Thank you very much! :)

As I had to slightly modify my email address in August, I decided to start a new IUOMA account with new password. I haven't checked the website much since summer but will do so more regularly now. Thank you for your most recent sending - beautiful, and I like the new TRSM stamps and also the new rubber stamps.

Thanks for the treasure trove, Ruud, and for participating in my project. Pix are up on the Group page or my albums.

thanks Rudd for the welcome - sorry to be late in replying I only just realised I had lots of lovely welcome messages - still learning how it all works and fits together and hoping to have some mail art on the post tomorrow! thanks Theresa

Hello Ruud. Thank you for your welcome to IUOMA. It was a pleasant surprise this morning.

Ciao RUUD! ;-) ... i miei primi 40 anni ... di arte...

Dag Ruud, Bedankt voor de mooie MA. Heel leuk om eens iets van jou te ontvangen! Volgende volle maan op 17/11.

Dear Ruud,

I have posted some things to you, including the linoleum block original from the 30 year TRSA I created.  We will see what 2014 brings to all of us!  Let me know if you don't get it.  No news is good news. 

Regards,

BG

Such precious cargo, thanks for letting me know the whole lot arrived!!

I don't know what is wrong, but please keep going, I love this place!

Dear Ruud, if you haven't got my Holidays greetings here I try again!

HeMi

HELLO RUUD..HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!!!!!!!

-domenico.  Pompei Italy

Bonjour Ruud!

You can save some postage on Birthday cards, because only ONE out of FIFTEEN of today's Birthday Members seems to be active here at IUOMA. Predicted membership has fallen to 22% and 712 Members.

Excluding thee and me, you only need to buy 710 stamps now.

Happy Old Year, Val

Feliz año 2014.

01.01.14 Dare Ruud J.,....Global Warming????? "Its not the heat--its the humidity".....that is, Its not the I.U.O.M.A.-- its the humanity. B-r-r-r-r...its so cold here. Hang in there, Best to you. Take care. Richard C.

A mailing is on its way to you - 3 envelopes to add/pass that have Ross Priddle and A. Moreno on them, and a rubber stamp archive sheet you sent me.  Enjoy!

Good Morning, Ruud!

Things are quiet around here-- isn't that nice?!

I'll be curious to see what effect the new 'atmosphere' has on this month's viewings -- will the 140,000 figure be beaten in January? (I suspect not)

Last, but not least, and this is from the Headline News of my 'Birthday Analysis', don't for get Grace Cho:

Today's News: Grace Cho is the only 'Active' Birthday Girl today. The other 4 listed 'Birthdayers' will most likely enjoy their birthdays away from IUOMA.....and mail art? So please DO send Grace your Birthday Greetings today, 13 January, 2013 -- thank you.. Your turn, and those of the other 572 predicted 'Active' Members will come later

Regards, Val

O Projeto de livro coletivo continua aqui com endereço atualizado: 

Bolg.: http://www.tocadoloboartepostal.blogspot.com.br/

Bonjour Ruud,

Nearly 800 views of the Birthday Blog.

It's nearly finished.

Here's today's Headline News.

Have a good Sunday.

Regards, Val

****

ONE MORE DAY TO GO: there's been a fall in the number of predicted IUOMA"s 'Active' membership to 632, or 19% of the total number of members. With just a single 'Birthday Day' to go, can the Active Membership receive a last minute birthday boost?

The Statistical Analysis suggests 'No', but, as Mark Twain said, there are 'Lies, damned lies, and statistics'. However, he didn't have anything to say about Mail Art and/or IUOMA

The FINAL & EXCITING EPISODE of this Nail-Biting Drama where EVERYTHING will be revealed will be broadcast about 06.30 (CET) tomorrow where EVERYTHING will be revealed!! DO NOT MISS IT!!!!

                                 And an INTERPRETATION of the figures will be offered.

Dear Ruud, just returned to your fabulous MA. I have long coveted your gorgeous painted envelopes, and was SO happy to receive one! I just adore the painting you enclosed also. And all the other goodies, of course! (Also, charming to know the box will join the Fluxus collection!) Thank you very, very much! And Happy 2014!

Hi Ruud!

Just to let you know that I have finished my Birthday Analysis. The findings are below. Regards, Val.

I have been 'monitoring' those IUOMA members whose Birthdays have appeared on the 'Birthdays Today' part of this site. I started this, because I did not recognise many of their names, and wondered if they were indeed active members of IUOMA?

This led me to try and define what an 'Active Member' was, and to see how many of those whose birthdays were listed are indeed active.

