A Midsommar Themed Card
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Missing the delight of receiving something in the mail that's not a bill or advertisement? Snail Mail Club members receive unique handmade cards four times per year that are inspired by the seasons.
Midsommar themed card design by Becky Hollingsworth for Dear Chizuko, Summer 2024.
We are not actually big fans of Summer at our house, so I tried to picture the best parts of the season for the Summer Solstice card design. Then I wondered what would happen if I put our dog, Luna, into the film Midsommar, in which we see a summer vacation gone horribly wrong for everyone except the main character, Dani.
Luna loves to eat, so I drew her as Dani in the flower dress enjoying a pleasant cookout. I thought a re-imagined ending for the bear would be nice, so he is now happily manning the grill.
I also included the image of the sun gate that the group walks through when arriving at the commune in Sweden as a frame for the image. And the yellow temple has now been become a grill at our lovely cookout.
I didn’t come up with “Dog Days of Midsommar” until the illustration was completed, when I was working on imitating the Midsommar font. But it was the perfect line, just waiting to be discovered.
I included the poem “Discovery” by Florence Ripley Mastin because it complemented the psychedelic flower imagery and Dani’s emotional journey through Midsommar. Since the poem begins with the letter “T,” I added the maypole from the film for a drop cap effect.
I pored over loads of public domain poems looking for the right one and this leapt from the page. After looking up the author, I found myself with a new literary crush as I absolutely adore Mastin’s style.
About the author: Florence Ripley Mastin was a poet and teacher who lived from 1886 to 1968. Born in Pennsylvania, she spent most of her years residing in New York. Her lifelong companion was Grace B. McCool, also a teacher.
Discovery by Florence Ripley Mastin, handwritten by Becky Hollingsworth. Included on the left inside section of each card. The Midsommar maypole is illustrated as a drop cap.
Please read more about Mastin at the following resources:
The Life of Forgotten River Town Poet, Florence Ripley Mastin
Mastin at Academy of American Poets
![John Vachon (1914-1975) for Look magazine. Brooklyn Nobody Knows [Florence Ripley Mastin.] 1948. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.10615.66](https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/f8a0eb1e-fa16-4d4b-8798-3d9d857921aa/94fee828-3d99-49ef-9738-6468a68777fc/frm.jpg)
By Florence Ripley Mastin
The gray path glided before me Through cool, green shadows; Little leaves hung in the soft air Like drowsy moths; A group of dark trees, gravely conferring, Made me conscious of the gaucherie of sound; Farther on, a slim lilac Drew me down to her on the warm grass. “How sweet is peace!” My serene heart said.
Then, suddenly, in a curve of the road, Red tulips! A bright battalion, swaying, They marched with fluttering flags, And gay fifes playing!
A swift flame leapt in my heart; I burned with passion; I was tainted with cruelty; I wanted to march in the wind, To tear the silence with gay music, And to slash the sober green Until it sobbed and bled.
The tulips have found me out.
I was looking for a way to explain some of my Midsommar themed” song choices for the playlist, as well as something new to add to the card bundles, in addition to the stickers and bookmark. Around this time on Instagram, @hieronymus_botch posted about a playlist zine they had put together which inspired me to start working on my own illustrated version.
Some of the scenes I had in mind proved too difficult for me to draw as a small version in a limited amount of time. But this was a fun challenge for me to tackle (even if I thought I was losing my mind a few times). If you haven’t already, you can listen to the Smokin’ Hot Summer playlist using the links at the top of this page.
Front Cover. Track #1 - No Mercy in July - Grant-Lee Phillips.
Pages 1-2. Track #2 - Hellfire - Witch Mountain. #3 - Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift. #4 On Fire - Chong the Nomad. #5 - Two Worlds - Cold Specks.
Pages 3-4. Track #6 - A Sun That Never Sets - Neurosis. #7 - Accelerate - Susanne Sundfør. #8 - Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. #8 - Treeline - Black Belt Eagle Scout.
Pages 5-6. Track #10 - Wrong Direction - Amorphis. #11 - Stand For Myself - Yola. #12 - Mind On Fire - Aisha Badru. #13 - Slash/Burn - Thao & the Get Down Stay Down.
Back Cover. Track #14 - Soon There Will Be No Summer - Fauness.
When I drew the Kiss the Cook bear for the card, I immediately fell in love with him and knew he needed to be a sticker.
The flower stamp sticker was designed before the bookmark.
I thought it would be nice to announce Snail Mail Club!! on the envelopes so I added it on a sticker with my crane postmark logo. There was a little extra space left on the label page, which became the small Thank you, postal workers!! stickers.
The bookmark in last season’s Spring mailing was accidental - a byproduct of test printing the stickers - but I knew I wanted to do a bookmark this time. I thought it would be hilarious to draw a loooooong stamp. Not sure if this one really is all that funny, but I like it.
The stickers and bookmark that accompanied each summer card.
A USPS stamp with an imposter. And a Thank You, Postal Workers!! label.
I attached one set of stickers to each member’s outgoing envelope. With each member’s summer card, they also received one bookmark, a set of stickers, a copy of the zine, and a letter from me.
***A note about current Dear Chizuko stickers - These are recyclable/compostable, and are best used on things like envelopes, journals, calendars, etc. They probably wouldn’t last long if used on surfaces outside, on water bottles, etc. Also, the backing on this batch of labels has seemed to not be cleanly cut, so please take care when peeling.
The Kiss the Cook bear makes such a cute sticker!
All the extras getting packed up in glassine sleeves.
Thank you so much for checking out my Summer 2024 card!! My partner said this was like a Behind the Scenes special feature and I agree! 🎬
If you would like to join Snail Mail Club to receive mailings like this one, please sign up at my Ko-fi profile - or let me know if you have any questions! 🌺
