Thom Courcelle's Blog (211)

A CRAZY piece of mailart arrived in my mailbox just a few days ago. It was a page from a printed program of the Paris Olympics...and some other "hallmarks" about it give me a clue as to whom it might be from... and if so, it is no wonder that his mailart magic saw this piece delivered...BUT HOW???!!!…

Some mailart arrived from France as sweet as honey!

All kinds of errata and ephemera, some to make one laugh, some that will look classy collaged in future art projects, a very nice enclosed note, and some interesting poetry to ponder...…

Not one...but TWO mail artists reproduced some of my mailart into commemorative artistamps, for which I feel privileged and honored...

The first was received from Jack Latteman of Cascadia Artpost, in his latest series of "Ticket! Ticket! Boleto! Boleto!" artistamps. (Series 14, Summer 2024).  I circled the stamp (in fuscia-pink) on the sheet that Jack created using one of my mailart lettters to him...…

More botanical flora-inspired mailart from Mikel Untzilla...

As Mikel says in his note: "Make Mail Art; not War."  A wise sentiment. I wish drones and bomber planes would drop leaflets of mailart and letters of goodwill instead of terrifying implements of death and destruction... how much nicer the world would be... We…

Katerina Nikoltsou sent me *bright* flower collages this past spring... and here I am posting them in the waning days of summer!  It certainly has been a prolific spring (AND summer) full of happy flora this year...

The nice thing about Kat's flowers are that they won't ever wilt or shrivel...I'll be able to enjoy them in spring, summer, fall, or even winter!…

This blog documentation is long overdue... I received this wonderful miniature canvas from Awyn (it's approximately 4 inches-by-5 inches) and put it in a prominent place to remember to blog it... and then got railroaded with other responsibilities this summer. But it still holds a prominent place in the repertoire of special pieces I've received over many years of received mailart...  How often does one receive an actual canvas or painted board piece (of ANY size) in the mail? This piece is…

I am VERY behind with documenting received mailart, so please excuse the lapse.

Over the course of the summer I have received two—three, actually—envelopes from Coco, each with unique and amazing inclusions.

In response to a personalized TrashPo Boekie I sent to her bound in a gourmet tinned octopus box (It's always good if you have to consume the yummy contents of your TrashPo errata before creating your TrashPo work of art...), Coco sent me a boekie of her…

Robert hails from Kirkland, Washington—just a bridge drive across Lake Washington from where I used to live in Seattle. I'm always happy to correspond with folks from my former Pacific Northwest home, to hear news from the old "neighborhood."

You can compare Robert's "sent"  envelope here [link] ...with the envelope that I received at my home in Vermont after its long…

In a rubber stamped envelope, which also, somehow, never fails to entertain...

One of the more creative of Adam's artistamp sheets is based on lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel...…

A beautiful painted scene...

The essence of gratitude...the perfect prayer for any occasion.…

Carien created this LARGE hand-made envelope with an Amsterdam scene so vibrant one might just leap right into the picture! The paper is quite thick and glossy...perhaps a repurposed book jacket from a coffee table book...

I can imagine riding my bicycle across one of Amsterdam's bridges or lounging on one of the passenger barges as it floats through…

Not one, but TWO envelopes of goodies arriving from Oregon... one of which included survey results from the Mail Art Continuum Project—something I had been anxious to hear about...

One…

Hélène sent an envelope with artworks that struck a blissful chord near my heart...

Inside is a collage that looks nothing if not like a travelers ticket...with its partial map of Bordeaux (?) sitting beside a blue azure sea, and a new imaginary train track route that will take me on an exotic and scenic ride through mystical terrain not even…

MailArt postal cards arrived from (clockwise from top): David Stafford of New Mexico, USA; David Stanley Aponte of New Jersey, USA; Susan Gnaedinger of Illinois, USA; and Stripygoose of England...

Your correspondence and artwork is appreciated!  Thanks to…

This article appeared in Vermont's Alternative Newspaper Weekly, Seven Days, and I immediately felt it was appropriate news for the IUOMA community (particularly in the United States, where a majority of this scamming appears to be taking place).  I have, myself, actually come across these "discount" postage stamp websites that claim that they can sell postage stamps at a reduced rate (up to HALF-OFF!) because they purchase stamps in bulk. …

I recently sent William a copy of the mini-zine I created called "FluxFish in the Year of the Rabbit," and he kindly countered with a mini-zine of his own, starring his amazing stamp artistry...…

I celebrated another year around the Sun recently, and mailart pal Nancy Bell Scott honored the occasion with a most magnificent example of her artistry... She had actually sent me a personal electronic message with the image first...so it was a total surprise to receive the ACTUAL ARTWORK in the mail THE VERY NEXT DAY!!

Above is the image…

A recently received hand-made envelope from Dr. Zack revealed so many goodies that it felt like Santa had left me a MailArt Stocking stuffed with treasures!  They were even nicely gift-wrapped...

There…

A beautiful hand-folded envelope made of a luscious Baroque flower print paper, from Debra Mulnick...

...containing a Japanese block print that Debra has embellished and collaged with words to create a minimalist poem. A very nice personal note on the reverse.

Like Debra, I think that 2024 (a presidential election year…

Here's the little devil (drawn by the hand of Jimmy Hackney)...

I love this graffito-like drawing with the young Basquiat gazing on!  ...The power of a few primary color pens can be amazing in the hands of a true artist!

I think this is my first exchange with Jimmy (aka "J.J. Hack").  And, I had already…