I found that about 1 in 5 of them were active, and extrapolated from this that the Active Membership of IUOMA (based on the starting figure of 3263 Members on 22 December, 2013, was, at the end of the month's analysis, about 630.

The daily statistics for the month long period are below. (As are the methodological and statistical shortcomings, of which I am only too well aware.)
Mark Twain wrote that there are 'Lies, damned lies, and statistics', and you can read whatever you like into my statistics (and lies!).

I draw the following conclusions from them:

i) about 20% of IUOMA's Members are 'Active' as I have defined it.

ii) the remaining 80% may or may not be active Mail Artists outside the IUOMA network

iii) at one time this 80% were active IUOMA Mail Artists --that's why they joined (but see vii) below!)

iv) it is not necessary to be in any network to be a Mail Artist (well, I suppose you have to have at least one other person in your network to send Mail Art too!)

v) within IUOMA, a small number of people are responsible for a large amount of activity. They are the 'Super Actives'.

vi) as to the rest of us, well, we have different levels of Mail Art activity. I see it a bit like a love affair: start enthusiastically and with great passion, but then what you do and how vigorously you do it sort of tails off over time, and eventually you just get to live with your Mail Art personage.

vii) many IUOMA Mail Artists have been and gone, and, I trust, are still Mail Arting. As Mail Art is supposed to be enjoyable, and it certainly is for me, I would like to dedicate this whole Blog to one of our number who you have probably never heard of, but whose approach to Mail Art somehow seems to encapsulate what it is all about: fun. This is Deletemeplease's profile:

She bcame a member of IUOMA, joined one Group, but never posted a message, photo, or blog, or joined a discussion, and has not been heard of or from since.

Vive Mme Deletemeplease!

No, it's creative.

Thank you very much for the Bunnies, Ruud!
They are now hiding here  :-)

Hello from Greece, thank you for your mail art to me, received today. I'm happy you liked  "envelopes" group, it's really nice to see all these great works.

Thank you, Ruud! I finished 2013 - 25 Years IUOMA stamp designed by Litsa, now I'll make some of yours as stamps on future mail art cards:

I like the "mail art matters", too:

Thanks Ruud. Now that I am on a long holiday I have time to send mail art again.

Thanks for the newest mail!

hey Ruud, recently I did a search on Robin Crozier and saw the Memo(random)/memo(ry) listed here, I don't know if I gave you details about that project? Feel free to copy and paste this into that group. I had visited Jean Brown's archive and she suggested to Robin to do something around the Random name of mine and that project is what he came up with, he used my name better than I ever have. Robin would mail out a filled form with each new blank inquiry, but along the way he would write down each sheet into a small black notebook and when full would mail them to Jean. If you go to the Getty Research center and type in Robin's name you'll see them listed as 'mail art notebooks'. Keep bugging me, I think I scanned in the ones I have and could add them to this group.

Steve

I am glad you received my MA, Ruud. Enjoy!!!!!!!

Dag Ruud,

Kan al een tijdje geen foto's meer opladen, geeft steeds o bytes, terwijl ik nog wel foto's kan posten op de groepen. Is er een technisch probleem of heb ik limiet bereikt van oplaadmogelijkheden?

Probeer nog steeds te begrijpen dat ik 60 ben geworden, mijn vader stierf na zijn zestigste, zal daar wel iets mee te maken hebben.

Groet aan Litsa 2

Dag Ruud,

probleem niet opgelost, hij blijft herhalen

We're Sorry

Dale Roberts, mailmania project.jpg: This file is 0 bytes.

en dit voor elke andere foto die ik probeer op te laden via foto's.

Guido

Grazie Rudd...GRAZIE di cuore anche per IUOMA!!!! è un grande dono che hai fatto a tutti noi mailartisti!!! Qui c'è davvero tutta la libertà di cui necessita un artista di frontiera!  GRAZIE!!!!! un fraterno abbraccio , Bruno

Pianowski%20Thesis.doc

Dag Ruud,

Heb 2 nieuwe fotoalbums aangemaakt (mail art received en mail art sent since April 2014) en hier kan ik wel terug foto's posten want niet langer mogelijk via mijn foto's, dus probleem opgelost via een omwegske.

Guido

Thank you, Ruud!

http://thessalonikicolorsgallery.blogspot.com

Yes, I did get in touch with Ed eventually. That was about 6 or 8 years ago and I did get in touch with him although I am not sure which of the many methods I use actually got to him!

Well, it was a pleasure to send, that stamp belongs to you :-)

Glad to see it arrived safe and sound. Thank you for showing the picture of the envelope; I love the addition by the Mail Company: the wave-like cancellation stamps.

Happy Birthday Ruud!