Thom Courcelle's Blog (217)

A most unusual piece of mail art arrived recently from the Netherlands...

Although the envelope is constructed with a traditional "sealing flap" (see picture directly above), there were instructions on the…

Mike Dyart sends some "Esoteric Art" that contains a history of the Nothingists—extremists countering the no less extreme demands of the Everythingists...

This is the history of Russian Dadaists (supposedly). Mike's quasi-serious history of a geo-political art history is illustrated with an empty landscape of formerly swaying corn-stalked field…

Mail Art postcards galore...

Above, Jan Hodgkin, Washington State, USA

Ian C. Dengler, Texas USA, shares some humorous artistamp postage... A closer look:…

Fiorentina sent me a sample of her artwork from some of the pieces she had earlier posted online which I found so admirable. It is just as beautiful in person as it is on the computer screen. She also turned it into a little "table tent" so that I could stand it upright and admire it face-on.

Such detail and flourish! And characters with much…

Here is a gallery of some of the wonderful, amazing mail art that has hit my mailbox recently...

Jack of Cascadia Artpost has been generous to me this summer. This is the second in a series that I have received from Jack titled "Commodity Civilization," with some pretty astonishing collage work, and some of the most genius artistamps I've…

I'm a bit tardy adding my shower of applause that is deserved of Gina Ulgen for her magnificent Shakespearean mailing. What was it that Shakespeare said about lateness?

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late."

Oh...wait. That doesn't really describe me. I'm definitely a minute (or more) late with my…

I saw these beauties in the photo gallery when Dorina has posted them, and was verily impressed with them. And sweetness that she is, she gifted them to me through the mail. They are just as astonishing and lovely in person.

I had not realized, however, that they were REVERSIBLE! And on the flip side of each piece was a complete other…

A wonderful and fancy piece of mail art arrived in the post from James Chester. He has sent me the deed and title to a series of properties along the Boardwalk, and included a landscape drawing of the property I've  apparently inherited. Look at those rent prices! I certainly wouldn't mind renting a house for $200 ! Why haven't I moved to Boardwalk…

Latest correspondence from MomKat. I actually LOVE that Athena rubber stamp...perfect for Kat in her Grecian haven/heaven.  Great wide-size wash tape, too...it's always good to spread a little "L-O-V-E" around!

This piece also includes some selvage/selvege...a new vocabulary word for me that Kat recently helped decipher and add to my noggin's…

Well, I admit it... I was completely jealous of a piece of mail art that friend Carina Granlund received recently. But there wasn't any need to be jealous...because I was lucky enough to get my very…

Hmmm... There's a theme here between the wash tape on Amy's envelope and her fabulous quilted piece inside. I had to double check my calendar to make sure it wasn't time for Halloween greetings!

But, no... the motif of bones and skulls were a pervasive theme in a historical context. The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were full of recurrent…

A most unusual package was left on the front stoop yesterday. Newer IUOMA member Vikki Johnson and I decided to exchange fiber art mail art, so I knew that this amazingly decorated box would contain something quite interesting... I wasn't expecting such a large "production," but quite a lot of work went into this piece...so I'm going to make a visual…

The best up-cycling I've seen in a long time! A business envelope turned inside-out to show its confidentiality pattern on the outside, with the envelope window revealing a peek at the delicious contents inside...

And…

Debra Mulnick; Richard Baudet; William M.; Jennie Hinchcliff; LIGMA; Laurence Gillot; and Finn Badger...

Here are highlights from each:

FABULOUS envelope art from Debra Mulnick telling the story of "Jack and…

I think this might be my first mail art piece received from Mike Dyar of San Francisco. Anyway, it was a little bit startling and wondrous to receive in my post box. It's very minimalist—a testament to what one can do with a simple shingle of corrugated cardboard—and yet...sort of holds significance for me.

That little blue…

Super cool self-made envelope arrived from Carina Granlund in Finland, filled with cute and humorous fare. She included two newspaper comic strips from a Scandinavian newspaper. They appear to be annotated with dates (1956 and 1957) so perhaps they are clippings from a more classic era of cartooning!…

This "anonymous" postcard arrived providing me with much delight. By the style and humor I'ma gonna say this is a David Stafford creation. Unfortunately, it looks like the postal machinery has once again altered a piece of mail art from the artist's original intention...whatever chaise or tuffet or…

I got this TERRIFIC and very simplistic hand-painted Ray Johnson Bunny postcard from Nadia Aroca of Barcelona, Spain...

"Ooooo..." I exclaimed, imitating the single letter on the postcard. "What could that mean?" I wondered.

Well, I must confess, I've been doing some historical research for a writing project...which includes historical…

Very creative output by Debra. The swirl image at the far right of the "double cherries" postcard appears to be a self-carved rubber stamp image. Interesting how it mirrors the "question mark" on the other postcard! Here are close-ups of each post card along with their reverse sides, which were just as creative and which alo used some antique postage stamps both…

Yup... I received number 334 out of 365-and-a-half...and I'm super thrilled to have made the cut on Stripygoose's massive bird mailing. As Stripygoose's bird drawings go, this one's a champion! I love it and its feathery details!!!

Details about my particular bird were on the backside of the artwork...…