2020 - it’s a new dawn!

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Happy New Year to all of you in the Eternal Network! Here at Lyons’ Den HQ I am gearing up for a couple of changes.

Why, you ask??  BECAUSE, as the song says...

It’s a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good. 

The one thing that must ABSOLUTELY change in 2020 - my turnaround time for acknowledging and documenting incoming mail-art. Various health problems and just ‘plain old living’ had thwarted my efforts to do so in 2019. With the new year I have a clean slate, so it’s a grand time to make a change. Ideally I’d like to take photos, document, and acknowledge within a day or two of receiving a piece of mail. So far this year I’ve received three pieces of m-a (from Jon Foster, Katerina N., and Cascadia Artpost, thank you very much).  I’ve taken photos, and in a little bit I will write a blog post for each.

The other change I’d like to make - getting more mail out. 2019 was a year for joining various swaps, participating in mail-art calls, trying new things (artistamps, a zine), and working on personal projects. It was great to get involved with these activities, but I think the one-on-one exchange of mail-art suffered because of it. Thank you to everyone who sent me mail in 2019. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Here’s hoping I stay on task this year.

When time allows I will continue to post about the remaining 2019 mail. I spent a number of days in December photographing these pieces, which will make it a lot easier. 

Much success to you this year! xoxo

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Having a historic record is of interest to me, and if I can contribute even in the smallest of ways, I am honored to do so. I think sharing mail-art ‘goings-on’ in blog form provides valuable references that are easily accessible. Now that I have a handful of m-a books, I will tell you that I learn a great deal more from the blogs than the books.

BTW - Glam Faction is wonderful! Love the name, too.

[De Villo Sloan]

I can tell you from MinXus-Lynxus as well as Glam Faction now, not to mention IUOMA blogs, that if you can keep a consistent mail art blog going, you get a good following of appreciative people. You contribute to a historic record of a genre. Part of our problem now is that we're trying to reconstruct m-a history with gaps, broken links where few people kept records.

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Yeah...I’m an Old Timer! Glad to be out of the newbie phase! 

De Villo, thank you for your encouraging words.  I enjoy blogging, and I really want to continue doing it. The pressure I feel is ‘self-imposed,’ as I am a perfectionist. Your reminder that it is not a requirement hit home. I will forge ahead, while cutting myself some slack if I don’t get to every piece I receive.

Let’s collaborate soon!

[De Villo Sloan]

Good luck, Jayne.

Just a reminder: Online documentation has become part of mail art practice, and it is bringing m-a to a large new audience. But this kind of documentation is not part of the "unspoken rules" of which Ruud Janssen speaks. No one should feel pressure to do it. I know scanning, photos, copy, format (I find the Ning blogs glitchy these days) is hard. Praise be to our bloggers, like you, Jayne. But it's not required to do m-a.

The old timers (like Richard C) did not document m-a received, except in print catalogs that accompanied shows, But can you imagine doing a print catalog and mailing to everyone?

You know what I say, Jayne. One year = 7 m-a years. You're an Old Timer, Jayne.

I look forward to a new year with you, DVS.