Thom Courcelle's Blog (217)

Some hand-drawn, some retooled and repurposed, all of them amusing...

From Nadine Wendell-Mojica in California, USA

From Val Herman, Sigean, France... I am supposed to share this one with my niece!

All kinds of little…

Ms. Wahl has sent another humorous piece to tickle my funny bone...

The text overlaying that funny print photograph says, "New mail art especially for you! Your dancing IUOMA friend, Svenja."

The reverse side of this hand-made card has another [actual] black-and-white photograph of lumberjacks... possibly doing a pole dance??!?...…

A couple of amazing Mail Art projects received in Book form... one from Marie Wintzer and another from Rob of Inkovia, both from the opposite side of the Pacific...

Marie's envelope was fascinating in and of itself--an impressionistic cityscape depicting people walking among the streets, between buildings, old and new, on a sunny-yellow day.  It's BEAUTIFUL…

Several mail art pieces have been incoming that are themed towards the Northern Hemisphere's Autumnal Equinox.  This year's fall season seems to be hurtling itself through the calendar days quicker than I have time to appreciate it.  So I am glad to receive mail from friends who have taken the time to contemplate and appreciate the season, and remind me that the Eleusinian Mysteries march onward through their ritual timeline regardless of whether I have time to observe them or not.  Here in…

Friends from South Africa have been thinking of me recently. A second mailing of South African provenance arrived of GOTIJ-standard caliber.  Strikingly, the format was similar to that of another South African compatriot's piece recently received--it was an accordion piece, and it also depicted an animal, though of the more aerie variety.  One really had to discover the avian fellow, however, as he splashed around in a bath of liquid alphabet characters.…

Galloping into my mailbox and rocking my world... or is that rocking into my mailbox and making my heart gallop?... was a stunning, double-sided, tri-fold accordion piece from Lesley Magwood Fraser.  One side depicting a block print of some creative invention--a black beauty on rocking arcs, and embellished by some intricately cut-out cartoons of a [less than] graceful, but comic, dismount.…

This time of year, it is we craftspersons--knitters and quilters and other artisans--who start to get a little shock of realization that we better get crackin' if we want to finish projects before the high winter holidays.  There are sweaters or hats or mittens or socks to knit, or wall hangings or new baby blankets to finish piecing and batting together.  It's a crazy time of furious fingers and stitches flying off needles.  Even more maddening, I have multiple family members with birthdays…

Well, first off, I am one lucky turkey-butt for all the wonderful postal friends I have and for the mail art I receive regularly.  I could sit here and make plaintive excuses for why it is that at this time of year I seem less and less able to come visit my favorite web community, but nobody really wants to hear sob stories about ugly work schedules and keeping one's circadian rhythms as normal as possible during these dark, dark, colder calendar days. Ugh... one gets up when it is dark.…

I sometimes get in the habit of blogging multiple pieces of mail art due to time constraints and volume, even though many of the works of art deserve their own independent posting. One of those amazing pieces, that I didn't want folks to miss, was a recent gift from Svenja Wahl that REALLY MADE MY DAY!!

 If you are looking at the photo of Svenja's envelope art…

If mail art came in a candy sack, I would be dragging my haul along the ground back to my lair so I could roll around in all my sweets!  As it is, I got some really SWEET mail art in celebration of All Hallow's Eve--the day that marks the thinnest veil between this world and the other where our forebears ethereally mingle. Just look at this stash:

This is truly some…

But wait… There’s more.  Domestic mail artists have been prolific with their artwork, too, proving that Americans produce garbage just as colorful as their overseas brethren.

From Marcia Cirillo, in Texas, a treasure map to where some fantastic Trash might be located for our next trash treasure hunt…

From Michael Orr in Cornpone land (that’s…

Mmm, Mmmmm, Mmm! We’ve been having fun with Lady Ga-Garbajo’s Group of Trashpo enthusiasts. And I have recently received some spectacular examples from abroad (..a WHAT??!!) I mean some friends from international locales:

From the Haptic Werewolf, Erni Bär, some vegetarian bratwurst et frites. I love how the card says “UHU,” which I’m sure is text phone lingo…

I have been reveling in the most wonderful stuff from Nadine Wendell. Most recently she sent me a piece of Trashpo that I just LOVED!  Simply a piece of corrugated cardboard that has been altered with the most diverse of materials: print illustrations, ad cards, rafia wrapping, a safe sex brochure, paint, rubber stamping, Nadine's personal doodle-drawings, and a [found?] junior prom picture that Nadine craftily attached so that I could lift it up and see on the reverse what the young lady in…

Another "Trashpo" book--self defined by the artists--though I would have been loath to define it that way myself. Theresa Williams's handmade Trashpo rubber stamp has found it's place inside on a few pages, though that has to be the biggest clue!  Maybe a melding of genres... The book itself is a handsome collection of art papers and perfectly chosen found/torn black and white illustrations.. the whole thing bound with gold chord.  Theresa has been working hard on the New Tombstone Group and…

This is one of the most exotic Trashpo pieces that I have received so far... and is it any wonder that it's from the Master of ceremonies, herself? Though I usually am overly verbose in my blog descriptions, I will let pictures of some of my favorite pages say all that is necessary about the creativeness of Diane Keys's piece:…

I must say that I am humbled by the enthusiasm behind LIAM TRA—whoever thought that one’s mistakes and folly could ever be celebrated and embraced to such an extent?  I am not sorry for it, because it has inspired some folks to send me their own LIAM TRA in solidarity and mirth!!!  Long live LIAM TRA!

Svenja Wahl sent this GREAT, AWESOME, FABULOUS mail to me…

Always GLOWING in her enthusiasm, profluent creativity, and supportiveness of fellow IUOMA friends, AMY IRWEN sent a touching piece that was not only great art to admire, but made a connection with me that she couldn't have known about.  This piece is collage, but incorporating fiber and textiles, and very succinct references to globally-personal experiences pertaining…

BIFIDUS JONES has also been extremely GENEROUS to me.  Bifidus has got the art of collage DOWN!  What elements make Bifidus’s art so appealing?  The COLORS, definitely… The vintage-style images, curious images.  Interesting images paired against vintage typeface and handwriting.  This particular beauty has stamp images and characters, INCREDIBLE old U.S. postage stamps…

David Stafford (I think) reminisces about the loss of childhood and the Sears store…

Diane Keys sends me one supa-dupa TRASHPO Art Fortune!  Well,…actually it’s just half of a fortune, but anyone who gets a Trashpo piece from Diane is FORTUNARTE!!!…

This blog features newer IUOMA members and new friends who have recently sent me amazing samples of their artwork:

Abigail LaLonde sent me one of her zentangle envelopes that I had admired.  Seeing it live, face-to-face was no less impressive than seeing its picture on IUOMA. Thinking about the time involved in this repetitive style is a little intimidating to my mind. …