Original Art Greeting Cards: Why Use Them?

Christmas. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Graduations. Hallmark has them covered, or so we thought. Store-bought greeting cards have a lot to offer: vivid color, cute one-liners, reminders to add extra postage to the envelope, and quite often a rather hefty price tag. But the truth is that the card you buy at the store is one of thousands of identical cards, some of which are sold all over the planet. In no way is the card in your hands unique, even if it does aptly express what you would like to communicate. Of course, sometimes it simply does not manage to say what you are trying to say. You spend an hour browsing the card rack only to conclude that nothing is quite what you want: either the picture is great, but the words are cheesy, or the words are beautiful and heartfelt, but the picture is just not appropriate for the person you want to give the card to.

When store-bought cards do not give you a perfect fit for the message you have to share, it’s time to widen your search net. What are your options? You could write a letter – but that wouldn’t have a fun picture to go with it. You could make your own greeting card – but what if all your paints are dry, you are too busy, or you don’t feel the tickle of the creative finger? You could make a phone call to communicate your message – but that wouldn’t qualify as a heart-warming, written greeting. Yet another option (and one of my favorites) is to invest in a hand-crafted greeting card that perfectly suits the recipient. You know the person you are buying a card for – invest in a one-of-a-kind card that will float their boat.

Hand-crafted greeting cards are widely available on international craft platforms such as ETSY. Artists, scrapbookers, and print boutiques around the world all have something to offer you that will put store-bought greeting cards in the shade. I want to put the spotlight on one category of hand-made cards, simply because these cards are one of my areas of interest. Original illustrated greeting cards – they offer fresh designs on cards that are guaranteed to be unique.

So why should you invest in an original art card? Let me start by saying that if store-bought cards meet your needs then the answer to this question is not for you. Definitely stay with what works for you. But if store-bought cards fall a little short of your expectations, it makes sense to spend roughly the same amount of money on a greeting card that is more than a greeting card.

Original art cards may be collaged, hand painted or illustrated directly on the card surface, or have an original drawing or painting attached to the front of the card. ACEO greeting cards are a good example of the latter type. In an ACEO-styled card, the art card is constructed by attaching a small artwork (ACEO) to the front of a blank card. I have recently begun work on a series of greeting cards that fall into the former category: illustrations done directly on the card surface. I enjoy monotone, so for this series I have chosen to work predominantly in black ink on a white card surface. The style is reminiscent of adult coloring books with detailed patterns, abstraction, and a central theme for each card. (In fact, I actually encourage my customers to color the card and envelope if they want to contribute their own brand of creativity to the card.)

By purchasing an original art card, you are purchasing a small work of art which in turn becomes a vehicle for your greeting or message. Wouldn’t you like to open your mailbox (the physical one in your front yard) and find a greeting card that is entirely unique – not a mass-production print or even a limited edition print, but something a real person invested significant time into? You can run your finger over the surface of the card and feel the texture of the media used to create the card. You might even spot real life smudges or slips of the pen that have not been fixed by a computer. You would be holding art in your hands. Perhaps not a grand piece you might add to your million dollar art collection, but art – small and unusual art – nonetheless.

If you have something worth saying by writing it down, why settle for some run-of-the-mill e-card or a glossy generic issue from your local Walmart? Put your words inside a card that the recipient will look at more than once – they might even hold onto the card (and your words), if they recognize the value of what they have in their hands. (And of course, there is always the chance that the inexpensive art card you paid a few dollars for is created by an artist that becomes famous during your lifetime. Wouldn’t you want to be able to say you still own or gifted one of their small artworks?) An original art card takes your words and upgrades their value by presenting them in a way that will be entirely unique to that moment. It’s a double delight gift: your thoughtful words and an original piece of art.

If you are interested in viewing some of my original art cards, please visit my ETSY store.

 

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Final Stretch for 2016 Christmas Project

Christmas Coloring Book by E and P Lewis
Final checks to the illustrations for the Christmas carol coloring book.

Who doesn’t love a cheerfully bright and colorful Christmas? This year, my husband (the embodiment of multi-facetted creativity) and I set out to develop a cheerful, creative product that would embrace the best of Christmas. We wanted this to be a joint creative project that would pool our individual talents, and yield something that would give people a real-time break from all the craziness that Christmas has devolved into. We chose to embark on a project that would blend the visual and hearing senses in an experience that revisits the joy and peace of Christmas. The end of this project is in sight, and the product (which is perfect for gifting) is due for early release in October 2016.

My husband’s half of the project is the listening experience. And it is an experience you will want to have – the music is hauntingly beautiful, and will put you in the mood for the best kind of Christmas. When you have brain-fry and mall-fog from the Christmas shopping that makes you wish you could skip Christmas this year, this is the music you need to be listening to. The CD (which will also be available as a digital download) features a blend of old (read that as VERY well known) and not-so-common Christmas carols. What sets this collection of Christmas carols apart is that the entire album is played exclusively on trumpet. (Technically, it’s not just trumpet, as some of the recordings do feature flugelhorn, but I think of the flugelhorn as falling under the instrumental umbrella of the trumpet.)  The CD is perfect for listening to on its own, but it comes into its own when you couple it with my half of the project.

My responsibility was to develop an adult-friendly coloring book that would amplify the experience of listening to the Christmas carols on the CD. Coloring is a great way to unwind at the end of a stressful day, and the festive season has become notorious for taking our stress levels up more than just a few notches. We wanted to develop a coloring experience that would keep the user’s attention on the Christmas story (after all, that is central to why we celebrate at Christmas), and provide plenty of opportunity to indulge in the use of uplifting, vibrant colors. And we wanted to double the relaxation and joy-infusing effect of the coloring by coupling it with mood-uplifting music.

Each page in the coloring book represents a stage in the development of the Christmas story. Those familiar with my drawing style will know that this book won’t look like most of the coloring books you find stacked up on the shelves at the grocery checkout. I like freestyle drawing, and the blending of reality with the abstract. This book is an expression of how I see the Christmas story: a little humor, a little abstract patterning, many fun spaces to color, and a lot of Jesus. And each page is directly related to one or more of the carols on the accompanying CD. Each full-page illustration comes with a list of the carols that are referenced by the illustration, an extract from a carol, and the scripture that forms the foundation for the illustration (and the carols).

With the release date set for October 2016, we are definitely in the final stretch. The music has been recorded, the illustrations are finished, and the final product is coming together. The combo product will initially be sold through Tiger Music, an online music store that ships internationally, but you will be able to buy the CD and the coloring book separately at a later stage. Stay updated by subscribing to my blog (there’s a button on the side of this page), or to my husband’s blog.

If you are looking for a Christmas gift that is cheerful, uplifting, colorful, joy-inducing, stress-relieving, and plain FUN to use, this CD and coloring book combo fits the bill.

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