Text by Kelly Kandra Hughes
Photo by Tom Hlas

Tom Hlas always knew he wanted to be an artist. Born and raised in Elberon, Iowa (population at the time about 100 people), Hlas remembers being four years old and playing with cars on his parents’ chenille bedspread. When his oldest sister, home from college, asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer was simple, “I want to be an artist,” to which his sister replied, “You won’t make any money.”

Hlas tells this story with a smile. He then flashes forward a few decades, glossing over his interest in art, a college major in music, postgraduate seminary studies, and professional work in marketing and graphic design. In the mid-1990s, he was getting ready to turn 40, and he and his husband, Paul Madore, were visiting the Botanical Gardens in New York with some of his college friends. At one point during the trip, Hlas’s friend turned to Madore and begged him to get Hlas a paint set because of his obsession with art. Madore obliged, and although both of them remember this story fondly, Hlas is certain the “cute little oil painting set” came with four tubes of paint, whereas Madore is quite certain it came with 12. 

Hlas started taking art classes, and “it just snowballed from there,” he said. Over the years, certain themes recur in his art, such as home, joy, gratitude and generosity. His goal for both making and teaching art is for people to feel good about themselves. He isn’t sure whether this goal has been innate since childhood or is a reflection of the philosophy and theology he studied in seminary. It also doesn’t matter if his art is colorful or neutral. What Hlas really wants is for his art to invoke feelings of joy.  

This desire has been elevated these last 16 months through Hlas’s mail art. Mail art is a medium where the piece of mail itself is the art form, either homemade postcards or cards in decorated envelopes. Not only does the creator experience joy in the process of making, mailing and anticipating delivery of the card, but the receiver also experiences the joy of something beautiful turning up in their mailbox. As an added benefit, postal employees share in the joy as they process the colorful mail that comes through the postal system. Jenna Brown, a Norfolk postal employee for almost 14 years, loves when mail art comes through the post office. “Paul just came in today to mail something of Tom’s, and requested that, instead of putting our printed label on it, I use pretty stamps. I love it when people request that! While we sort the mail in the morning, every now and then we’ll see a letter or package decorated with art or stamps that the sender wanted to use up or to make pretty just because! I always stop to look at those pieces. It not only puts a smile on the recipient’s face, but us postal workers too!” 

As a way to share mail art with as many people as possible, Hlas started a private Facebook group in July 2020 called “Collage and Mail Art Gallery.” Because he wants to keep the group a safe and happy environment, he individually vets every person who asks to join. “I can’t tell you how many people I rejected because they’re selling phone cards!” Hlas laughs, though his diligence is no small feat. The “Collage and Mail Art Gallery” Facebook group now has over 3,500 members. 

Spammers aside, Hlas is overwhelmed that so many people have found a home in the Facebook group. Some members in the group share their work virtually through posts and photos, while others participate in a card exchange he organizes. Linda Lasky, a member of the Facebook group, is a huge fan of Hlas and the joy of mail art. “Sometimes out of the mail art comes wonderful relationships. I have a relationship with a gentleman in France. I email with someone in Italy that started out as mail art, so it’s a wonderful community. I just want to thank Tom so much for that. He’s one of a kind. Creative, generous, accessible and just an all-around dear man. He’s really developed a beautiful community.”

Hlas is thrilled with how his community has grown and the joy he has brought others. He plans to continue with mail art for the foreseeable future. “If we can bring even the tiniest bit of joy into someone’s life by looking at mail art, then I’m all for it.”