David Stafford's Blog (203)

Dean, your martini has landed. My takeaway is "don't knock the anchovy daiquiri until you've tried it."

On the flip side: Fille de Pablo plus Dean's signature in 3-D goo...(scanner friendly, so far) Thank you, Dean.

(As a pedant I have to tell you, Dean, that you are not authorized to spell unautherized that way. I will have to report…

Glancing at Thom's envelope on the counter I saw his collage (seen here at bottom) and thought, "Thom's finally laying old Ray Johnson to rest." But no, this wasn't Ray. It was, according to the fairy tale within, a disembodied head, nameless, who mourns his inability to shrug (no shoulders, no shrug).

Anyhow I wanted to make…

I've missed a lot of things. This bubble and that. But when I received a post this afternoon from Aladdin Seine I knew the jig was up. Here's the story. Not more than a fortnight ago I received a post from Susan W which included the postcard you see on the left above. Above that is her inscription on the back (which I will generously…

Mr. Postman. A picture from the Library of Congress of a Vermont mail sorter.

I have this weird digital preview thing the Post Office sends out (I guess everyone has it now) that tells you what mail is arriving that day. In the past month I've gotten previews of mail art that never made it into the physical realm. I know I've missed mail from Henry Denander and Bonnie Diva but there may have been others in this…

Ed Giecek made me some stickers (see lower right) that were made for a moments like this. After I tumped a bottle of Higgins Black Ink over my drafting table the massive spill resolved itself into a raven! I am still left wondering whether this is an omen or a portent however. Either way, it's definitely not the worst thing to fly off this…

I thought this was a particularly good distillation of why I like mail art. (We still don't know why it doesn't like me but that's for another day).

T-Shirt from the Jon Foster Collection

I may be violating a IUOMA policy here but I think it's important for people to realize that the forces of darkness are once again trying to privatize our Postal System, widely regarded as one of America's proudest achievements for a wide variety of reasons.

Check out this paper from In The Public Interest and then consider writing a letter to these…

I'm not sure anyone has addressed this yet but it has occurred to me that we may all be wondering what the protocols should be.

Here's an informative article that addresses the issue.

Stay Safe

Dave

Here's the pig leaving the building.…

It's time again to put out the call to interested ephemeralists and makers of collage. I have more of these old magazines (Mostly women's magazines from the 40s, Ladies Home Journal, The House Beautiful, etc.) that I would like to give away. I also have clipped (what I deem) the usable parts of several of the magazines for those who want to cut to the…

Note: As part of my plea agreement I am required by law to post these PSAs periodically. Let me know if you have any questions.

I know just how vexing an issue this can be and that's why I've decided to offer this handy info wheel to those confused by this crazy, mixed up, modern world of mail art. I hasten to add: this is only a prototype. We're looking for investors who might want to help us iron out a few of the kinks. Please go to our gofund me site elsewhere on this planet. Or just bask in the knowledge that there are answers out there to questions that seemed beyond the reach of science. Many…

Happy Year o' the Pig and all that. But wait...there's more. I'm finishing off my gargantuan scanning project. And now I have all these old magazines that I'm wondering what to do with. I've considered selling them on Etsy but it seems like a fool's errand since…

Brooke C. of Seattle sent my mom this fresh collage/painting. Alas, to complain about too much rain is not something we ever do in New Mexico. Would that we could. But your collage is still lovely, Brooke.

And she sent me this colorful…

From outta the blue Nadia of Barcelona sent me this monster on wrapping paper, just the kind of spontaneous effort I like to see crossing the ocean in search of meaning. Thank you, Nadia.

Then Heidi Monster sent my mom…

As some of you know, I have been in California every other month for the past three months. (More on that later) That means I received lots of mail art which I haven't been able to get to for a while. This megablog, with an emphasis on brevity, is meant to address that and catch up with all the good stuff you've been sending.

First up, a sensuous collage from…

Stripygoose sent me this Cool Cardboard Crowing Cock Collage (C.C.C.C.C.), which resembles a museum exhibit in this setting. A Cave Carving from the Age of Cardboard. (C.C.A.C.) Thank you, SG.

Brooke Cooks sent me this valentine. So sweet…