David Stafford's Blog (203)

From the catalog essay by Mikal Fobgrist:

No one does Bar Code art like a Lad in Seine (ALIS). No one has the patience, the fortitude, the drive, the moxie, to nail Bar Code art to the wall and let it sit there wriggling and gasping for breath. No one but a lad in Seine. (cue echoing trumpet solo from Patton).

Just to be…

Don't let the bastards grind you down. The meek will inherit the earth but only after protracted legal battles.

Kerri sent me this haunting painting/drawing with a thoughtful note on the back. Thank you, Kerri. The appreciation is appreciated.

She also sent me an updated magic couch card (mine had expired in October) the flip side of…

As bad as things are, I have received some outstanding mail art including these stamp sets from Keith Chambers' Dada Centennial Collection. Not available in any store they are a lovely achievement in homage to both stamps and dada if a person can pay homage to dada. That does sound like it should be illegal. A coupla close ups.…

Elsa von Freytag-loringhoven, long dead, sent me this instructional manual on how not to draw a cat as well as an invitation to friend this jolly Brooklyn realtor (done and done). Elsa's quotes are reprinted here for the benefit of those who, like me, have trouble seeing: "Why isn't Santa Fe in Arizona?" A very good question, Elsa and one I'm looking into.…

Some of you may have received an envelope that contained a red balloon with instructions? This is my version. I liked how it turned out for the most part though I look more like a hunch-backed Freddy Krueger than I'd like. (My stylist gave me bad instructions.) Anyway, just before I got the assignment I had scanned this wonderful old illustration from a 1937 Popular Mechanic magazine. Suddenly it all clicked. However, in order to make the illustration come alive I had to invest $34 in a…

Remember that old song: South of Waitpinga? Me neither. Vizma sent me this highly caffeinated envelope which I was afraid to open for two days. Finally I got up the courage…

Yes, friends, it's true...she has stolen my…

Svenja sent this amazingly generous boekie filled with her witty collages and all wrapped in an old Kodak picture folder from Tacoma, Washington. That's like gold inside of gold. Thank you so much, Svenja.…

Wasn't it Gertrude Stein who said: "An artist in Seine lives mainly on the Plein"? Maybe not. Anyway, here is our Paris correspondent's latest offering. The caption reads "The Vallée-Francaise seen from Col. Saint-Pierre." That's Col. St. Pierre in the foreground though he may need to turn to see the best view of the Vallée. Thank you,…

Speed blogging continues: RCBz has sent me a forest of great images, each with a through-line of anger at the sorry state of American politics. Of course, there's more to his work than that but that's what jumps out at me. I feel your pain, RCBz and thank you for sharing your precision smart bombs with me.…

Angelica sent me this clever collage along with some great letterpress ephemera. (at least I think it was from Angelica.) Thank you, Angelica.

And after a long hiatus:…

Katerina sent me this overstuffed envelope from Greece, containing two boekies, one chockful of images for a collage yet to be born. (I'll see what I can do). Thank you, Katerina.

How it all unfolded in not quite real…

One of Rebecca Guy Ver's amazing pastoral quilted drawings, possible comment on Brexit. The backside is a Paul Klee-like dance of zippered leatherette. Thank you, Rebecca.

A postcard of textured banners with a somber undertone from…

Diane Arbus sent me this cool "HEADLINES SCREAMED" collage, all pasted on a repurposed pizza box which is soooo Diane. She's now 93 and spry as an elderly chicken. For the past several years she's been working at the Hill Country Barbecue in Manhattan where she runs the register and has a quip for every patron. (Mine was emailed to me).  Worthy of note: Diane…

So many people have sent me so many things that, in order to catch up, we'll have to work right through the Republican Convention. I hope that's okay with most of you. Sometimes you have make sacrifices. So Linda has sent me many many things since I departed for California and now upon my return. We'll start with these very cool collages and ATCS that give you…

At last the story can be told. I received this complicated boekie that purports to be part of my backpages, the missing Rodeo Years. The boekie itself is a wonderment of found materials including an old kerchief of mine. (see blue thingie above)…

One of the primary directives of the mail art clan is to be helpful to struggling young mail artists. I think you can see that Mason falls under the category of at least one of those things if not three. Certainly he has struggled initially to learn the basics: how to address an envelope, for example. I don't know about you but I think he has achieved mastery…

Bumblebee C. Sent me this Pop Up card of the Singing Nun which when opened properly reveals a Brother Superior wielding a dangerous putty knife. (S)he's also exhibiting some transgressive behaviors which makes me wonder if Bumblebee knows Dame Mailarta also from Victoria. Also included in her envelope:…

Meeah Williams continues to amaze. Up top is her envelope. Ghostly landscape and Eyeball Guy. And then inside was:

this cool book...as well as……