Braincell 919 - Ryosuke Cohen

When I notice my time is swamped my an idea or a practice, I tru to send Ryosuke Cohen a stamp to mark the period.  I am still dedicated to doodles.

The many faces of Herman Kamphuis

Voyageur Postal has an eye for the timeless that he crafts into unique and instantly recognisable envelopes. When I have had mail art calls, Herman's envelopes always enchant me and get a prime location in the hanging.  I believe this envelope and its contents is a response to my recent adventures in doodles. 

When I doodle I find people appear more than anything else.  When I was home in America I noticed that my painted rocks are still the feature of the mantelpiece. These rocks were done in the early 70s and are women in leotards leaping over anything they can, the moon, the sea, mountains.  I have always loved to paint and rocks became my canvas one summer. I was a gymnast and I still have flying dreams where I bend my body into amazing shapes.  Sadly, my body doesn't really bend like that anymore but I have my dreams, my doodles and my rocks for vicarious contortionist pleasure.

Herman's doodles are about people too but they seem to zero in on the face, mostly. Fabulous, gestural, characters emerge!

The four pages above are a little book.  The characters certainly are dramatic.

In addition, Herman enclosed these photos of some vintage heads.

By the way, the mailing from Herman arrived in the last few days I was in England before setting off for Maine.  It was a hectic time and I forgot to bring Herman's envelope with me to blog.  So this post is out of order but thoroughly enjoyed and adored!

Make Doodle with your Doodle Blanket - Carina Granlund

Here I am on Cranberry with the long emply days of nothing to do but preserve the deck, unload the dishwasher, empty the coffee filters, take my art materials outdoors and paddle in the sea.  Carina Granlund has sent me something to fill the gaps of time so I am inspired and DKult productive in the lulls, when I am, say, sitting on the maine pebbles waiting for my feet to dry.

Enlarge this to read the important instructions!

Note Carina Granlund initiating a doodle collab!

I love Carina's striking envelope and it's aesthetic and original contents. 

Doodle Excursion - Alicia Starr

I have definately had six months of a mail art slump. It has been entirely time sensitive.  There just hasn't been enough time and so much of what I've made has been doodle related.  A few people have sent me add and passes and I have done those but lots of what I send (LIKE ALL THE REST OF YOU, I'm pretty sure) never gets acknowledged and never comes back. If I think about it and look at the postal ledger, there really is a postal ledger, I feel bad about the people I haven't got to, yet. There is a temptation to only send to the people who do send back and share what you send.  But although to me mail art is about communication, as a teacher at times, I understand that communication can be subtle and the results can sprout up much later and lead to unexpected things.  It's about believing… and those people who never reply may be replying in their art and their hearts but you just don't know. So I continue.  

Anyway, Alicia sent me back one of my black and white doodles altered along with her own doodle collages and a great note! Hooray!

Another Kind of Therapy from Richard Baudet

This envelope takes my back to my days of living in Rome: wine, mosaics, churlish cherubs.  Oh for a salad of fennel and baby greens a stone's throw from the Ostia Antica with our friends (then) the Ramirez'es. Even though I am on a pretty perfect island at the moment, I often pine for Italy. How did you know, Richard?

GREAT STAMPS!

Be sure to take part in Richard's mail art call!

Richard's writing is certainly beautiful and the words speak of a different kind of therapy. On the back of this calligraphy Richard say, 'and writing is good for my health'. Many thanks, Richard.

Jon Foster's book collab was waiting for me when I arrived!

Cover

back cover

 Jon Foster posted an 'invite' somewhere (IUOMA?) asking if anyone wanted to take part in a book collab.  Needless to say, I said yes.  I had no idea what Jon had in mind, but that's the way it usually is and the serendipity is what I like anyway. Imagine my delight when this haptic, open-ended beauty of an altered board book was waiting for me in Maine when I returned.  For me, the book has a Mad Men feel, it evokes a time in the past when things were different.  I will have to sit on it for a bit to make sure I do it justice!  I am excited, though.

an envelope full of goodies

The envie

Katerina sends back some peachy coloured DKult Doodles

So far this a collab between me, Figgy and Katerina. I love Kat's adds with their Greek feel, and look forward to the next doodle page that comes back So I can make them into the next series of DKult Doodle Therapy TLPs!  Participants get one of the six copies per edition. I have mailed out plenty, so it shouldn't be long.

Stripygoose's disappearing feathered friend

Love the way Stripygoose has abstracted this FEATHERED friend and placed it on an abstract and complex background! You can turn it upside down and it begins to look like a DKult doodle. Stripy writes of DKult doodles on the back and suggests a meetup at a mail art exhibit in Folkestone.  It looks like I missed it… yesterday was the final day.
http://www.lovefolkestone.com/mailartexhibition/#prettyPhoto
I will try to take part next year!

David's recycled, repurposed coaster cum hostess mail art

This wonderful card from David Stafford is self explanatory and very wise.  As I look at it I realise it would be an easy image to transform into a DK lookalike contest too, Brilliant and many thanks, David.

Six text image poems: Jim Leftwich - no simple man

These textimage poems are tape transfers which Jim has adhered to small index cards with some tranparent tape.  I have no idea how Jim layers his imagery, but I love the result! I have seen Jim's work around but it isn't until you have it in your hands that you understand the simplicity and the complexity.  Certainly worth waiting for!

Wouldn't it be great to go to a textimage poem reading.  I suspect it would be musical.  I'd like to understand how the poet would breathe...  words run together and are blocked by areas of colour and other letters. You are taken round the page and find meaning on various levels.

All of that aside, the visual impact of these is intense and the range of imagery is surprising. As a group they make about a letter sized image.  They are landscapes or wordscapes with colour  - all asemic visual poetry that will be treasured in my collection!