Welcome friends! For three Fridays in April and May 1st, I’ll be hosting an online class through the Denver University Enrichment Program these interactive workshops are free and you can call or video in through this Zoom link .
Getting a hand written letter from a friend is a small gift, a permanent and tangible piece of themselves crafted within the context of a fixed place in time and the context of the relationship that you share. Twenty years from now will we still have our texts and IMs, will we keep our letters?
In this virtual “correspondence course of correspondence” we’ll look at ways to embellish letters and envelopes with original art and collage pieces, discuss formats for writing personal letters that make them sincere and whimsical. Along the way you’ll have handouts to print, cut and color, links to great letters through history, resources for crafting stationary and art, recommended books to order from local shops still doing mail order and a host of places to send thank you notes and other letter exchanges.
For each session you’ll want to have a few objects gathered for our in class activity, you can work with just a pencil or pen, copy paper and glue or gather any art or craft supplies you might have at home.
Since many of us may be sheltering with minimal supplies available, I’ll be including creative workarounds to substitute for things you might not have on hand. For example, you might not have a glue stick- no worries! In week One I’m including a recipe for wheat paste a great make at home solution which is one of graffiti artist Banksy’s favorite mediums. Collage and other class downloads are available on the DU site here You can also email me and I can send things directly. I’ll be hosting online galleries of our work on my Facebook and Instagram sites . If you’re using tags in your social media, please let me know! #lostartoftheletter #twobeecreative or @twobeecreative and @DUcollege .
During our first session we’ll be concentrating on the written aspect of constructing a friendly letter. I’ve started a database of hospitals and care facilities where you might want to send Thank You or Good Cheer notes, please feel free to add to this Google Sheet if you have places you’d recommend. The slideshow for week one can be found here and if possible I’ll add a link to our recording of the class.
I’d also encourage you to check out the other fantastic programming happening every day this month from DU…this morning I learned about the lives of Joni Mitchell and Carol King and joined in a sing-a-long, on Tuesday I was introduced to meditation and yesterday deconstructed Emily Dickenson’s First Days Night- I haven’t been this engaged in coursework for many years and it is delightful