Recently Received Bounty... Great Thanks

[Thom Courcelle]

My home internet connectivity was having troubles of late.  The service technician came this morning to fix the problem (hurray!) so I am posting here several recent wonderful mail pieces that have arrived in my mailbox.

 

The magnificent Eduardo Cardosa sent some “Mind Bending” Paranormal Poste.  Enclosed: TWO great pieces! And I loved them both… one a minimalist deconstruction of Roman letter character(s).  Several serif appendages line up to create a new re-assembled disemblage.

 

The other piece depicts a runway model zombie traipsing across a Sudoku puzzle.  Several numbers might give clues to the ultimate mathematical equation that will save the universe from these runway zombies: primary newspaper page (“Memória”) is page 2, but the headline proclaims “66 of 84 years of Antonio…”  Also the number 14 appears—twice!  But, oh my… aargh!... must… add… up… to… NINE!... surely escatological ramifications… the pressure to solve the puzzle… these are truly “Wicked Games.”  Blargh… too late; I’ve been turned into a Sudoku Zombie!

 

Also enclosed was a mail art chain letter.  Look out, Bruno C’hiarione, you’re next on the mail art hit list!

 

Lovely Katerina… so generous to send me an additional one of her entries for the “5 for July” group mailing challenge. 

I missed participating in that one, but Angie had blog-posted such a delightful account of everyone’s submissions, it made it fun for everyone to see the participants’ amazing contributions. How lucky I am for this piece, Katerina!  It even somehow transformed into a little sandpo mailart in one corner!  I always wondered how sandpo worked!  Katrina’s ‘5 for July’ submission utilized the five Olympic rings.  Despite the fact that the most recent Winter Olympics were RIGHT across the border in Vancouver, I didn’t get there to appreciate them firsthand.  Now London is gearing up for the Summer events next year!  Wouldn’t it be nice to travel abroad and see some of those events?

 

Angie, too, sent a hand-crafted Snooky-butt portrait.  I love the iconic pose that makes Angie’s work easily recognizable, and the endless creative variations that ensue.

 

Stefano Fossiant Sini, too, sent a little superhero portrait in reply to my “Superheroes vs. Peter Rabbit” mailing!

 

Louise Kiner sent a “coastcard.”  Truly AWESOME.  Don’t you love it when people’s art tells you a little bit about their behind-the-scenes lives?  Louise, I now know, sometimes enjoys a visit to her local pub—a pastime I appreciate, encourage, and in which I participate myself—particularly during local Sounders games, or to do some writing in a dark corner.  I’m known to enjoy a pint (or two) of the Ruby at the local Six Armes on Capitol Hill.  And, I’ve always noticed how amazingly artistic the coasters are!  Now I have inspiration to collect some, perhaps in order to forward to Louise in support of her art…

 

Valentine! Mark! Herman! ALWAYS entertaining and sending me the most interesting finds! His latest gift to me depicts not one, but TWO historical scenes… The first an antique photo of an entire-family cottage industry—what are they working on?  Val remarks that it is Ray Johnson and his family experimenting with rand envelopes. (!)

The other is an old etching print depicting the Capture of the Tower of Malakoff.  I’m not familiar with this particular battle, but with all the bayonets and death throes pictured, I’m glad I wasn’t there. Thank you, Val!

 

I hope the volume of this posting reveals less my ineptitude at brevity, and more how fortunate I am to have so many artful comrades sending their creations my way.  To wrap up… I have received two artworks from friends in the Fiber & Textile Arts Group, to whom I sent some knit mail.  I am happy to report that Fiber/Textile Art mail is alive and well!  Karen Champlin—wow—sent a work of re-purposed mediums, altered…  An old black and white photo portrait of a family—cut in two—and divided at separate ends of a map background. In the chasm between are two pieces of engineered fabric—a piece of black plastic grid, and a synthetic, shimmery, purple swatch.  Families and generations become divided by the necessities or circumstances of life, sometimes over vast distances.  Our memories (such as photos help facilitate) or the efforts we make at communication blur the physical distances we impose on ourselves, like the shimmering fabric that bridges the miles of distance between the two photo halves. A really great, GREAT work, Karen!

 

And just today: from Amy Irwin, a two-sided piece exploring the color BLUE.

One side is stitched and quilted blue fabrics—quilted!—entitled “Blue Moon.”  A blue moon is rare—just like this one-of-a-kind beauty.  The other side is a geometric study in two shades of gloss paper entitled “B2 = Blue Squared.” 

It’s angularity contrasts with the curving and continuous flow of the sewn quilting stitches on the reverse.  The small size of the collaged paper blocks, and the concentration that must have been entailed in their precise placement and gluing… it’s an absorbing piece.  Amy’s envelope echoed strips of the fabric and paper from the art piece inside, and exclaims “Blue Monday.”  Your Blue Monday, made for a very Sunny Thursday for me, Amy!  Thank you!! 

[Nancy Bell Scott]

whoops, re: Theresa's letters:  wrong post.  It's the dead of night here.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Wow, nice post, Thom, of very nice works.  Great stash you've got there.

At first glance above I thought you had received a runAway model zombie, and was quite frightened for you, but now am relaxed once again.

However, what was Theresa doing with my antique block letters before I'd even re-found them???