Join Me!

Traveling Postcards would like to stand behind Eve Ensler’s VDay 2009 “Power to Women and Girls of Democratic Republic of Congo” campaign.

TP will be making postcards for the women who are in Panzi hospital in the DRC. Through the action of creative joy, our efforts will bring awareness and healing to a large number of women who are survivors of rape and torture.

Join me in letting these women know they are not alone, and that their stories matter.

I am looking for any groups of women and girls who would like to participate in this project. Please contact me at cslov@comcast.net for more information on how you can help. More Info: www.vday.org/drcongo

Traveling Postcards is able to travel to your hometown! Informational kits are available to purchase so that you can hold a TP event in your neighborhood. TP Kits include facilitator directions, samples, blank postcards and a few bits of artistic fun!

Every card that is created will be sent back to me where they will be documented and added to the online collection before they are sent on their way!

Join me in celebrating all the ways women reach out to each other.

Exhibiting You!

Dear Friends,

Please take a look at the International Museum of Women http://imow.org/community/stories/index Exhibiting You series. Each month the museum chooses to highlight certain stories by including them in their “museum picks”. I am happy to announce, Traveling Postcards is currently a museum pick! Please visit the site, and if you so choose, give the story a 4 star rating. The more people vote, the longer the story will stay featured at IMOW.

The online attention IMOW brings to Traveling Postcards is a valuable tool for bringing awareness and hope to women worldwide.

I welcome new ideas and destinations for Traveling Postcards. Please take a look at where we have been and let me know where you would like to go.

Right now Traveling Postcards is looking for:

Destinations that create voice and visibility for women

Art materials that contain color, beauty and expression

Fund Raising ideas that enable Traveling Postcards to be self sustaining

Friends who are willing to contribute their wisdom to the project.

If you can help, please email me at cslov@comcast.net.

Thank you!!

United We STAND

The last two Traveling Postcards events have had a tremendous impact on my life. I have been deeply moved by the beauty and depth of each woman’s desire to be a part of a project that connects us all in a compassionate and caring way.

February 4th brought Traveling Postcards to JFK University in Campbell, CA. Over twenty one women participated; a record attendance! I set up three long tables in a hallway, and women literally stopped in between classes, just long enough to make a card. I am always impressed with a woman’s ability to make time for a project that speaks to their hearts. I heard comments like “I had no idea what to say or make, and within minutes the card just seemed to appear!”

Creativity speaks to everyone. The allure of beautiful paper, bright colors and interesting buttons, fibers and textiles, can encourage and inspire the most reluctant artist. But more importantly, women who call out to each other, within a safe and caring environment are able to create heartfelt messages of hope.

Every postcard created at Campbell was given away to a woman at STAND.

STAND= Stand Against Domestic Violence

Traveling Postcards’ mission is to give all women an opportunity to share their voice, their wisdom and their hearts. On February 10^th, nine extraordinary women from the STAND community received their postcards.

STAND is a nonprofit local organization that is committed to ending domestic violence through the provision of prevention and intervention services. STAND is a multi-service agency that serves over 10,000 people annually.

Shelter clients and others who choose to start a new life, can stay in Stand’s transitional housing program The Center provides 13 apartments for women and children. The primary focus is on achieving economic independence through education and employment. It is these women who received cards as well as added their own unique voice to the growing numbers of Traveling Postcard participants.

Many of the women’s cards reflect their desire for a home and for the stability of a family that is safe. These women are brave, determined and intelligent and are sharing their wisdom with you. Please go to Traveling Postcards’ website to view all their beautiful cards. www.travelingpostcards.org

I welcome new ideas and new destinations for Traveling Postcards. Please email me at cslov@comcast.net with your brilliance!

Postcard History

My fascination with postcards continues.

I find that aspects of memory, art and relationship are all present in the act of collecting postcards. I hope to present a brief postcard history here in order to highlight the rich background we all share in communication through words and imagery.

UNDIVIDED BACK ERA: (1901-1907)

Most postcards up until 1898 are “Undivided Back” cards meaning they do not have the line going down the center of the card. Writing was not permitted by law on the address side on any postcard until March 1, 1907. Any messages were written across the front over the photographs or artwork on the card.

REAL PHOTO POSTCARDS

Around 1906 Eastman Kodak started making an affordable camera called the “Folding Pocket Camera”. The public was now able to take black and white photographs and have them printed right onto postcard backs. The negatives were the same size of the postcard and the photographer had a small metal tool that allowed them to write directly onto the image. It is said that the publishing of printed postcards during this time period doubled every six months.

DIVIDED BACK ERA (1907-1915)

The divided back postcard made it possible for both the address and the

message to be on the back of the card leaving the front of the cards untouched showing only the beautiful artwork

or photography. The images filled the entire card with no white border.

WHITE BORDER ERA (1915-1930)

The White Border Era brought an end to the postcard craze. The golden age ended as imports from Germany ceased and publishers in the U.S. began printing postcards to try to fill the void. The cards were very poor quality. They are easily distinguished by the white border around the pictured area. The higher costs of post war (WW1) publishing combined with the inexperience of making cards brought down the quality significantly. To save on the price of ink, “white borders” were left around the postcards.

HAND TINTED

The exception to the decline was the “Hand Tinted” postcards being produced in France and Belgium. These were photo postcards with various topics which were colored by hand giving them a realistic color look. Many were true works of art. Unfortunately these cards did not last long. The process of hand tinted card was very labor intensive and unhealthy! Mostly women artists sat in rows while the postcards were passed down “assembly line” style. Each woman was responsible for a particular color. The cards were small, the artwork detailed. Women would wet the tip of their brush, usually cotton covered, with their lips as they worked. Soon the lead in the paint took its toll as women became sick. Hand tinted postcards soon were discontinued.

Going to the movies became the new “visual” experience. The telephone quickly replaced the postcard as a way to keep in touch and thus was the end of the “Golden Age” of postcards.

MODERN PHOTOCHROME ERA ( 1939-present)

A new type of postcard, the color “Photochrome” appeared in 1939. “Chrome” postcards started to take over the marketplace immediately after they were launched by the Union Oil Company. Sold in their western service stations, they were easily produced, were of high photo quality and of most importance, they were in true living color!

These cards were the first cards to catch my eye as they reminded me so much of my own family’s car vacations. I first started working with postcards to add a new dimension to my Drive By series and later became interested in their ability to communicate both visually and orally important aspects of our every day life.

I believe that it is the small things that we do everyday, either at home or on a trip, that remind us that we are of value and have something to say.

Next Traveling Postcards event:

February 4th JFK University Campbell Campus

February 10th STAND community, Contra Costa County

Change is in the wind.

As it is with many great plans, sometimes life gets in the way. I have recently discovered that I will not be able to travel to Malawi as planned. Although I am terribly disappointed, I am comforted to know that all the beautiful postcards that have been made will indeed still travel to Malawi.

There is no question in my mind that women everywhere will find their hearts and their voice through Traveling Postcards. I encourage everyone to reach out to other women and share what you have learned and what you know to be of value.

I am happy to say that Traveling Postcards will continue to collect and distribute postcards. If anyone knows a group of women who would like to participate by making cards, or would benefit from receiving cards, please let me know.

Traveling Postcards is able to move and to grow and to change. All of our lessons and our stories will move through time, blowing in the breeze, and land where they are most needed. I look forward to all the new and exciting possibilities in the months to come and will post on this blog the next Traveling Postcards event. Stay tuned!