Stickers and Stamps: A Bright Spot in 2020
2020 has been a rough year in so many ways. The relentless news cycle, ubiquitous uncertainty, social isolation, existential dread, and so much more. All amplified by social media.
The attack on the US Postal Service hit me harder than I’d expect it to. I felt driven to buy as many stamps as I could, to support the USPS.
At some point, I found myself staring at the pile of art stickers I was going to give away at conferences and shows…all cancelled because of Covid.
What was I going to do with them? Could I mail them to people?
I started with a little group of artist-friends and set up an online signup form, so they could send me their mailing addresses privately.
With perfect timing, the USPS was about to release new stamps honoring local artist Ruth Asawa, just as I was launching an art+data project from right in her neighborhood in San Francisco.
The process of writing little notes and addressing the envelopes by hand was surprisingly soothing. I started inviting more people to signup, and asked them to tell me when their sticker arrived. Before I knew it, I had a tiny data…
