Madame Butterfly's mother tongue and souvenirs

I always love getting mail art from a new mail art friend! And Mzia Valerian from Belgium has sent me some unusual mail art items. I wonder if Mzia is sending me a souvenir from a failed romance that (on valentines day) she afixed to the chocolate 'pillow' that was part of a gift from a suitor. Whatever the provenance, the prickly leaves, the cushion of brown and faded rose are romantic fodder for my overactive mind!

 And I am a sucker for an alphabet.  See if you can decipher my word...

CAN YOU READ MY CODED WORD?

Thank you Mzia and hopefully you will hear form me soon!

Tiny, fat envelope with haptic stuff from DK

I finished a big painting thing today and don't know what to do next yet.  Whoopee, a window for mail art and a corresponding weekend to match! I have an enormous backlog of people to send out to….

As I look at the contents of DK's envelope, spilled out onto my scanner I want to get my drawing materials out because the colours, the shapes, the marks, the tactile quality of all this stuff could keep me amused for a while. Many thanks Diane and hope Mason had a fab 19th! I like the Walt Whitman quote, in particular!

I READ this letter from cover to cover! David portends

David knows that I am passionate about what's going on in the world, so he's sent me some things to prepare for the future. At the same time, he doesn't want me to forget that I am in the midst of history RIGHT NOW.  David doesn't have to tell me! I just spent the afternoon live-streaming the congressional intelligence committee meeting.  These are interesting times.

Like Joseph Cornell who I have been reading about again, David mixes science, social commentary and the self in his fascinating mailing.  David tells a story inventing a red and green and yellow planet which is tumbling towards this poor child 'Destiny' and us. And then again, David may be just speaking metaphorically and mean that with all these crazy politics, our planet is in the process of erupting in chaos as I type. We will be the news. Whatever, it's abeautiful asemic (print) design that has a Japanese feel, to me.

Planet, hurtling towards a rendezvous with destiny… mind the huddled masses. 

As ever, the explanation is as beautiful as the official art. This arrived  in a sturdy envelope, or one less observent might have thought it was JUST an envelope… on careful inspection I found that it was the curiosity below - an historical account of Professor David Stafford, who just happened to be an authority on the art and pratice of letterwriting. Tell me more!

Brilliant and thank you, David!

SaveSaveSaveSave

Ready for Spring - Cascadia Artpost sends 2017 seeds!

This was the weekend that I began to think about the garden.  I planted some seeds in modules, cut back my elderberry tree and mulched the hops. Next weekend I will e sprinkling wildflower seeds.  Huge thanks again, Cascadia Artpost! and what a glorious envelope!

A glimpse of the documentation CFE

The Sticker Dude's CFE project has come full circle and he's done a brilliant job of dcoumenting the responses he received back.  There were  38 (I think I counted that correctly) participants and JOel has included their CFEs, reduced to two on an A5 page. Not one of the people in Joel's documentation listed me as a correspondent, though.  I mailed out ten or so CFEs but my group doesn't seem to have replied, or included me! NO WORRIES, I get mail and send mail from plenty of people and this is supposed to be an enhancer, not a downer! Great stamps, by the way from Tulio REstrepo n the cover of the documentation.

At the moment Vizma has a thread on FB about the guilt of not sending out mail and I for one succomb to that some of the time,...my wonderful correspondents are each thoroughly appreciated and I hope they know that although I don't seem to send out so much mail art these day, I will again and value each letter I get enormously.  It's a life and it's great to be here with you all in the eternal network!

Mail art from Mudhead Reynolds

I received this great animated figure from Mudhead Reynolds.  I am so hopeless when it comes to animation, comics and films that I am probably missing something. It feels mega(ish) and I notice the mixed genitalia!  Thank you. You can see more of Mudshead's work here: http://flumembrain.blogspot.co.uk

Among Tofu's many talents, he is a plein air painter. And like me, painting is a form of solace for him, not so much a tool for protest. Politics is distracting and feels like a world with the volume turned way up, at the moment. I must admit to giving into the rage and the desperation, and am not as focused as Tofu, I guess.  Still I admire the way he is foing into the woods to sample the colour and describe what he sees and then… to send them out to people like me! 

Take a Hike - ATC - Series Muir Woods National Monument

When I lived in the Bay Area, 30 something years ago, I travelled to Muir Woods and this image of Tofu's evokes the spirit of the space!  Thank you Tofu for helping me to time travel!

Take a Hike - ATC - Series Tennessee Valley GGNRA

Tofu's quality of light is fabulous!  I love this project and I want to make some ATCs of england to send back!

B Sides

Huge thanks, as ever, Tofu!

Playing Paperdolls with Hilma Strom

Carina and I are experimenting with assembling our most exotic characters in outrageous costumes by mixing drawings and collage. I think we've been doing this in parallel, as often happens when you meet a mail artist who gets under your skin.  Carina's wonderful way of interpreting the world overlaps with my own point of view. But this pink haired creature is so full of pzazz that I might as well give up! 

As you will see, Carina reminds me that art imitates the real world and dogs are more human, or certainly more recognisable than people.

Oogsttijd in Suffolk and the Man with a Bat in his Bonnet

I for one have felt like I've had a bat in my bonnet ever since the innauguration.  Patrick can testify to my obsession with Twitter and sharing news from a range of sources to try to make sense of this crazy world I live in.  Herman and I seen to be aligned on this. Herman's use of collage and drawing here creates a perfect portrait of our global angst, or horror, perhaps.  Every day is halloween.

No wonder Herman returns to the romantic visions of rural England in his beautiful envelope. I've been in London lots lately and it has mostly been rainy, bleaker than this view of the Thames, but there is a pent up energy suggested in this that I recognise. 

And as for Oogsttijd (Harvest, not the name of this fetching lassie) I can only wonder if her straw is up on our roof… The range of papers that frame this envie is gorgeous!

Ludwig Rottenberg and his wonderful moustache seems to be nestled in the collaged paper that Herman has assembled.  It's amazing what an overlapped piece of paper can do to the perspective! And Yes, music is some form of salvation from the chaos of life. I'd better start paddling my porpoise instead of retweeting!