Non-Digital Creations

This daily create might have just a few too many details for the instructor led ds106 student to complete within the timeframe – but what a wonderful boost to get some art delivered to your snail mail right after spring break for an inspirational boost. Being in the open course, my flexibility fits nicely into this activity as well as bringing it into a personal path to completing it.

Participating also could be a way of extending and taking skills and ideas being developed from this #ds106 experience and realizing it is real world and is #4life in many ways. As my journey in becoming an independent learner and understanding how educators have a responsibility to help their students achieve learner independence in order to be the most successful individual they can be for life this postcard swap struck a chord. For more on the independent learner continuum and owning your own learning: Learning Independence Continuum and Executive Summary publications from the Institute @ CESA #1.

The postcard swap involves:

• creation of art – whether it is traditional media, digital media, words, diy – whatever – it is the #ds106 premise – “make art damnit!”
• it fosters community and connection and the importance of those concepts in life and work
• it expands your box – brings diversity and individuals into your universe that you might not have otherwise encountered and opens new paths and ideas
• allows one to be proud of what they create and provides an audience to share it with

• Kat Sloma – the individual who started the swap states the following reasons.
• • To encourage artists to learn how to reproduce their artwork. Many people create original work, but don’t take the next step to reproduce their work to share. I would like you to learn how easy it is to create the postcards if you haven’t done this before.
  • To encourage connection between artists of different mediums from around the world.  Regardless of the medium we create in, we are all artists! I believe we have more inspiration for creation as we explore diversity in art and culture. Personal connections between artists enhance our art.
  • To encourage sharing of art with others. If you love to create but have a fear of sharing your work, this is a safe way to start. You can get your work out there in the swap, even without your name attached. Sometimes taking that little step is enough to push past long-held fears!
  • To give you some fun, happy mail! There is nothing better than visiting the letter box to find some wonderful piece of mail, is there? For a few weeks, you will receive pieces of art and encouragement from your fellow swap participants in the mail. It’s just plain fun!

    This all wraps up into the central idea behind the swap: Liberate Your Art into the world, where it can do its greatest good . Liberate Your Art 2015 Postcard Swap.

I would love that one of my postcards in return are from someone in #ds106 as well as knowing that #ds106 has infiltrated another segment of creators and will be discovered by those who receive a card. Time will tell. Enjoy the process if you can or bookmark it for 2016. 🙂

I will undoubtedly post as I get my cards in March and April and update followers through my Chasing Shiny Objects category. Can’t wait for the postman!