Letters to my Grandfather
It was January 2017 after my paternal grandmother passed away just that previous December and I pondered how my relationship with my grandfather would go from here. How do I maintain a consistent communication when I live a few hours away?
Then that inner voice came to me in some small way…
I will mail him a card. Yeah, I will make a card and mail it to him.
Maybe I will mail him a card every week.
Every week? Nah, you can’t do that…can you?
Maybe this will be my time to create a small artistic idea on a card…
What if I try to have a few minutes each week to make and mail a card?
Okay, let’s try it.
Try it? What if it doesn’t work?
Well….you don’t know until you try.
That is true…..I will do it a few weeks and see how it goes.
If it doesn’t work…we will re-evaluate and see how what other ideas you have.
Flash forward to February 2022 and I just started my 5th year of mailing my grandfather a card every week. I say this not to brag, though I am very proud of myself for doing this. I say this because this is the most consistent artistic event I have ever done in my life. This one artistic act has been such a bounty of inspiration and a labor of love.
Not long after I began to send the cards consistently to my grandfather, I also began to send cards to my maternal grandmother. I quickly saw the benefits for my creative practice and hearing how much they enjoyed receiving them weekly. Of course, I have missed a week here and there for a variety of reasons, but overall my grandfather has received a card from me weekly.
The fact that I have stayed consistent in a creative task is very exciting because when I look around elsewhere I see unfinished projects, unfinished ideas, unfinished blog posts, Instagram draft pages and a website that is lacking due to my inconsistency.
But not these cards.
These cards have been the life blood of my creative practice. It started off in a sneaky way too! In the beginning, it was like I was tricking myself to sit down and create something, that the pressure was off. That this was a quick creative activity and not to overthink it. Before I knew it, I was mailing card after card and loving the blank canvas that was the card front.
I was enjoying the quick creativity and how it was transforming my sparks of ideas into tangible nuggets of of visual imagery already out on paper. Taking a small conversation bit from my visits or something I recall from my childhood is what flourishes the card fronts.
A recent card I made with alcohol based markers and a variety of felt tip pens.
So, a natural next question I ask myself is why do I stick to this when other creative practices have fallen off so quickly?
I am not totally sure, but here are some working theories…
It’s a project from my heart to a dear loved one.
I get to be any kind of artist I want without being boxed in when I create these cards.
I like writing, even cheerful banter about my weekly activities.
I love connecting with my Grandparents in a more typical way of their generation.
I love creating a card from scratch.
I enjoy creating and designing a colorful or flashy envelope.
I am a stamp fanatic and love to see all the variety of stamps to enhance my envelopes.
Okay, so maybe I am enthralled with every aspect of this process to mail out my grandfather’s weekly card. It has been an excellent blank canvas to try out random ideas or something I may only want to do on a small scale. (Test tiles…anyone?)
Check the details below for how to create your own cards…
Creating your own cards
Supplies needed:
Small paper cutter or scissors
Marking utensils (whatever you have on hand)
Steps to creating your card
With a paper cutter or scissors, cut the cardstock in half on the long side. This one cut will create 2 cards that fit inside the envelopes.
Fold the 1/2 sheet of cardstock and begin creating your card front.
Don’t forget to put your signature and the year on the back….
My logo I carved into a white polymer eraser to create my own stamp.
Valentine Page
Drawing this page of hearts was so fun! I hope you print, color and cut out for some fun valentine mementos. Make sure to share your photos of cards and your hearts online and find ways to share your love of creating!
Don’t forget to get the coolest stamps you can find~
Hannah