KAREN CHAMPLIN: A GIFT OF THE MIND AND SOUL

[Ruth Schowalter]

The postal service in Decatur, Georgia, delivered a gift of the mind and soul from Karen Camplin in Highland Park, Illinois. It is from Karen that I receive the first "enveloped" mail art, which adds an entirely new dimension to mail art for me! Layered visual communication! The "feel" of the envelope is love, frivolity, attendance to image, a presence in the form of a finger print--is it Karen's?

 

Then inside, there is something more quiet, more layered--profound and warmly red and pink and brown. Outside the layered rectangles of colored patterned paper, Karen has written something. Something. How nice it is to not know. To hold her art, which is on a piece of hand-sized cardboard, and read her writing and WONDER. A gift of WONDERMENT!

Thank you Karen! I love on the back the instructions as to which way the art communication is supposed to be oriented!

 

[Ruth Schowalter]

De Villo Sloan is it possible that I was participating in mail-art network with you back in the mid to late 80s?

[De Villo Sloan]

A great colorful piece by Karen Champlin. Glad you appreciate it Ruth Schowalter as it's definitely visual poetry. You know, a few years back when people were making collages, books, and contributing to zines - those people were actually in the mail-art network - they just didn't realize it - turns out there was a huge overlap. So, yeah, a lot of this is new to me. And a lot of it is also very familiar.