When Junk Mail stops being junk

 

 

The mail comes flying through the mail slot, and hits the floor with a crash, each time I”m sure that someone just broke down my front door.

As a kid, getting mail is exciting, it’s usually a pretty card, and if you’re really lucky some cash drops out as you rip into the envelope. As an adult, mail seems to lose it’s appeal. Most of what comes flying through the door is junk, addressed to  a previous owner of our home, or a bill. On most days, I scoop the scattered mail up off of the hardwood floor and walk it into the kitchen where it finds it resting place in the stainless steel trash can. I’m sure that you do the same.

It doesn’t feel like an effective use of resources, but I’ve yet to figure out how to get the junk mail to stop flowing through my door.

Artist and teachers are natural hoarders, but we don’t call ourselves that, we’re collectors, dreamers, creators, users and makers of things. Every item that is placed in front of us, has the potential to be something else, and so the junk mail, sits there taunting us day after day, asking us to turn it into something other than trash.

A few weeks ago, my mom called, and told me that she had an idea. She was excited, almost giddy, she’d been collecting her junk mail, and coming up with ways to use it to teach, learn, and create. She was back to being a kid, waiting for the mailman, and each piece of junk mail was a like a birthday card stuffed with a $20.00 dollar bill. A few days later, she showed up my front door with her cardboard box full of junk mail, and a list of ideas.

Now, we’re both collecting bits and pieces of mail, we’re playing, creating, and realizing that the junk mail doesn’t need to go straight to the stainless steel trashcan, we can use it, and so can you!