Fun with photocopies..

These latest idea's were born partly through sheer frustration and getting inspiration from writing: 'I <3 You' on a banana and sending a pictute of it to my boyfriend. All but one are personal to myself as always..the banana, well that was just for fun :) 

You can only just see it but in the centre of the mug it says: 'Hi'. 

Unfortunately because scanning a photocopy doesn't work so well you can't read it here but the tag says: 'I love to read fantasy novels about magicians and other worlds...what do you love read?'.

Like I said this one was just for fun, sticking the banana on upside down was a happy accident that I reckoned fitted in pretty well with the vibe of this envelope.

If I'm honest I'm not really sure I like this one but it might be odd enough to provoke a reaction.

This one goes out to...

...I wish I could send this one out to ALL the people I know who look in the mirror everyday and think: "huh, not bad", of course I'm not one to talk but all the same I think people should be able to look in the mirror and think: "huh, pretty amazing" and this project is about making my neighbours smile after all so hopefully whoever opens this in the morning will think a little better about themselves for that one day at least. 

Assuming of course that they don't already think they are amazing..maybe they do and this envelope will be an extra boost...either way every postal worker who handles it will read it and hopefully think the same :) 

I deliberately made sure that the word amazing had no black and white letters as I think amazing, colourful and happy all go hand in hand. - You can't see from the image but that 'N' is not actually black and white, darn scanner..

I was very tempted to put eyes in the 'o's of look but in the end decided against it..doing so may have ruined the overall effect.

Sharing the love...

Make My Neighbour Smile goes out into the world...

The decisions been made that it's time I was more active in encouraging other people to get to know their neighbours...so I found a use for my tiny envelopes! I'll be leaving these wee guys around in coffee shops, libraries, book stores etc. I'm optimistic that people will find one, read the Tag and then send it on to one of their neighbours that they don't already know. 

This one (below) was cut straight out of the envelope and then I stuck coloured paper underneath...pretty basic but I think the contrast works..

As you can see both of the envelopes have stamps and the end of the tag reads: "Please don't waste my stamp..." hopefully people will heed this request.

LOOK OUT for updated photo's of this series and where I have left them and KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED for any while your out and about! 

Illustration Reply.

Hello Hello...sorry things seemed to have slowed down a bit lately...perfect timing for me to receive another reply really! Yup that's right I received a reply a couple of days ago from my letter that went with the sewn "Hi There" envelope that you can see here: http://makemyneighboursmile.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/sewing.html

and in turn I sent a reply yesterday. In keeping with my decision to keep things more happy and less serious I decided to draw a wee neighbourly illustration on the outside of the envelope. I have blurred out the name and address as usual for the privacy of my neighbour. 

I know the whole things a little squiggly however I think that it gives it it's own unique personality and style. I made the conscious decision not to use a ruler for this reason. What do you think, did it work?

This is the reply that I sent a long with the envelope, as before if I have permission from the sender I will also publish their reply, so watch this space! 

Marrying text and image.

So I decided that the things I have been sending out are getting a bit too serious and not very personal. So I decided to add a little more of myself to the envelopes. Both of these pieces are photocopies of my hand...in what I hope is a handshake position - not an easy position to get your arm into in a photocopier believe me!

With the above piece I decided to include a letter, which you can see below. I decided to keep it anonymous the same as all the other pieces, perhaps just to make the recipient curious.

Now before any of you start thinking I've stopped making each piece an individual original (that's a mouthfull), think again, although this looks similar to the above one it is different, that is even a seperate (and slightly different) photocopy of my hand. 

I reckoned this one needed something more so I put a message on the back to but no message inside. I think sometimes less is more. 

However both of course were sent with a self addressed envelope inside...*fingers crossed* someone's curious enough to reply!

Statements to make you think..

As I have previously said all the works here come from my own personal thoughts or beliefs. This is especially true in the piece below. I have always had and I hope will always have a strange faith in complete strangers. I believe in people I have never met. I am well aware that this is both a quality and a flaw but I would rather see it as a quality. Wouldn't you like to meet someone, who you have never previously met, who has faith in you even though they know nothing about you?! Perhaps your answer is no but I think in this day and age we need more faith in the world.

Before anyone gets mixed up...when I talk about faith here I do not mean in a religious way.

I had fun with these two pieces escaping from the original uniformity the letters had in previous mail art. I cut around the letters themselves and even cut out whole words.

If I am honest although I like the message of the above piece I am now sure about the composition. I am usually a lot more comfortable with where the letters sit on the envelope before I send them. I may not in fact send this particular piece...but then it would be a shame to waste that beautiful yellow 'The'!

The other thing about this piece is it's double edged meaning, that I did not properly think about until I had finished it. You see, a smile can be powerful in many ways, it can bring someone up from a bad time but it can also be used to manipulate people. Why do you think sales assistants are always smiling? If someone is smiling at you, you are far more likely to have positive feelings toward that person...and what they are selling...

However by the same token, don't you love it when strangers smile at you? It is far better to pass someone in the street who smiles then someone who looks grumpy. Why bring everyone else down eh. 

The Line Between 2D and 3D...

I loved making the project 3D...however after considering that if people are not in they may have to pick up their own 'parcels', I decided although it looked great, 3D could be a little harsh on the recipients.

So I compromised between the two...

 It is a little difficult to see in these images but the latest piece of work is a folded up piece of cardboard that resembles an envelope and is slim enough to fit through your letterbox. It unfolds to reveal a message similar to all the other pieces I have sent thus far. It was also (of course) sent with a stamped self addressed envelope inside.

The above is what the piece would look like from the back once folded up...

...and unfolded...

...and finally the inside.

I really enjoy this middle ground between 2D and 3D, I like physical presence that the cardboard brings to the work and how sturdy it feels. The way the piece unfolds is similar to a children's book...revealing the surprise...haha! 

PS: I must apologise about the state of the images...I was having issues with photoshop today...I will hopefully be able to edit them in the future. 

David's Reply

David kindly commented on the Letters post after receiving the 'I Believe In You' letter. Although I did leave him a short comment back, I decided it would be more appropriate to send him something more fun in the post...it's just a bit more personal.

And seeing as the projects now gone 3D...

(The address has been blurred for the privacy of my neighbour) As you can see the box can be opened at only one end...

...that's because it has a pop out speech-bubble that reads: "Hello David! Nice to meet you. I'm Amy."

I thought i had photographed the back but I can't seem to find the images...but the back of the speech-bubble says: "Have you met any of your other neighbours? Have a lovely day."

My original idea for this reply was to have a hand pop out...as in a hand shake. But I thought that would not come across very well and not be quite as effective or prompt a response in the same way. As I am working with text anyway I though continuing with the use of text was the better option.