Roll up roll up the Walmarth catalogue arrives in Suffolk (UK)!

Wildly pleased to be on the mailing list for this other kind of catalogue   Trashpo mail is certainly not junk! There are so many highlights, I encourage you to zoom in and read every word! The catalogue/zine has a breadth not usually seen in promotional material.  There is philosophy: Do you know where the time went?, news, a fiscal report, spotlight on trashion, high art (Willow Keys) and trendy, down with the kids, art (Mason Keys), adorable sets, coupons and guidance about trashpo as a lifestyle.what more could you want?

IMHO this is an issue not to be missed! Huge thanks to Cascadia Artpost, DK, and Mailart Martha!

Tofu's other dimension

Tofu's surfaces with their braille of colour and shape are haptic delights.  What I notice about this series is that Tofu has stepped away from the linear to make something more organic.  We are not in Manhattan with its graph of streets but elsewhere, somewhere west coast.  I think of Diebenkorn and his foray into the air, or Lanyon.   What Tofu looks down on is made of clay, can we see the California drought? These roads meander and and buildings have gardens.  

I'm a huge fan of Tofu's and this one makes me want to get out in a glider to look down, myself.

Eiichi wants work for the museum

So glad Eiichi Matsuhashi sent me this card inviting me to send something for an upcoming exhibition in Japan.  I think it will be a bit quieter and that I will really be able to devote more time to mail art.  Who could resist these determined, beautiful young women, anyway. 

I wanted to understand where Nagano is, so found it on a map.  Relieved to see it is not right next to the recent earthquake. Something will come soon, and thanks for writing.

The promise of spring - Cascadia Artpost

What a generous idea to collect and post seeds all the way from Washington! My mum is a plantswoman extraordinaire and I know she has smuggled the occasional seed between countries.  I am the more paranoid sort who phoned ahead to see if it was alright to bring my sour dough starter! I am putting the seeds in a seedbed in my potting shed to see what grows before committing to scattering them across our traditional medieval meadow.  I will report back! Very excited and looking forward to seeing the seedlings pop up!

Smiles for miles - David Alan Goldberg

I think this bolt of sunshine from David was my talisman today. It was great to finally spend some time digging up cow parsley from the yew hedge!  It's also great to have a new IUOMA mail artist correspondent.

Dada Centenary - Amalgamated Confusion

Keith's mail art is always exacting, funny and original. And I am a sucker for a postage stamp so these beauties are hugely appreciated! Keith definately has an aesthetic so, not anti-art, but that suits me perfectly! Sunflower Tank is a wonderful anachronism and to this mail artist, it has a tombstone feel. Playful and poignantly pointed.

The sentiment on this connundrum is perfect for this recipient, too. I worship the sweetspot where words, musi, the visual become each other and this is the corollary, I think.

I also like amalgamated's light touch.  A non-pacifist rabbit says a lot.

The world according to Sticker Dude - Rare Earth Mailing

I received TWO envelopes full of goodies from the Sticker Dude over the last week!  He sent me a few more Community Feeling Enhancer (C.F.E.) sheets too, which is great because his are a much better quality than my printouts and I still have more to send…He also sent me printouts of the blog I wrote about his previous mailing, much appreciated.  I love the idea of documenting documenting, ad infinitum.

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me in the mail art world is the depth and breadth of the time, work, commitment, energy and creativity of the people in it!  Joel is certainly one of those obsessed mail artists. I say this with glee, as I put myself in the same category, albeit I'm not hob-nobbing with the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, but it's a kind of madness, a madness to share!

Sticker Dude - and now I know why he is called that (see Opening statement for State University of New York at Fredonia) - has a lot going on at the moment and it would be fun to meet him and see him in action in NY. Reading through his opening statement and looking carefully at the stickers, I begin to know Joel more and to appreciate his outpourings with more understanding.  The description of the Grateful Dead concert is such a snapshot of a time I remember, having spent my university years in 'Dead Country'.  But the Kurt Vonnegut story is even more vivid, Cats Cradle is one of the books I passed along to my children, to collaborate with him...   And I am over the moon to have my own piece of that history!

Opening statement for State University of New York at Fredonia p1

Opening statement for State University of New York at Fredonia p2

Diane Keys, the queen of passing on possibilities

One of the things I love about getting mail from Diane is the way it feels effortless.  I don't mean that in an underhand snipey way. I mean she doesn't seem to labour, over-think her mailings.  I have piles all around while I decide if they are good to go.  Or maybe it's just that I lack the sticktoitness to finish the task… Diane continues to spread her 'trash' internationally and I was the benificiary of this big 'ol haul.  

Today Figgy handed in her undergrad dissertation!  She's coming home for five days (or so) before her exams and don't worry, she'll be out in the studio inventing things to do with stuff.  I am considering how I will entice her to (hopefully) transform some of Diane's raw trash doodles into something therapeutical with me.