Paper Crafts and Your Mailbox: What is Mail Art?

What is Mail Art?

Mail art is art for your mailbox!

Mail art is a phrase that encompasses many different forms of art which all have one thing in common: they are exchanged for free through snail mail, or postal mail.

By definition, mail art must be:

mailed from one destination to another
may be mailed from one destination to another, in a series of mailings
the series of mailings could return to the originator
the art is exchanged, and not sold

Types of Mail Art

There are basically two main types of mail art:

collection mail art
traveling mail art

A collection mail art project is one which hosted by one artist, and a group of other artists mail in their art to the host. The host then sorts the mail art and mails different art back to the participants.

In a collection mail art project the host may or may not include their own art, although typically the host does participate.

Traveling Mail Art

A traveling mail art project travels from one participant to another, who all collaborate on the mail art, only to return it back to the originator.

Paper Crafts and Mail Art

There are many differnet types of paper crafts that you can do as mail art.

1. Altered Books
2. ArtistStamps
3. ATCs (Aritst Trading Cards)
Camera Mail
4. Decos
5. Envie Exchange
6. Friendship Books
7. Jam Cards
8. Mail Art Shrine
Mail Interviews
9. Postcards
10. Tag Art
11. Zine

Thematic Mail Art

Mail Art can also be centered around a theme. The theme can be a topic as ephemeral as dragonflies, or as serious as war.

Some possible mail art topic ideas include:

Alice in Wonderland
Animals
Anatomy
Color-based mail art
Desert
Dragonflies
Erotic Art
Frogs
Peace
Pirates

Paper Crafts and Art Mediums for Mail Art

The easiest forms of mail art to start trading are those art mediums that use paper crafts. Paper crafts tend to the be the flattest and easiest forms of art to exchange through the mail.

Paper crafts that can be exchanged include handmade paper, handmade flower seed paper, collage papers, stamped papers and items, collaged art, altered art, and collaborative paper crafts.