Mail Art UK

I do get the irony - I really do!

Mark Pawson did a lovely long rambling talk at the PV of the exhibition and said in effect that these things look very nice in vitrines and framed up beautifully but mail art really is "taking part" and you can't just show a tiny fraction of it  and expect people to undertsnad what it's like to receive things in the post every day for 40 years and all the interactions that go on "behind the scenes" - the scenes being many networks and many "nodes" and every mail artist has their own "node" that is different from everybody else's. It says it's a "glimpse" and thats what it is.

If you click on the photo ( thanks BTW )  it flips round the right way . It does for me anyway.  yes, people are always asking "So where is it travelling to next" and as far as we are concerned after next April it's going straight back in the coal shed!   It would be nice to travel it around but so much work involved and we are knackered after two years sorting this one out!

Sadly all the frames belong to Special Collections and they want them back after the exhibition for the next exhibition. A lovely lady called Pauline framed most of them and what a wonderful job she did!  Each item stuck down with a conservators "porridge" made from wheatgrass or somesuch concoction that can be easily removed with a dab of water - amazing stuff!  

can I become a member, I lived in UK for 20 years

Hi Claire - Yes ofcourse - I don't see why we need restrictions, especially in these days of Brexshit !

Thanks, here’s a cow art and a barcode also. I’ve just started and The Rush....The Rush....

Excellent - keep up the good work!   How did Cow Art become a thing?   I've often wondered.  

A cow collage from the A.1. archives.    

I’ve been away for a long time but I’m back now and I have things going on in my head. Need to get some materials together as I left a lot with my ex. Can’t wait to start sharing art again!

Welcome to Sally Harrison - latest member of Mail Art UK.

R I P Neil Innes.

The Bonzos changed my way of looking at the world; and that was just the start . . .

Yes, very sad day - and he was only 75 - two years old than me - makes you think!

snap!

That Keith Bates has been busy again!  

He did tell me that he had retired from mail art madness to concentrate on fonts.  I guess once it's in the blood . . .

Been watching 'how sweet to be an idiot ' on you tube.  Neil may not have been a God like Clapton et al, but he had a huge influence on my life one way or another . . .

Yes, fonts can only sustain you for so long!   The Bonzos were a big part of my listening pleasure from the 60's onwards.  He will be greatly missed by many who loved that sort of  British musical eccentricity. I must watched that "How sweet...." too- thanks for mentioning it!

Anyone in touch with Ona Doddle?  She came to the CURIOUS THINGS exhibition on Saturday apparently but didn't leave any forwarding address or number. Any clues greatly appreciated.

Just a reminder in case any of you missed it. As part of the CURIOUS THINGS exhibition now on at Special Collections, MMU in Manchester. John Held is parachuting in as he returns to  USA via his flight from Budapest to do a talk about mail art and related stuff at 4:45pm in the All Saints Library, 3rd Floor, All Saints, MMU. MANCHESTER on the 25th February.  There will also be a tour of the exhibition, rubber stamping, exchange of ATC's etc. photo opportunities!  The exhibition will stay open until 7pm. for those who can't make the talk but want to meet up.

I will be with you in spirit . . .

Thanks Mary Anne - we shall be there in body and mind ( hopefully!).  A few on FB have expressed interest. Roger Radio and Jilly Jargon will be there.

Welcome -  Heather Wilkie. 

Hello and thanks for the welcome Michael, Im just returning to the world of mail art after being awol for about 15 years. I look forward to taking part and being included in things here.

Heather - Not much goes on here really but nice to catch up and sometimes someone will post a project.  I thought there would be more due to the lockdown but very few so far.  #staysafe

Discovered that Ona Doddle is on Instagram so that mystery solved ( see earlier query ). 

Michael - well im not rushing headfirst into things just yet. Ive got plenty of time for that. What I have been doing is familierising myself with all my supplies after so long. im finding stuff ive been searching the house for years, im even find stuff id forgotten i had. several half created items that ive forgotten my original intention for, but ill be giving them a new meaning soon.

Ive even found an old braincell from ryosuke, that sadly ive had to throw away as somewhere over the years its been destroyed beyond salvation.

Heather - O shame about the Ryosuke Cohen "braincell" .  I'm pretty sure he'll send you another if you write to him!    Postage to Japan, Australia, USA etc. is pretty horrendous these days - one of the reasons I've cut back being a poor pensioner and supporting our son through his degree etc.  After 15 years I expect you'll notice the difference.  I really miss the local Oxfan shop which used to sell unfranked stamps in big packets.  They closed as the rents were all put up. It's still an empty shop now - three years later!  Crazy times eh? Don't get me started!

