Good Cards
I love a good card. I love giving them and receiving them. I love having to decipher a person’s handwriting, sometimes as if you are unlocking a cryptic code, I love writing on beautiful paper. I have a stack of cards I’ve been given over the years beside my bedside book pile which I use as bookmarks. I love re-reading them whilst I use them to mark my place in the book I’m reading – they’re like timeless love bombs. Some cards, usually ones which have been handmade, also feature on our walls.
My family love laughing at my cards. Every Christmas when we’re unwrapping presents and reading the cards out loud – mine are always the longest, and contain ‘helpful’ observations and advice. When our children were young, my sister and I invented a character, Aunty Juanita – Santa’s partner - who would leave an entertaining card for our children every Christmas Eve.
When the Australian artist Nell did the “Nell Anne” project with McCahon House inviting people to submit an embroidered patch of a name celebrating a woman who had been significant in their lives, my daughter Sophie’s contribution was of Aunty Juanita along with the accompanying text:
Aunty Juanita is a fictional character, concocted by my mother and aunt, as the more flamboyant and fabulous partner of Santa Claus. They decided that Mrs Claus was a tad drab, and no sort of role model for young women, so they created their own.
She was a feminist, artistic and chic, and full of wisdom about self care, accessorising and personal hygiene. She made quite the impression on my young mind, far more interesting than Santa himself.
Looking back the memories are all the fonder thinking of my mum and aunt, staying up on Christmas Eve and brewing such a woman for us to aspire to. She may be a fabrication, but she is the warmth, humour and love of them both, and she represents the inspirational women in my family.
Of course I proceeded to use Sophie’s patch to make a card!
I’ve worked as a producer all my life, orbiting back and forth between the arts and the commercial sector.
Artists are some of the smartest people I know, yet the arts industry is so hard to make a living from. This project is an effort to not only satisfy myself and others like me, with an endless supply of good cards, but also an endeavour to create a business model that rewards artists IP. All artists in the Good Cards pack receive an ongoing profit share of sales.
With thanks to collaborators: Sam Hartnett, Aleisha Marinkovich, Graeme Brazier, Rachel Lilburn and all the artists in the Good Cards pack.