Oligarchs and Evacuees

Two postcards arrived from Cascadia Artpost last year. Cascadia explores threads of political injustice and these two hone in on Jeff Bezos and American behaviour in Afghanistan. Cascadia seems to internalise these issues, responding with stamps to commemorate (bear witness to) them and the words spoken and highlighted so we remember and and connect the words to the individuals.

 

 

Jupiter's beard and a view of the complexity of war.

Cascadia has continued to send me mail even though I have been a terrible correspondent. His postcards are a misture of joy in the garden and political commentary. I think he is reminding us that nothing is black and white, especially where war is concerned. He is sharing inforamtio I am not aware of so I will shre without comment.

 

Gardeners and mailartists NEVER sleep

Just brilliant to get all the Cascadia news and ideas about what Jack plans for 2022! Jack has a wonderful habit of writing letters as well as sending mail art. He has bespoke Cascadia Artpost letterhead and writes in beautiful longhand. 

When I was writing my 100 + holiday cards (and I fill them up with writing for every person I send them to), I thought I should continue this with my mailart and write one longhand letter every day in 2022. (So far, that hasn't happened, in fact, no mail art so far:( ), so I am even more impressed by Cascadia.

Another thing that knocks my socks off is the way Cascadia attends to his garden! It's a definite.  He can't possibly sleep.  

I also attach an article Cascadia included in the mailing following on from his 'Kabul Moment' cards. Thank you Cascadia, see you in the post, soon!

 

Cascadia is no fool!

I opened this mail from Cascadia this morning. I have a little basket where I keep my unread/unblogged mail art and another with blogged mail art and once it's recorded I put it somewhere else until I bring my archive to the studio (at least 8 boxes now of hanging files) to file everything.  

I was confused & surprised to find this piece was celebrating April Fools Day.  That was a long, long time ago. For example, I am picking tomatoes and Cascadia writes about broadcasting wildflower seeds.  I am out-of-sync. 

I have no idea how this happened, whether I put it somewhere, found it later, or whether it really arrived so late. Sorry. I guess it's been a busy summer.

The stamps are fantastic, aren't they? I have it on good authority that Jack scoured the internet and graphic arts services which he subscribes to, for images of fools and jesters to be turned into stamps.

Below is Cascadia's translation (for Anna Banana) about, among other things Mr Peanut   Wow, who knew the master of dioramas, artistamps and seeds is also a german translator! The piece comes from a Berlin Newspaper for her 2020 exhibition at a Berlin Gallery.

 

Get Ready for Banana Day (Timetable)

 

I try to blog my mail art, in order of receipt. Sometimes I have to jump something to the front of the queue.  This time, Cascadia Artpost gets bumped up because I would hate for you to miss any opportunity to celebrate bananas…and with Cascadia's timetable for the upcoming celebrations you will be ready.

If you aren't ofay with banana day, you can find out more at IUOMA where there are various banana groups IUOMA Bananas where I have exchanged with other banana fans in the past.  Of course, it all began with Anna Banana, so she always gets one of whatever we make. Anna Banana

Cascadia Artpost sends me mail art regularly and one of his many projects is his Ticket Ticket ! project.  I (and many others) have sent Cascadia Artpost tickets and memorabilia and he has transformed them into large sets of gummed, perforated postage stamps.  He sends participants copies of the Ticket Ticket stamps. Because I archive all the mail art I receive, I get two sets sometimes.  I archive one and I use the other on the mail art I send too.  

Cascadia's generosity (stamps, seeds, coffee clutch, documentaion from dioramas, mail art meet-ups etc) is amazing so last spring I worked out how to use his stamps to make cloth that could become a mask for him. I coated cotton with inkjet bubbleset, scanned his stamps, printed them onto the cotton and made a mask with the fabric.  In the image of Jack with the banana on his head, Jack is wearing the mask! I am honoured! Long live World Banana Day!

Feel free to print the handy Banana Directory.

Celebrate the end of daylight savings with your copy of Coffee Clutch!

The Coffee Clutch has it's finger on the pulse and is highly relevant to all things mail art, obviously. Here I am in England, just a few hundred miles from York, and who knew there was Hannah Hoch birthday box? It took Cascadia artpost to send me my November edition and some BEAUTIFUL PINK artistamps featuring Hannah Hoch for me to discover my own 'local' news.

And what's the Toast for Post? Is it whole wheat, white or rye or is it in a glass? I love the horoscopes, but I'm a capricorn and not sure what my motif means. 

Also, can I send my news in?  The only thing I can think of at the moment is the pumpkin glut in mid suffolk.

Another brilliant mailing! 

Sticker Dude's road trip to see Cascadia!

collaboration between Cascadia Artpost and Sticker Dude!

Cascadia Artpost's process

Read this… it explains the trip Sticker Dude took to visit Jack Latteman to see Cascadia!

Sticker dude lives in NYC. Jack lives in Washington.  Sticker dude went to the other side of America to see the miniature world of Cascadia with his own eyes.  I loved reading Joel's description of what he found!  Like Joel, I have see the booklets and looked intently at the buildings and figures but Joel helped me to appreciate Cascadia more to see it more fully by hearing about it through Joel. Amazing.

Sticker Dude's envelope!

The key to unlocking this envelope, for me, is 'exploring civilization' which appropriately is in the postmark. All these flawed characters with lots of power and politics and some others who have left their mark on our culture in creative ways.  They have all left their mark historically and culturally and not all in good ways!

Add caption

I read somewhere about how there isn't a political movement within the arts.  Sticker Dude proves that wrong. We need you! 

THANK YOU

Honk if you visted Dada Triumph Motors!

 While the rest of us were rushing around buying holiday gifts, baubles and chocolate, Cascadia Artpost  had his opening of Dada Triumph Motors a 'near future representation of a small city in Cascadia at 1:87', inpired by Wof Vostell. As I look at that mug shop of Trump on the wall, I wonder whether the poster on the table in the situation room (described yesterday) was purloined from the walls of DTM. 

Also delighted to have additional promo material. I wish I lived near Cascadia so I could see the The Fender Roads Totem in the flesh, or the plastic or whatever Cascadia uses as a building material.

 And finally, one more car-based communication arrived  (in November) from Cascadia. In typical Cascadia jocular tradition, he merges the joy of driving with some more austere messages. Zoom in and see what you think! 

As ever, great stamps and great messages. New year, new hope, Brave New world...

Cacadia Artpost is preparing us for the guy with biggest button

I love Cascadia's collages even when they demonstrate how close to chaos we have come, both in the past and today. Cascadia walks that line between aesthetic art and political protest with panache! Living in England, we don't seem to feel as threatened, although we are certainly in the line of fire. I'm curious, how nervous is America? 

I guess my takeaway is long live Petrov! And keep using your common sense. 

Gorgeous stamp and thoughtful mailing.  Thank you.

Peeps to the Rescue, Cascadia Artpost

Apparently, Cascadia Artpost has been working on dioramas for the past three years! The above scene is used as a backdrop for his peeps to play out various representations of various themes.  I remember playing with minature theatres with our children, bringing stories to life.  I love the idea of solving political, economic and social conundrums with peeps.  We sure could use a bit of creative play to solve problems at the moment… oh yeah, they're cutting the budget for that kind of stuff!  Great concept, Cascadia!  Great, slow protest too.