Michael - yes, IM aware of just how much our royal mail has hijed the prices up over the years. after i stepped away from mail art the first time, i went into postcrossing in abig way and enjoyed swapping souvenir pstcards for a few years. then i stepped away from that when royal mail did away with the postcard price stamps and made it more expensive for euro and international mailings. im still to find out just how pricy its got since then as ive not mailed anything outher than the odd card or official documents within the uk. something tells me my wallets going to have a funny turn.

Michael - on further comments about the demise of your oxfam that supplied unfranked stamps to use. are you aware of philiatelink? i used to buy some semi bulk packages of stamps for less than the bulk face value when i did postcrossing. your comment got me thinking about it and ive found the company is still trading and ive just ordered a £50 pack of mixed value stamps for about £37. its always a good fun deal for things like mail art mailings.

You can buy unused old stamps at below face value on eBay too, as long as you don't mind adding lots of small values. I love commemorating current events like Charles & Diana's wedding etc. But beware of the fraudulent listings of used but unfranked stamps, 'for collectors only' (wink wink). Especially now, we need to be supporting the world's postal services not cheating them. You can manage the cost by carefully keeping just within weight and size limits.

Alan - I agree, I refuse to take part in the fraudulant recycling of used stamps. But philatelink.co.uk is a legit place to buy older unfranked and never used stamps that are fit for using for posting things. :-)

I hadn't heard of Philatelink but will look them out. Stamp dealers must have bought huge quantities of stamps in the 70s and 80s with the thought they could resell them for a profit in the future. Now they've realised they never will and are happy to unload them cheap.

On the other hand I can't understand why eBay continues to permit these listings of used uncancelled stamps. And if Royal Mail would only cancel mail properly that would put an end to the problem.

Regarding uncancelled stamps. Oxfam seemed to do well out of selling them so happy my money was going to a good cause.  Yes, the post office should be more aware of cancelling stamps properly .  They make huge profits every year and so I don't feel that bad about re-using envelopes they have neglected to frank.

Im currently sorting out some small and thin-ish 6 page boardbooks to get put into regular but arted up envelopes for mailing out to several people, uk euro and overseas.

im using standard A5 envelopes but am unsure whether the 40gram slightly thicker package would manage to scrape in as a large letter or if i should make it a parcel?

my local Post office is on weird opening times obviously and i dont manage to catch these times to coincide with my once weekly excursion into town. I weigh my mail to price check what stamps i need to put on.

Heather, if you can get yourself a 'Pricing in Proportion' ruler this will help. It has 5mm and 25mm slots to tell you whether your letter is 'large' or not. Helix make one as well as some other manufacturers

Alan, I simply cut a slot of the right dimentions on a piece of card. It has served me well for years.

The Post Office sells stamps by post too . They came by UPS, I assummed Kevin, my postman, would bring them. 

is anyone planning on visiting a h obbycraft shop anytime soon? Ive got a £5 voucher to be used by 30th june.

if anyone wants it, i can either forward my email so you can print it off, or i can give you the code for an online order

That is nice of you Heather. I cannot think of anything I need at the moment but thanks.

I find it difficult to measure the thickness of the envelope with a ruler and I am the worrying type so I have to make sure it is not going to be rejected as I weigh it at home.

The voucher is still available. my nearest one is about a 3 hour drive away and i only tend to visit the one near my relatives when i am visiting them in england.

lol

Heather you can buy from Hobbyctraft online.

Martha, I dont usually use hobbycraft, i only occasionaly make a visit to a real store if im staying near to one, for a mooch and maybe an impulse purchase.so the voucher is no good to me at this time

I enjoyed my online window shopping so much that i can imagine what going round the shop must be like. I was tempted by a Cricut machine which cuts paper to your own design, but when I saw the price, well, I will wait until you get a £ 300 voucher, maybe . . .

Ive got a sizzix big shot its an excellent machine as it will work with all types of dies and embossing folders. I just won an auction for a rare discontinued die that cuts a sheet of postage stamp shapes complete with perforations. cost me a fair wack from my wallet but hey its a rare retired item. its the best design for stamps die cutting ive seen, now i can enter into the artistamps network

Welcome Amanda!