I Was There

This is a postcard sent by my friend Bruno. It's a strange feeling when you receive a postcard from a place you have actually visited. It is like reliving your trip, in some way. And specially if you went there on your wedding trip...! 

5 Postcards

What is 5 Postcards? 

5 Postcards is a mailart project started by Sue Smedley and Andy Hoang initially as part of an education course. The original idea was to use postcards to illustrate 5 memorable incidents that happened to student teachers who were studying with us as a means of reflection on the learning experience.

The use of postcards challenged students to articulate themselves in a different way than they were used to, and subsequently the images that were produced showed a different level of reflection. Instead of struggling to get the right words, some students described very succinctly the incidents that had shaped their lives through visual images and juxtapositions, utilising icons and colour to effectively convey not just the details of the incidents but the emotions associated with them.

The number of postcards was very important to the project too. 3 postcards was too few incidents to really give a balanced reflective account of school, but 7 would have been overkill. 5 was just right.

We were so taken aback by the results that the two of us decided that it would be really interesting to expand the project so that anyone in the world could contribute their formative years. It seemed that so many of us have a great story to tell about school, so we wanted to hear it.

Our initial project is to open the School Experiences theme to everyone, and to collect your 5 postcard memories. We think that everyone has a memory of school or 5 that they can express to the world.

We intend to introduce new themes at some point, most probably every 5 weeks as we think that the reflective process can be applied to other topics too.

You can submit your postcards here electronically. Or send them by snail mail (only until 27th July!) to:

my REAL wall, Plot 45

REAL, The Royal Opera Arcade Gallery

1-2 Royal Opera Arcade

London

SW1Y 4UY

UK

Pieter Post

Pieter Post

Pieter Post Pieter Post met z'n poes verdient de kost

in z'n rode wagen

zon of regen vlagen

brieven pakjes brengt hij door het land

Pieter Post Pieter Post met z'n poes verdient de kost 

Vogels in de bomen 

zien hem fluitend komen 

Pieter is als vriend steeds bij de hand

Ieder kent 

Z'n mooie rode kar 

als z'n klanten zwaaien naar hem en lachen 

Wie weet 

brengt hij jou ook wat 

Hoor je klop: de post!

Kijk gauw op de mat

Pieter Post Pieter Post met z'n poes verdient de kost 

Vogels in de bomen 

zien hem fluitend komen 

Pieter is als vriend steeds bij de hand

Dutch version of Postman Pat.
Thank you, Heleen!

Lavender Earl Grey

Sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).
Postcard made from a tea box Laura had sent to me.
Also published here.

I Like People Who Smile When It Is Raining (1)

Letter sent to Laura (the United Kingdom).
Drawn envelope.
I know I must practice to draw properly...

Bring Me More Mail

Sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).
Recycled envelope using an envelope security pattern. I usually love these designs, as a lot of people do.
I added some stickers and rubber stamps.
I thought it was the right cover for this mail related postcard:

Wrapped Postcard

I've got this colourful postcard from a postcrosser who signs as Rachel (Taiwan). The postcard reached to my mail box wrapped in transparent film. How thoughtful of her! And the most surprising is that in the post office they had had to unwrap the postcard in order to cancel the stamp, and then wrapped it again carefully, so it arrived in perfect condition. Thanks to both, the sender and the careful postal worker!

Mermaid among Fishes

Sent to E (Utopia, France).
Recycled envelope decorated with rubber stamps and colour pencils.
Also published here.

Don't Bore

Don't bore: be creative!
Sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).
Altered postcard. See the original below. It's an ad postcard for art workshops in Estudio Rossana Zaera Estudio.
Also published here (with this other work).

Keep Calm

Two postcards sent by Laura (the UK). 

Keep Calm and Carry On is a catchphase that originally appeared on a World War II-era British public safety poster. You can read a bit more about that here and here. After the rediscovery of the poster in 2000, a lot of funny parodies have appeared with altered text, colours and iconography. You can find some of them here. And, if you feel creative, you can even create your own poster in the Keep Calm-O-Matic.

Every Child Is an Artist

Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once he grows up. Picasso

Sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).
Altered postcard. See the original below. It's an ad postcard for art workshops in Estudio Rossana Zaera Estudio.

La ciencia del sueño

Sent to Chi (Taiwan).
Letter write inside a reused DVD cover. It comes from the film The Science of Sleep (2006).

Pat Postman

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
It's a postcard, nothing special about it except for the fact it made me extremely happy. I wanted to share that for some strange reason she found it when I had just reminded the Pat Postman song...
Also published here.

Magic Fun

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
It contained the magic book that you can see in the picture below. But the "envelope" is as interesting as the content (at least for mail lovers...!).

And a beautiful personalized stamp!

Happy Postcrossing

Another metapostcard (normal size) also sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
I like a lot the greetings in differents languages and the lighthouses on some stamps. You can buy it here.

Pop-up Hello Kitty

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
Amazing shaped postcard sent to wish me good luck in my exams... My university doesn't looks as pretty as Hello Kitty's school...!

Marzipan Box

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
Marzipan box containing some beautiful multilingual (Catalan, Spanish, Dutch) goodies, as spring Dutch tulips, some beautiful bookmarks...

Vintage School

Letter sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).
Drawn envelope, inspired in some flashcards we made (I mean, some classmates and me) for our English lesson.

Postman Pat and His Black and White Cat

Postman Pat

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat and his black and white cat. 

 Early in the morning, 

 When the day is dawning, 

 He picks up all the post bags in his van. 

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat and his black and white cat. 

 All the birds are singing and the day is just begining, 

 Pat feels he's a really happy man. 

 Everybody knows his bright red van, 

 All his friends will smile as he waves to greet them. 

 Maybe, you can never be sure, there'll be knock (knock knock) 

 ring, (ring ring) 

 Letters through your door! he he! 

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat 

 Postman Pat and his black and white cat. 

 All the birds are singing, and the day is just beginning, 

 Pat feels he's a really happy man. 

 Pat feels he's a really happy man. 

 (slowly) Pat feels he's a really happy man.

Taiwanese Train

Sent by Jou-I (Taiwan).
Rubber stamp on the back of a postcard.

Collage with Mermaid

Sent by Liberty (France).
Collage.

Verzamelen

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).
Big postcard about postcards. Maybe we could call it metaposcard...

Prosciutto

Sent by Alfredo (Italy).

Maximum card.

Also published here.