This Made Me Think Of You
Convert your calendar into a year of connection
This Made Me Think of You is a desk calendar that invites you to slow down and connect with the people you care about by sending a monthly postcard.
1 Desk Calendar • 12 Postcards • a Year of Connection
The calendar cover turns into a stand.
Easy to use
At the end of the month simply peel off the postcard. Remove the calendar section by cutting along the dotted line. Write, address and add a stamp to your postcard.
Inside the calendar
Calendar details
Outside cover turns into the stand. Desk calendar measures 4.5 x 9 Inches or 11.5 x 22.5 cm.
Sunday is the beginning of the week
Includes 12 postcards measuring 4 x 6 inches or 10 x 15 cm
Includes the four major moon phases
Printed in Canada on card stock note to connect with a person you care for. It also feels a little counter cultural to send mail these days and I'm always up for a little cultural rebellion.
This year's postcards include a spot for your return address so people can write you back.
The Postcard Images
The postcards images were captured through Camera Illumina, my interactive art installation that uses camera obscura technology to create intimacy with the land.
Watch the project video to go inside Camera Illumina.
This Made Me Think of You Project Video
Camera Illumina
Camera Illumina is an exploration of what it means to live in a reciprocal relationship with the land. I first encountered this notion in the book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by the Potowatami botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. She describes a way of being that is “rooted in intimacy with a local landscape where the land itself is the teacher”. Reading this made me rethink my relationship to my home, the ancestral land of the Stó:lō people.
As a settler artist I am trying to create a deeper relationship to where I live and unlearn my colonial view of ‘nature’ as separate from me.
The first camera obscura I made out of cardboard and duct tape.
Last Year’s Calendar
Last year I made my first postcard calendar An Invitation to Notice as a tribute to my Dad inspired by the many postcards he sent me.
This year I made the calendar again because of the stories of connection I heard from the people that participated in the project, for example:
Two friends separated by a cross country move reconnected when one of them sent the other a postcard. Upon receiving the card the friend phoned and they chatted for an hour.
One calendar participant uses the postcards to keep in touch with faraway friends. The cards often start a volley of texts back and forth between her and the recipients.
Inspired by my Dad’s Love
My Dad was an epic postcard sender and sent hundreds over his lifetime. We didn’t get to live close to each other and he used postcards to help bridge the gap between Canada and Switzerland. After he died my mom gave me a box of the postcards he sent me. Reading them now I see them as an act of his love.
My Dad loved photography and even did some super 8 filming. He also loved trains!
What People Are Saying
“Your lovely calendar has arrived and I wanted to thank you so much! What a meaningful gift! My husband and I were just looking through each of the months. We will both enjoy it so much and look forward to sharing and sending a postcard every month.”
Tinka
I am moved and inspired by your postcard project. In particular the way that you have used images and cycles of nature to process grief and loss and reflect upon the memories of your dad. The ephemeral quality of the images bring to mind the transitory nature of time. Congratulations on this beautiful work!
Wendy
“What an ingenious design and elegant structure. I love looking at it. I am looking forward to choosing the people who will receive my postcard at the end of each month.”
Laurie
How did I capture the images?
I used a digital camera or a phone inside the Camera Illumina to capture the image.
How does Camera Illumina work?
The technology of the camera obscura (meaning dark chamber) dates back to 4th century China. The basic structure of this type of camera is a dark room with a little hole in the wall; the light rays from the outside enter through the tiny hole and project the view upside down onto an interior wall. Adding a lens over top of the hole sharpens the image and using a mirror projects the image down onto a table as the illustration shows. This ancient concept was further developed over many centuries and was used by painters, mathematicians and scientists. I am grateful for the sharing of this knowledge, a creative inheritance that we can all participate in.
The Team
Brenna Maag makes ambitious multi-year projects and encouraging people to send real mail satisfies her little radical heart.
Vanessa Beckman is a multidisciplinary graphic designer based in the Greater Vancouver area. She is mainly interested in editorial and experiential design, emphasizing strategy and meaning-centred design.
2025 Postcard Calendar Project Video
All you need is a postcard
You don’t need my calendar to participate in this project. All you need is any old postcard and the desire to connect with someone you care about in a tangible way.