I don't know Jon Foster ...

[Nancy Bell Scott]

... but after "raising my hand," I found this in my mailbox,

and I love it! This has to be from the Lexington series others are raving about, and its depth and moody word + number play make it a fine work of art that I feel lucky to have received. Somewhere on the site Jon mentioned that he is back and asked if there is anyone new who has never gotten mail-art from him. I hadn't seen a thing he has ever done but let him know I'd love to receive one, and this arrived not long after. This is the kind of work (for some reason) that one would expect to see in a matte finish, but Jon has encased it in some kind of tape or shrink-wrap that gives it a modern, glossy look, and it really works. Thank you, Jon ~

[De Villo Sloan]

Jon's "Lexington Series" is definitely getting positive responses. I'm glad to hear the biographical background on it. I find that doing pieces in a series with a theme definitely has advantages. I'm big on the series concept, or serial collage or vispo? Anybody else doing series projects?

[Nancy Bell Scott]

And thank you for generously explaining how you work, Jon. It's fantastic, and you must experience some great "happy accidents" too (a main reason for getting up in the morning, in my book). All very interesting. I'll be sending something out to you soon and definitely look forward to remaining on your mail-art list.

[jon foster]

Oh wow guys, thanks so much for all of the kind words. Sorry that it took me a while to get back with you guys, but I was out of town for a few days and didn't get the chance.

 

I know I keep writing it, but I really am going to make a little video of how I make my stuff. It really is simple but it can yield "fun results." Basically I just put tape down on an interesting subject and pull. I generally do about six or seven of these at the same time so when I send out they generally share a theme.

 

Nancy, I love sending stuff out to folks, mostly without having sent a message first. Maybe this accounts for why I get very little back...I'm glad you liked the work and I look forward to sending you more stuff in the future.

 

Sometimes I do traditional transfers but not always. This card was one that I just put on paper and pulled. The "Dave" card that was recently posted is one that I did a transfer on.

 

The numbers that I used on this one are area codes for the town that I grew up in. All of the Lexington series are based on my hometown in North Carolina. I mostly used a phonebook and a couple of Lexington magazines that I found around the office. Thought it would be fun to work in a theme for a little while.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

From touching it closely just now, I can (slightly) feel edges of tape and of a couple of collage elements, so your description (tape and stick and tear and rip) seems right to me. It's brilliant, and you did it too? Now I've got your beautiful Snooky card in front of me, and it looks like layers via another kind of transfer--or possibly printing, about which I'm completely ignorant and don't want to be. :--)

I've used tape very occasionally to mess up a page of text but only rarely then used the tape someplace else.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

This is done by tape transfer?? Wow. Thanks for straightening me out, guys. I'm trying to imagine how he does it. It does give a lot to think about--it's been propped up next to my computer since it arrived, and I ponder it.

[prettylily]

What a treasure!

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi Nancy, I received mail-art from Jon Foster recently. I am a big fan. Last year he was involved in the Punk Mail-Art revival, among other things. He uses all sorts of interesting techniques with tape etc. to get the effects. The "Lexington" series is great, IMHO. Thanks for posting!