Incoming: Awyn, Ken B. Miller, John Held Jr. and Cascadia Artpost

[William M]

Some really wonderful work from Awyn. The top is a hand  painted card and the bottom picture is of a few pages from a tiny artist book of mail art haikus. Really fantastic.

A really wonderful grid card from Ken. Seems maybe slightly less worked over than some of his other ones but no less great.

Two wonderful sheets of artistamps from John. One with a really kind note.

Front and back of two postcards that arrived today from Cascadia Artpost. Outstanding work as usual.

[William M]

i figured it might be tongue and cheek. but couldn't help weighing in on the gift front. :) btw, there should be mail going out to you tomorrow.

[awyn]

Oh dear, that wasn’t meant literally. It was tongue in cheek. William. (See upside down handwritten note penciled in at the bottom of that right-hand haiku page, quoting Ruud’s rule for newbies here: “There are no rules.” ) So much for an attempt at humor, ha ha. I was using situations specific to something a mail artist might (or actually did, in a comment once seen) imply; it wasn’t referring to me personally. (For example, the “Add & Pass” haiku. I’m not really doing A&P’s.) I am of the same mindset as Coco, though, that when I receive mail art from someone in the network, I too, begin thinking of how to reply. I get that not everyone necessarily has the time or inclination re: reciprocity. The fun is in the creating. The receiving (of any mail art at all) is the gift. Long live mail art!

[William M]

yeah, katerina, some really stellar mail that's for sure. i agree with both of you on the gift front. i mean work i send out is often some sort of response. but i don't send work out with strings always expecting a reply - that reply is a gift. but i get that feeling of an empty mailbox which i think that haiku is sort of referring to. or that expectation especially with newbies to mail art - dying to have mail in return.

[Coco Muchmore]

I love to be inspired by what Mail artists send. Preparing a reply often let's me explore new techniques or ways to converse visually. I don't think,  "oh this is a gift," I think oh, what kind of response? Like a symphony of art sound waves--call and response. I'm rarely silent in return...!!

These are all so wonderful. Especially delicious haiku!

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Oh, dear, a word to Awyn:

no "blue" expectations when we make and send mail art just to send out as a"gift" to another, expecting no reply or return. Thus, when someone does reply, even months later, it is such a super SURPRISE! yay!

Keep smiling, stay creative :-)

Super nice haul, William!