2020 Election Guide- all the facts you need to make an informed decision

In the last gasp of the election season, it is wonderful to share the quintessential guide to the 2020 election, by David Stafford. This book is pocket sized, so I can carry it around with me.  

What I love, particularly, is the way David represents the absurdity of these days, with his hints at the way language is slippery: stakes, he shows how the competition is taking place with incomprehensible  rules: running to your race car? And we are all in this crazy situation of navigating the pandemic - panic buying,; dealing with climate change and fires. Argh. I can't wait for Tuesday to be over… but then again that will only be the beginning.   

Thanks David!  It is hugely appreciated.

Remembrances of Elections Past

 Joel knows that I am on tenterhooks about the election IN ONE WEEK.  I am over-the-moon to be on his recipients' list for this mailing. It is a piece of history and we need to reflect on history to make change. Joel\s words resonate and the imagaery is a slice of the past.

I was in my third year at Stanford when Reagan was elected. I had a tv I bought at the salvation army that didn't have very good reception.  I remember feeling distressed, watching with friends. And IMHO this election is on a totally different level. Not only will I stay up all night this time...

I think artists have a duty to engage and Joel has done that with this mailing!  Thank you.

Pink Pussy Hat and Potus, 2020 protest stamp, Rebecca Guyver

Cascadia Coffe clutch - Double clutch

The public service aspect to Cascadia's mail art should be highlighted. Coffee Clutch is chockablock with important information, words of wisdom from pioneers and paragons of the mail art network, funny, and full of details to keep your mind active.  

During the Covid pandemic, this is even more essential than normal. After reading the first side of Cascadia's four pages of his 'double clutch' I have identified a must contribute to mailart call, felt 'in-the-know' because i could answer some of the trivia questions and been entertained by the advertisements.

By the end I have learned about another mail artist I didn't really know about, cracked a smile about forever stamps, enjoyed the conflation of kombucha and kimchi, tested my skill on a tricky crossword, and wondered about a voodoo doll.

Enjoy the edition!  I certainly did!

Thanks Cascadia!

 

Sticker Dude's sorting station

Sticker Dude has been sending me a steady stream of special imagery that belong in my archive. I haven't exchanged often with Fleur.  When I was a regular on IUOMA I received a few pieces so it's brilliant to be passed this gorgeous photo that feels like a painting.

Also in the mailing is this different shape and size ATC drawn by Ed

I am encouraged to see that Imagine Peace Add and pass was started in 2016 and it's still live.  That will encourage me to find all the add and pass pages that have been sent to me and that have stalled here. 

 And Sticker Dude's envelope, bespeckeled with stamps is a joy! Beautiful. Thank you.

Hanner Postcard Swap: Neha

 

What better way to feel cheered up on a dark day in October, in England, than to look carefully at a vibrant postcard, made lovingly by Neha, a member of the Hanner Postcard Swap. 

This postcard made its way halfway across North America, over the Altlantic and found its way to my mailbox! Three cheers for the post office!It looks like, for now it is safe. 

Thank you Neha!  Beautiful work.

My awaited copy of Whistle arrived!

 

There are boekies and there are books. Whistle is a book and it cost DVS a lot of money to send me my copy.  I am delighted he did.  This collaboration between De Villo Sloan and Kristine Snodgrass is the story of how two parts become a whole.  They call it a 'journey' and as you travel through the book, you bear witness to the evolution of a collaborative voice - made of two distinct styles and a push and pull between the sexes.

I love the intro by DVS. Sometimes I need hand-holding in asemics and his intro gave me just enough. I could look for things but I could also co-construct meaning just by looking. Krissy's notes are also brilliant. I learned so much about these artists. For me, understanding them made me interact with their work all the more. You can learn more about `krissy here: Krissy's website   and see DVS' brilliant blog here: Asemic Front

You need to get your own copy of Whistle and you can do that here: Buy Whistle

It is beautiful, difficult, sexy and complex.

Little songs and Ripples from Rebecca Resinski

Rebecca's Boekie of sonnets is a ripple of marks, sounds and motion.  She has sent me two things and the book is echoed in the photo she sent of the marks made in the water while kayaking.

I like the two juxtaposed.  I like the weightlessness of the boekie and its monochromatic, quiet, songs. and I find the shapes and movement in the water and its colour, the perfect counterpoint. 

Each page of the boekie is made of an original arrangement of marks.  There is no repetition. It is a book of symbols, without rhyming couplets.

I also notice the pairing of stamps, the echoes of colour.  Your aesthetic is sensitive and delicate. Beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful mailing.