Wreck This Journal (by US Postal Mail!) Project Contributions from David & Star McCoy!

[Minneapolis Gnome]

David and Star McCoy sent back gloriously "wrecked" journal pages from St. Cloud, MN!  They're bright, playful, fun and I love them!  David took these first several pages and had at them, scroll down and you'll find Star's artistic work follows.  At the bottom of this blog I'll give you a look at the coolio envelope their art arrived in!

This first page, above, which I assigned the letter "a" before mailing out to our artistic duo, is the title page of the Wreck this Journal.  It cracks me up, as David took it to heart by bombing it, shooting it, setting it on fire, beating it with a sledge hammer / rubber mallet, using it as a coaster for his mug, possibly smearing a little food on it, inking it with ink pads and illustrating it with a shocked green man, desk with books and the penguin from Penguin books.  I now wonder, does David draw comics?  Does he make zines?  If not, can we convince him to please start? I want to see them all! 

The reverse of page A, and page B, have been well and thoroughly, brightly, vibrantly inked by David.  He's also used what I suspect is a hand carved stamp of foliage, a big radiating star, honey comb cells and some purple vine like foliage.  It all comes together as what I interpret as an abstract explosion of joy to the eye.

The reverse of page B shows an inky backed collage including a castle balloon in the sky, a dapper young couple trapped, floating in time, and a disembodied eye staring over in the direction of page C, most likely in deep contemplation over the existence and message of the artist who brought the entire collage together.

On page D, the book gets bossy and our patient artist replies by coloring every letter in and positing the cryptic reply, "Snoitcurtsni".  

Having brought us through the introduction, the artist generously allows us a peek into his mind using word associations, scrambled letters and a numbering exercise.  Officially and anonymously submitted in triplicate to a board certified psychoanalyst, a diagnosis of "well adjusted, intelligent, creative artist unafraid of color and experimentation" was received back and is now being publicized without authorization of the non consenting subject.

Thank you for rebelling on Page 2, David!  "Leave this page blank..."?  "Y?" indeed, especially when you can make it pop with white paint and get macro on it with infinite question marks!  A well and thoroughly cracked spine appears on the reverse of Page 1, and I as a viewer am left wondering if it is the spine of a rat, a mouse or perhaps a prehistoric member of the rodentia family.  

On the reverse of page 2, David McCoy hits us with a very cool stamp or lino carving of a tiger with ears back, mouth snarling and claws out.  It's lifelike in its expression and it seems to have the energy of a compressed spring ready to burst forward and out upon an unlucky, or unwise, threat before it.  Thank you for your art pages, David!

Star McCoy begins her artwork on page 51 and binds all of it with a red paper doily and golden ribbon, both of which I will make sure are included in the re-bound "Wreck This Journal"!

On Page 51, Star seems to have crumpled the page, daubed it in glue and then dipped it in dark blue and green glitter before unfolding and flattening it back out.  I really think this would be a great "official suggestion" to be published in the "Wreck this Journal" series!  It makes a very nice effect and begs the question of what paintings made by dipping crumpled paper in paint and pressing them to blank canvases or paper would look like.  It reminds me of "rag rolling", which I once did to a bedrooms walls to create a parchment paper like effect that I was very pleased with. On the reverse of page 51, Star adds a collage that, combined with her page of good thoughts on Page 52, seems to speak to love, self compassion and possibility!  But this is just my set of eyes, hopefully all readers will interpret it for themselves and take meaning from it as is appropriate to their disposition and world views.

 On Page 53 Star serves up carrots, peppers and what I suspect are purple onions - all really good, vitamin rich veggies that can extend our lives and eyesight so that we can continue to enjoy more of this eye-candy that is "Wreck this Journal (By US Postal Mail!)"!

The reverse of Page 53 contains a watercolor portrait of a person with bright red hair and beard over a picture of people holding hands on a green hill. This red - orange color is carried forward to Page 54 where it presents itself as thread binding a circle around the blasphemous suggestion of book destruction, upheld by a collage of geography, misty figures, facts and figures, plus hearts. 

 My great - grandmother would surely approve of the back of this embroidery of orange thread, because it matches what the front looks like and is tied off quite neatly.  So seems to have said the wisdom of my mother, who my great grandmother taught to embroider.  On Page 55 Star gives us truth and a pep talk, which I think we all are probably in need of here in the year 2022!

On Page 56 we are treated to cool things like cancelled postage stamp tape, little green friends, a fancy veil tailed blue gold fish, a pink haired beret-wearing girl, can top and ...wait...what's that up in the corner?

On opening its window we find more encouragement that we're on the right track!

Especially those of us who woke up today and celebrated it because we're famous, glamorous artists - and that's just what famous, glamorous artists do! They also remember that even when we find ourselves torn out, put in a pocket and put through the wash, we're still alive, artists, and belong in a book.

The end page is beautiful dyed tissue paper, green and sunset hills and the lovely red doily.  I love it all, thank you so much Star McCoy!

[Minneapolis Gnome]

I agree! I think it should be everyone’s first gold star ⭐️ of the day! Nice job on the cholesterol busting oatmeal, by the way!

[John Gayer]

Page 56 is ace. I congratulate myself every morning with a bowl of hot oatmeal.