If you’ve recently found yourself overwhelmed with the desire to send drawings of skeleton men, strange creatures and dead-eyed children through the mail, we know just the place to send it.
While it’s terribly fun mailing such artwork to your unimpressed grandma, your freaked-out neighbors and the “normal” loved ones in your life, the miscreants of the Edward Gorey House are asking that you send it to them instead. The museum, which was Gorey’s home for more than 20 years, is dedicated to the life and work of the artist, as well as encouraging visitors and Gorey fans everywhere to stay just as strange as they’d like.
The museum recently launched its annual envelope art contest with the theme of — this sounds about right — “The Evil Garden.”
The competition website instructs: “Pull out your green thumb (or someone’s green thumb) from the little box that you keep it in and start drawing your magic, potentially corrupt, thistly, slimy, aromatic, itchy, buggy, blooming, or otherwise misbehaving botanical patch of wonders. This is definitely an Evil Garden and you’ve been there and returned with a tale to tell. Show us your little envelope-sized piece of paradise lost.”
Freaks of all ages can participate, with winners judged by age group: under 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 14, 15 to 18, and over 18. The only rule? Your art has to be on an envelope.
