Just a Few Cards: 9 Artists Reimagine the Holiday Card
by Maria PopovaWhat exploding Christmases have to do with data visualization and mid-century nautica.
We’re longtime fans of artist Paul Octavious. This season, he’s back with another fantastic project, and he brought a few friends. Just a Few Cards is a collaborative project by Octavious and 8 top designers and illustrators, including Brain Pickings favorite Jacob Livengood and the one and only Nick Felton, who reenvisioned the holiday greeting in a beautiful series of 9 cards, one by each artist.
It started with a conversation between Paul Octavious and Shawn Kelley about the state of Christmas cards and the resurgence of a desire for giving and receiving physical, handwritten notes. That conversation quickly turned into a ‘What if…’ brainstorming session, followed by quick emails to make sure we weren’t completely crazy and ultimately what you see here.”
For just $18, you can get a choice of 9 cards by a sampler set with one from each artist — Julian Callos, Nick Felton, Julia Sonmi Heglung, Kyle Steed, Jay Schaul, Joe Van Wetering, Jacob Livengood, Mark Weaver, and Paul Octavious himself — plus 9 envelopes and one lovely pen.
Seasons Graphings by Nick Felton
Christmas Cookie Crisis by Jacob Livengood
Snowflake by Paul Octavious
Wishing You a Happy Holiday by Julia Sonmi Heglund
peace love and joy by Kyle Steed
Exploded Christmas Tree by Joe Van Wetering
Warm It Up! by Julian Callos
Midcentury Holidays by Mark Weaver
Merry Christmas by Jay Schaul
And here’s our treat just for you: Paul has generously offered to give away a deluxe set Brain Pickings readers — 9 cards, a pack of 3 pens, and 10 US First Class postage stamps. To enter, simply sign up for our newsletter (if you haven’t already) and leave a comment below telling us what your fondest holiday image is — childhood doodle, famous photograph, Dr. Seuss illustration, fine art painting, whatever — and what makes it special for you, then sit tight until Friday, when Paul will hand-pick his favorite answer.
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