Thom Courcelle's Blog (230)

Ohhh..a big red envelope arrived from Japan with delectibles that could only have come from the artisticly devious mind of Marie Wintzer...  MULITPLE interesting pieces, many of them in leaflet or booklet form.  First  to catch my eye was an instructional booklet on some altered sheet music...…

Many famous painters through history were so prolific in their practice that they used their canvases over and over so as not to waste their resources. Nadine, too, is always exercising her portraiture talent depicting the people she encounters, and she often paints on BOTH sides of her canvas-medium, doubling the usefulness of her materials.  It's like getting a bonus in the mail!  Take this paint on board piece she recently sent my way...…

Stripes can be slimming--if worn in the right direction. But Dean Marks sent me a BIG mail art piece with stripes in every which direction!  Hey wait... that's one of his famous bar code masterpieces!

I thought there might be a secret message hidden in the jumble, so I brought this piece to the grocery store and asked the check-out girl to scan it for me.…

Nancy Bell Scott's been at it again--turning ephemera, art-fragments, and clippings into mailart treasure. Several pages and views of this flip-book-style work are here presented for your viewing enjoyment (some commentary by the recipient included, as he was unable to restrain himself...)

Though the main artwork is diverse and enthralling, one of the…

Uh oh!...

UH OH!!!....

Oh... never mind.  It's fine...

It's just Trashpo from…

Creative genius from David Stafford...

The depicted sacred scroll (possibly inspired by School House Rock's "I'm just a bill, up on Capitol Hill..."???):

The envelope in it's complete view:…

Lucky me, I received a bright yellow envelope from Marie with wonderful things inside to delight my senses!

Loved the graphics on the outside of the envelope...the back had artworks with collaged orange fruits to announce the MinXus Solar Festival 2012.  They looked like little tarot cards to me... the three of pentacles and the six of pentacles (?)…

...And the world is full of all kinds of magical creatures--bandits, ogres, and sorcerers!

This gem arrived in a thick wad of plastic wrap, noting on the outside the delectible contents that awaited inside, and the ominous instructions: "Open carefully; GOOD LUCK!"…

Now I will have to put on my starched white shirt and dress slacks and go door-to-door to pass out my pamphlets and discuss the saving grace of DKult [art]...

All of this paraphernalia arrived stuffed in a Kane County Jury Commission envelope--repurposed and re-addressed to me. (I hope our DKult leader isn't shirking her civic duties by sending her jury summons…

You better believe it!!!  But so, also, is Carina's amazing artwork sent to me!

This is definietly a mixed media piece. I think it is collage with quite a lot of tape-transfer technique imagery.  But there are some hand-penciled embellishments, too.  Overall a stunner!  Thanks bunches,…

This piece is a response from Lesley to a New Yorker article I read and sent to her about figure drawing.  (Lesley is always terrific at working on a theme or quotation that we happen to exchange back and forth--she is a great art conversationalist in that sense!) I suppose this piece of mail art could have been included in my post of recently received Book Form artworks, because it is an accordion-style piece. But it works as a single artwork when opened up as well.  It's hard for…

Several have been received of late.  The most miniature example of the collection was a brilliant one from Sally Wassink (California, USA) and arrived in its own minature envelope...…

Trying to catch-up and recognize some wonderful artists who've blessed my mailbox over the past couple weeks...

Sandra Pinon (France) send an amazing collage piece naked through the postal service:

Got my first trade with Vizma Bruns (Australia), and she was the sweetest sweety-pie to make it fiber-themed!  Notice the crocheted eyes and lips!  They are…

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!…