Exploring Materials and Meaning

My husband is a letter carrier, and each year, I design a thank you card for people that give him tips. The inspiration for the design is a combination of things that remind me of the neighborhood where he delivers and working to create with art supplies that I already have. ( I’ve always enjoyed to creative constraint of creating without purchasing new materials)

For 2021, the card design was inspired by stamps.

Each card was a square with a thin white border and textured edge to mimic the shape and overall style of stamps. The design on the stamp is a simplified map that encompasses most of his route.

Next, I wanted to add some contrast as well as an interactive element + I had a lot of small brads that I wanted to use. So I created the red flag, which moves up and down, to play off the red flags on mailboxes signaling if there is outgoing mail or not.

Last, it was time to design the envelope. For a reason unknown to me, I have a large supply of tracing paper, which is a great material to represent the translucent and glossy envelops that sheets of stamps often come in.

I’m fully aware that many people may not make connections to all of my material choices, and that’s okay. Working to intentionally select materials that connected to the overall theme and idea helped to drive my design. When coming up with any creative idea, you need ways to focus your ideas and vision, and materials are one fun way to do so.

Further explore materials and meaning in art-making.