Welcome Surprise from James Chester

[Thom Courcelle]

A wonderful and fancy piece of mail art arrived in the post from James Chester. He has sent me the deed and title to a series of properties along the Boardwalk, and included a landscape drawing of the property I've  apparently inherited. Look at those rent prices! I certainly wouldn't mind renting a house for $200 ! Why haven't I moved to Boardwalk sooner??

I have to admit that while I loved board games growing up, Monopoly was always too complicated for me to understand as a young person...and thus I was probably easily taken advantage of while playing the game with players who were more suave investors and real estate moguls. It has likely translated into my dumbfoundedness with the complexities of the modern day adult world...which is why I will always be poor (and could use a rental property that only cost $200 !!!)

Rather than worrying about investments, I would much rather walk along James's artistically-rendered boardwalk admiring the imagined water lapping underneath me and gawking at the painted brushstrokes of a palette-inspired sky...or languishing in mail art wonders like those received from James...

This piece by James also included metallurgy around the outside edge of the stiff artist board that served as the medium. It's quite impressive, that copper edging—there's probably some slight-of-hand trick to it, but it looks like it should've taken a hammer and anvil to get on there!

Thank you, James! I enjoyed visiting your reading/book review blog...and your mail art...and hope to reciprocate through the postal system soon!

[James Chester]

Glad you like it. The edges are copper tape you can purchase at your local stain glass workshop/supply house.  It makes for a cool look that I really like, but it's very easy to apply.  I'm a big fan of tape.