By Ashley St. Michel
Staff Writer
    Anyone who has been a high school senior knows the strains and pressures students face during their final months before they enter the real world. Heartwood College of Art on York Street in Kennebunk is using the underground method of mail art to display the emotions of high school seniors in their “Declare Your Independence” exhibit.
    Susan Wilder, director of the project, said the theme focuses on the fleeting moment students experience while living between two worlds – adulthood and childhood.
    “We were really trying to figure out how to get high school seniors to talk about how they feel during this time,” Wilder said.
    In its second year as an exhibit, Wilder said she was on a kayaking trip two years ago when she starting thinking about the pressures and the emotions students experience, especially when they are seniors. After noticing a few teenagers jumping from some rocks, Wilder said she came up with the title for the project but didn’t know how to apply it. After reading a book titled, “Post Secret” by Frank Warren, which uses mail art to express feelings of people all around the world, she immediately brought her ideas to Dean of Admissions Audrey Gup-Matthews.    
    “I had never heard of mail art before,” Gup-Matthews said. “In fact, I didn’t know what to think when she approached me about it, but it has really turned into something interesting.”
    Mail Art is sent or exchanged through postal or other delivery services according to Wilder. Although Mail Art doesn’t have to been done on eight-and-a-half by five-and-a-half cards, Wilder said she thought the cards were a good way to give all the students the same material to work with. Mail art can include rubber stamping, stickers, handmade paper, photocopying, humor and text to describe or add to the artwork.
    “What we came up with was quite a lot of anxiety about the transition,” Wilder said. “Then it goes by and the students land on the other side and get past it. I wanted to capture that, especially for the adults and parents.”
    Wilder added it is important parents recognize the pressure students go through when making transition.
    Last year, Wilder said she was pleased to receive a total of 75 cards from high school students across the state. Wilder sends out flyers to all the high schools in Maine informing them about the project and how students can participate. The flyers give guidelines for the students to follow, including the size of the cards. Anyone who wants to contribute must have the cards sent through the postal system and the back of the card must include the label of the student’s high school and the student’s name.
    “You can draw anything you want on the front and on the back of the card,” Wilder said. “The only think I said in the rules is that I didn’t want anything obscene, otherwise it would get pitched.”
    Wilder said cultural differences are not common issue on the cards, and said she notices dark themes most often.
    “A lot of the cards that came in last year were a little bit dark,” Wilder said. “That was especially prevalent in the cards from some of the small towns located up north. Sometimes we forget down here that students in small towns have a completely separate set of issues to deal with.”
    Wilder said more students in northern Maine come from families who have never stepped onto a college campus. Since Maine has a high average of first generation college students, she said it’s hard for them to get information about secondary education.
    Another common theme in the cards, which Wilder said has carried over into some of the cards she’s received this year, is financial responsibility. She said this probably stems from the cost of education and the financial strain it could put on entire families.
    “It’s really an outlet for communication, especially for artists because they aren’t going to write a letter to the editor,” Gup-Matthews said. “But they will draw and paint, which is a valuable way of expression.”
    Wilder said, as for this year, she hopes the college receives a broader response. So far, the college has received more than 40 cards from schools including East Millinocket, Cape Elizabeth and Calais. When the cards are on display, Wilder said she gives awards to the cards which express the students emotions best. The college will continue to host the exhibit until students stop participating and Wilder said there may even be some plans to branch out into other states in the region.
    “Massachusetts and New Hampshire schools have expressed interest in joining the project,” she said. “But right now we just want to focus on Maine.”
    Gup-Matthews said she is excited about the continuation of the project.
    “I think it’s a fabulous project that gives teens a voice through talent,” she said. “It also helps Heartwood get out there. But I think it’s most interesting because people get to see what teens are doing and it supplies young artists the chance to show their work and really start to get out there.”
    Wilder said the college accepts cards between Oct. 1 and Nov. 20. She said she receives more than two cards a day almost every day. Although the postal service may be bogged down by the incoming supply of mail art, Wilder said she hasn’t had a single incident involving the post office.    
    Once all the cards are collected, the college puts them in plastic bags and on clips so people who attend the exhibit can touch and view the cards up close. Once the exhibit is over, the cards are sent back to the students. The exhibit runs from Dec. 9 to Dec. 20 in the Main Gallery at Heartwood College.