Christmas card with Holiday Jester mandala is digitally printed using pigment inks on silky, bright white, acid-free paper. Folded card is 5.25" by 5.25" and comes with a beautifully made, bright white envelope. The photograph I used to create the mandala is printed on the back of the card with the photo location and a little story about the artwork. The paper is super smooth, not slick, and takes gel, ballpoint, and other inks well. The card and envelope are packaged together in a plastic sleeve and mailed in a stiffened mailer. One or two cards are shipped via First Class Mail without tracking. Three or more ship together via the most economical means, which usually includes tracking.

Interior Message. May the holiday jester bring laughs and good cheer!

Framing. This card is created using high-quality archival materials, such as might be used in a museum. The print is sharp, bright, and frameable. To protect the vibrancy of the artwork, I frame using UV glass or acrylic, and I recommend it. If you use plain glass or acrylic, make sure you hang this sweet, little piece and all your beautiful art away from direct sunlight.

About the art. The digital collage on this card, titled Holiday Jester, was created using this photo of celosia blooms taken at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia. Celosia are heat-loving annual plants in the Amaranth family. Their velvety flowers are shaped like plumes, spikes of wheat, cockscombs, or colorful neon brains. The one pictured here is a spikey red plume.

Jesters, both traveling and members of royal courts, have been around since time began and at least since the thirteenth century. Musicians, songsters, magicians, tellers of tales, comedians, acrobats, and mimics, they did it all for a laugh and were the only members of a royal court expressly allowed to insult the king. In creating this collage, I tried to channel the high energy of a holiday jester, telling jokes, juggling the fine china, and turning a ho-hum dinner party into a raucous good time.

The Poem/Ode. Holiday jester, hat strung with bells, an acrobat, jokester, the tales he will tell, of Lords and the Ladies, a goat in the well, he’ll keep the court laughing, the peevish he’ll quell. Twelve festive days under his spell.

~poetry and artwork created by Linda S. Gribko