We had such a lovely evening hosting Art After Hours at The Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County this past Friday. Our Hands-On Mail Art event, part of the kick-off to the 48th International Folk Festival, welcomed more than 50 guests who created 44 postcards! In the words of the small town weekly where I spent my formative years “…a good time was had by all.”

We arrived early to get all of our materials organized and set up for the creatively curious. And not unlike the oft quoted line from the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Come they did. From a few minutes before our ‘official’ start time until just before 9 o’clock, our tables were full as artists young, old, and in-between (families and expressive teens) filled the tables to create their own Mail Art.

All the while, folks continue to enjoy the exhibit: The Celebration of Sapphire – Mail Art from Around the World in the main gallery at The Arts Center. Michelle was able to capture these shots on a rare trip outside our Creativity Zone. If you haven’t seen it yet, the show is up through October 25th. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite while you are there. We will send you a photo of your favorite submission on an Official Celebration of Sapphire Thank You postcard at the close of the exhibit. Winners of the Viewer’s Choice voting will be posted here as well as on Facebook and Instagram.

Throughout the evening, we displayed the finished postcards from our visitors on the rail around the room; it was dubbed our Mini Gallery for the night. Apologies for not getting a photo of that display. It brought color and inspiration to the work area and several folks came through to enjoy looking at them all. Below, you can see all 44 Mail Art creations from our stint at Art After Hours. Didn’t they make incredible works of miniature, mail-able art?

All of these beauties will be released into the wilds of the USPS on Thursday, October 1st in celebration of World Postcard Day (the commemoration of the day on which the first postcard was mailed in 1869).

That’s all for now. We are extremely grateful to The Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, all of our visitors last Friday evening, and YOU for reading this blog. Keep your eyes peeled – more news incoming from our little corner of the internet. We’ll see you again soon!

Keep making art. Share art, share joy!
~ Penny & Michelle