Ink and Collage Postcards

I love the rich, dark marks I can make with India ink.  Ink flows and blooms on wet paper, and travels in its own lively way that I can never precisely predict.

I can add my own handmade stamps to the marks, and after the ink dries, the blackest areas provide a happy ground for chalk pastel marks to play in.

When creating with ink alone, I never have to worry about deciding on a color palette.  The interplay of watered-down ink and bold, black, straight-from-the-bottle ink create their own drama.

I created these pieces to be 6"x 9" post cards, cut from 160# watercolor paper. Before adding the ink, I pasted on paper torn out of old book pages from a Gregg shorthand manual and an old atlas.  I'm inspired by old, weathered materials that have a history and beauty of their own.

As I applied the ink, I tuned into my intuition, simply listening to that quiet little voice within for direction.  When she said "Make swoopy X's and wonky O's'" I did that.

When she said "This is a place for diagonal lines, for swirls, hearts and spatters!"  I took her advice.

I'm always happy when I listen to my Intuition.  She's never led me astray.  Ever.  Even when what she says seems weird or unlikely to work, I'm always happy with my decision to follow her.

And art making feels good -- not stressful as when I'm trying to make something "pretty" or "perfect."

What does your Intuition say to you today about your art making?  

Of course, I'm not talking about that loud, scolding voice of the harsh critic.  I'm referring to the tiny voice that offers unexpected and sometimes weird-sounding ideas.  

It takes some discernment and practice to hear your Intuition.  And it takes courage to try the ideas your Intuition suggests.  But what lovely experiences arise, and what beautiful art!

I hope you get some time this weekend to make art and listen to your Intuition!

Happy creating!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley

Post Card Art

My best friend, Robin, and I have been writing to each other for over 28 years.  In that time, we've made the weirdest, most creative and inventive stationery from cereal boxes, wallpaper samples, maps, and other everyday ephemera.  We've even made our own paper to write on.

Robin inspires me.  Above is a pair of post cards -- Robin's on the left, and mine on the right.  She sent me her flower card first, and I was so taken by the freshness of her lines, the playfulness of the colors that I tried my own.

We made our cards with watercolor on watercolor paper. Waterproof markers and white paint markers add the finishing touches.

My best friend is a master at writing post cards.  In one 4" x 6" card, she can speak of the rich details of her daily life, news of her family, and the power of mortality to focus her on the bright joy of living.

Robin's post card inspiration got me playing with more ideas.

I have always been thrilled by upcycling interesting looking papers into cards and letters.  When I recently read that the U.S. Postal Service had upped the maximum size of a post card to 6" x 9", I grabbed a political ad from the trash, cut it to size, and slapped two coats of white gesso on one side.

I glued a scrap of 140# watercolor paper to the back of the political ad with Yes! paste, and added some black and white washi tape around the edges to keep them from getting caught in the Postal Service machinery.

When the gesso had dried, I painted and stamped the surface with India ink and a blue water based ink. I wished I had prepared a bunch of cards to create a series with, because when I got started, I didn't want to stop!

Post cards are a wonderful art warm-up, because they're small and invite playfulness & experimentation, especially if you use upcycled materials.

I hope you'll try your hand at making and sending postcards!