Thom Courcelle's Blog (217)

Amy and I have been creating artwork for each other lately that incorporates little nits and scraps we've inluded or sent to one another in earlier mailings.  Some yarn skein ends that she sent in a package were turned into a knit gift bag that I sent to her... and in the bag I included some scrap cloth ribbon ends, which she has brilliantly turned-around and sewn onto a fabric mail art piece I just got in the mail from her this weekend!…

Wow--I feel blessed to have received this artwork from M. Nidham of the Sultinate of Oman...

After admiring this artist's work for some time on this site, what a joy to hold a sample in my hands.  The ink writing from the hand of M. Nidham can be called nothing less than the markings of a master calligrapher. Mesmerizing and beautiful.

I took a second…

Often Nancy sends me things in pairs. Maybe she thinks of additional treats she meant to send in the first envelope, so she sends a second.  Or maybe she sends things separately so the weight doesn't coast her an arm and a leg to mail the stuff.  I don't complain; it means more presents in my mailbox to open!

Mailing number one came in this envelope:

and…

In the most JOYOUS OF WAYS possible, Katerina Nikoltsou of Thessaloniki fame has let the tide of BLUE PAINT flood the postal systems around the world and the happy mailboxes of IUOMA members.  My face crinkles in a wider smile every time a see one of her white and blue-edge stiped envelopes in the mail box, and her trademark "BLUE" and "MAIL" and "ART" carved rubber stamps proudly announcing the theme of the envelopes' contents (all with their own variations: "Zalop"; Trashpo"; etc.).  I can…

Someone else who constantly amazing me by the diversity of art styles that she explores... Cerjul Viviana Marie from Argentina recently sent me this multi-dimensional-layered art piece, sent in a clear plastic/cello envelope, it had the effect of stained glass!!…

I'm continually impressed and inspired by Nadine's character studies... her latest gift to me was no exception:

Nadine admirably finds reason to detail the people and characters that she comes in contact with or with whom she interacts on a…

Spring FIBER ART SEASON is upon us.  There have been some quilting league upsets, some sewing machine contract trade-ups, some promising rookie youths entering the fray... But Boo Cartledge--a hometown favorite--will always make the team!!

On this fiber mail art piece by Boo, some young feller from the Indiana Braves graces the front--I daresay that this work is hand-stitched!…

Many of you would laugh to see me sitting here on my sofa, typing this blog, SURROUNDED by mail art in layers and piles on every remaining inch of the upholstery that my butt is not taking up. I wanted to make sure that I had it all nearby as I tried to describe it.  I am having to use Nancy Bell Scott's recent invention of the "Blog Jam," which is, I think, an iteration of a tool used by Cheryl Penn in the past, and undoubtedly by others who've been overwhelmed by the blessing of mail art…

A light fell upon him as he contemplated the great Shroud of Elgin...

At first the light burned a little...

Then he was filled with the spirit of Trashpo, and De Villo Sloan felt compelled to share with the masses the miraculous…

In celebration of a fabulous IUOMA posting day yesterday--did you catch all the DKult action happening here yesterday??--and in honor of Lisa and KDJ's collaborative tattoo project arriving in my mailbox, I decided to have a celebratory dinner.  So I dove into the stash of tins that Erni sent from Hamburg, and whipped up a new dish! It is photo documented here for your salivating delight...

Many folks seemed to like the first recipe posted and some even sent themed artwork in honor of…

A couple of months ago, Dharma DaDa sent me an amazing package of foodstuffs with a special "task." The instructions were: "Prepare a meal using the [food enclosed] and do a little documentation for IUOMA to show those guys what real EAT ART is... Good Luck!"

Here's a clip from that original blog post:

An AMAZING PACKAGE that arrived from Dharma dada Erni Bär... Whoa.  If mail art provides me with…

There has been an abundance of blue in my mailbox.

A WHAT!???!!

You mean THIS???

No, No!... Not a Bun Dance in a Tutu...

Maybe THIS???

No, NO!!... Not THAT kind of a bun dance!

I mean the kind of…

Long overdue for praise is a Trashpo Boekie of magnificent standards from Amy Irwen... Changing the clocks for Daylight Savings Time made me realize I'd better do some postings--bad form to be so tardy with one's thank yous that the seasons change first--heaven forbid!!  

Amy's piece doesn't need much commentary; it's elegance in pictures will suffice pretty decently...  But for some background, her minature boekie is a "fatty"--so crammed with scrap-making material and goodies, and…

GOTIJ, INDEED!!  Some lovely women of South Africa have sent me enough art to roll around in!  No; I wouldn't roll around on it!  But it's plentiful enugh to make me feel spoiled!  Some solo work, and some collaborative...  And amazingly it all of it arrived on the same exact day.  It must have been a plot to overwhelm my ocular senses with artistic delight...

First to suffer the blow of my letter opener was a nice thick envelope from Lesley Magwood Fraser:…

"How?" I ask, "HOW...does she come up with such brilliant, delicate work to send through the mail?" Always so mysterious, so many details to be picked-through... I often want to attach some grandiose meaning or subtext to Marie's work because it so often seems like there is a great Story behind it.  It often feels like a top secret spy document encrypted with shadowy knowledge that will either change or save the world forever...

The relay from Agent 007 containing…

Many fond embraces from beautiful postal friends arrived for the celebration of St. Valentine's Day...

Did those hearts grab your attention?? That was actually a postcard from my Aunt Sally, who regularly sends me creative and unusual postcards... postal surprises must run in the family!

From Pretty Lily Sue, a super beautiful Valentines using…

Behold the latest hoard of magnificence!

From Angie, a sympathetic bow to the season:

Fortunately, Angie, the snow level has abated.  Still cold, but sunny--you can see the Olympic Mountains across from Elliott Bay today:

From…

Well, Seattle is experiencing what the news is calling "Snowpacolypse 2012."  Although, coming originally from snow-bound Vermont, it seems a mystery to me that this "light dusting" could cause so much distress.  Regardless, everything seems shut down: schools, businesses, bus routes...  I am able to walk to my workplace, but the building's heating unit went bust, and after working there a few hours couldn't feel my fingers anymore, and left early.  So today I'm working from home, doing some…

Received yet another astonishing piece from Guido Vermeulen recently... This one really "struck me" as fascinating, maybe because of the all-seeing eye at the center of the piece...

Guido titled this piece: "No Paseran!"  And how could one?  I was arrested by it the moment I saw it.  To me this piece evokes multiple imagery at once--the first thing I see is the…

Roberto always know how to brighten the corner where I am... because his works are always filled with color that celebrates the rainbow!  What an envelope!!  This is the biggest, brightest GOTIJ envelope I've ever got!

And special treats inside as well!...…