Mail Me Art 2 Submission

I don't remember where I found the Mail Me Art 2 site, but I've been working on my submission for the last few months (with a break in between for the craft fair and holiday rush).  Somewhere along the line they bumped the deadline from March 31 to January 31.  I had been playing with my envelope a little each lunch hour, planning to finish some time in February or March.  Basically, I'd been slacking after the holidays.  I'm so glad I happened to visit the site!

I've realized something about myself recently I probably should have learned a long time ago.  I work much better with motivation and a solid deadline.  As I've mentioned before, it's normal for me to ignore my clay for the better part of a year, only to pull it out sporadically starting in September as I start to gear up for Christmas.  Having a solid deadline 2 months earlier than I expected was certainly motivating!

I visited USPS.com and did the math to figure out my envelope had to be at the Post Office no later than this past Wednesday, the 20th.  Even then I wasn't sure I'd be able to mail it as is, or if I'd have to pay a lot of $$ to mail it in a special international priority envelope, just to make sure it got to the UK in time.  The whole point of the contest is seeing what traveling through the postal system does to the artwork, of course.

I worked feverishly over the weekend, Monday and Tuesday evening, finishing with enough time for Sweetie to take pictures.  He was only able to get pictures of the back with the final coat of glaze, and even the bare pencil was shiny enough to cause photographic difficulties.  You can see where we were fighting glare.  Here is the finished product, both front and back:

 

Mailing this was harder than I expected.  I was ok putting the $2 worth of postage in the upper right corner.  Even knowing part of the art is the postal service's contribution, I still felt the piece was ruined when the clerk randomly slapped a white label on the front so she could stamp it "Priority Mail."

The contest originator has chosen one winner from all submissions that hit his doorstep between the first and last day of each month.  Having seen about 250 of the other submissions, I'm not hoping too hard I'll win the last coveted monthly spot.  I am hoping a little, of course!  I'm also hoping my submission will be published in the forthcoming book.  There will also be an exhibition, and eventually the opportunity to purchase select pieces.  If my piece is chosen for sale, I'll receive 70% of the purchase price.  If nothing else, I expect to eventually see it posted on the Facebook Event site.