrive there at the end, it will be a part of your process.

2) Prepare five blank postcards. They should be a consistent size so the recipient can hang them on a wall and make a cohesive display. If you use different sizes it should be because you want to promote your theme, and not because you are lazy.

3) I have designed this primarily with collage in mind, but you may add paint and drawing, as long as it is consistent with your theme. Please avoid mass-produced tchotchkes or embellishments. I am not interested in what brand of collage supplies you use, if it looks like another artist did it, then its not appropriate for this swap. No scrapbook supplies, no store bought elements. Use your creativity, find your own voice, open your eyes. Make sure you sign the front. A light coat of acrylic varnish is a wonderful finish.

4) Mail them to your partner separately. The message area doesn't have to contain anything except a note with the number and which swap it is. If you want to make them double sided, you may.

5) Ultimate Letter. This will contain your artist's statement and should be written after you finish the final postie. Tell you partner about your original idea, what your process was like and how the final product differed from your idea (if it did). Also talk about what you'd like to do next or different. This should not be academic, don't worry about sounding smart, think of it as something you'd like to remember for yourself and balance that with making it readable to a third person.

The posted deadline is the date when everything should be in the mail-- 5 postcards and a letter.

If you'd like to talk about your process, and show your results on your blog, feel free to post the URL to the discussion.

Swappers with a rating of at least 4.85 and at least 5 rated swaps (not counting email swaps) are welcome. I reserve the right to ban swappers at my own discretion.

:: I am not going to angel this swap ::