Thom Courcelle's Blog (217)

Two Cascadian local-yokels documented their rogue Flux Bombing antics in the Capitol City of Olympia, Washington. YES TO ART BOMBING AND PUBLIC INSTALLATION CREATIVITY!!  Although often considered a form of "graffiti," this type of "exhibit installation" is actually harmless entertainment that gives citizens out in public the chance to experience underground art installation.…

Hanna Wright sent a holiday envelope that was a virtual cornucopia of visual entertainment.  This included several of her "star-man" figures and experimental figures. I was reminded by several of them of the Greek mythological monster Argos (or Argus) Panoptes, who had a hundred eyes and could see everything around him at once. He was the perfect guardian of prisoners to prevent escape...…

Always a simple envelope...WITH A REALLY AMAZING PRIZE INSIDE!

Diana Hale proves herself to be a master artistamper...I bow before her creativity:

34?  THIRTY-FOUR??  What on earth could that be in reference to??!

A closer look might give you a hint:…

Mikel must have gotten a new stamping pad...and I have to say that I LIKE the new color A LOT!!!

Teal is the color of the day, and used in conjunction with Mikel's amazing carved stamping, makes for some amazing mail art fodder...…

Rebecca Sent me a terrific envelope of mailart that included some of her experimental photography and a lovely little visual poetry accordion boekie:

If that photo looks a bit blurry, it's because that's the "look" Rebecca was going for when she took a camera shot of some forested woods on a morning walk.  She had to "trick" her camera into…

A long-over-due posting of some Greek mailart greetings that included Holiday well-wishes and celebratory New Year's cupcakes...from Katerina Nikoltsou!

I think I first learned what this year's totem Chinese animal for the year was going to be—the snake!—from Katerina's mailart... I should know these things, but at least Kat will…

A CRAZY piece of mailart arrived in my mailbox just a few days ago. It was a page from a printed program of the Paris Olympics...and some other "hallmarks" about it give me a clue as to whom it might be from... and if so, it is no wonder that his mailart magic saw this piece delivered...BUT HOW???!!!…

Some mailart arrived from France as sweet as honey!

All kinds of errata and ephemera, some to make one laugh, some that will look classy collaged in future art projects, a very nice enclosed note, and some interesting poetry to ponder...…

Not one...but TWO mail artists reproduced some of my mailart into commemorative artistamps, for which I feel privileged and honored...

The first was received from Jack Latteman of Cascadia Artpost, in his latest series of "Ticket! Ticket! Boleto! Boleto!" artistamps. (Series 14, Summer 2024).  I circled the stamp (in fuscia-pink) on the sheet that Jack created using one of my mailart lettters to him...…

More botanical flora-inspired mailart from Mikel Untzilla...

As Mikel says in his note: "Make Mail Art; not War."  A wise sentiment. I wish drones and bomber planes would drop leaflets of mailart and letters of goodwill instead of terrifying implements of death and destruction... how much nicer the world would be... We…

Katerina Nikoltsou sent me *bright* flower collages this past spring... and here I am posting them in the waning days of summer!  It certainly has been a prolific spring (AND summer) full of happy flora this year...

The nice thing about Kat's flowers are that they won't ever wilt or shrivel...I'll be able to enjoy them in spring, summer, fall, or even winter!…

This blog documentation is long overdue... I received this wonderful miniature canvas from Awyn (it's approximately 4 inches-by-5 inches) and put it in a prominent place to remember to blog it... and then got railroaded with other responsibilities this summer. But it still holds a prominent place in the repertoire of special pieces I've received over many years of received mailart...  How often does one receive an actual canvas or painted board piece (of ANY size) in the mail? This piece is…

I am VERY behind with documenting received mailart, so please excuse the lapse.

Over the course of the summer I have received two—three, actually—envelopes from Coco, each with unique and amazing inclusions.

In response to a personalized TrashPo Boekie I sent to her bound in a gourmet tinned octopus box (It's always good if you have to consume the yummy contents of your TrashPo errata before creating your TrashPo work of art...), Coco sent me a boekie of her…

Robert hails from Kirkland, Washington—just a bridge drive across Lake Washington from where I used to live in Seattle. I'm always happy to correspond with folks from my former Pacific Northwest home, to hear news from the old "neighborhood."

You can compare Robert's "sent"  envelope here [link] ...with the envelope that I received at my home in Vermont after its long…

In a rubber stamped envelope, which also, somehow, never fails to entertain...

One of the more creative of Adam's artistamp sheets is based on lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel...…

A beautiful painted scene...

The essence of gratitude...the perfect prayer for any occasion.…

Carien created this LARGE hand-made envelope with an Amsterdam scene so vibrant one might just leap right into the picture! The paper is quite thick and glossy...perhaps a repurposed book jacket from a coffee table book...

I can imagine riding my bicycle across one of Amsterdam's bridges or lounging on one of the passenger barges as it floats through…

Not one, but TWO envelopes of goodies arriving from Oregon... one of which included survey results from the Mail Art Continuum Project—something I had been anxious to hear about...

One…

Hélène sent an envelope with artworks that struck a blissful chord near my heart...

Inside is a collage that looks nothing if not like a travelers ticket...with its partial map of Bordeaux (?) sitting beside a blue azure sea, and a new imaginary train track route that will take me on an exotic and scenic ride through mystical terrain not even…

MailArt postal cards arrived from (clockwise from top): David Stafford of New Mexico, USA; David Stanley Aponte of New Jersey, USA; Susan Gnaedinger of Illinois, USA; and Stripygoose of England...

Your correspondence and artwork is appreciated!  Thanks to…