Mail Art from Lisa Iversen, Pascal Minart, Nadine Wendell-Mojica, and David Stafford

[DKeys]

Lisa's piece came in a "We Care" postal plastic bag. Interesting that I received two pieces about smoking-Lisa's nod to Ray Johnson and Nadine's Mitt and beauty rep. I love the punker with gauges in the background. David Stafford is a master story teller and this installment is about poor Mr. Dinwoodie.

"I had to put Mr. Dinwoodie down," Mrs. Dinwoodie said to her friend, Irma. "Was he ill?" Irma inquired. "No, but he made a spot on the run." "Not the white shag?" Irma said as though Mr. Dinwoodie had destroyed the last siberian tiger.  "Oh no, not the shag. The throw in the living room" "That's already a sort of urine-yellow isn't it?" "Well, I wouldn't say urine. It's more of a golden rod. Besides, we'd had beets the night before. Two nights actually." "Oh, so it looked like a blood stain, then?" Mrs. Dinwoodie made a face. Then she laughed as she remembered how peaceful Mr. Dinwoodie looked on the bet's gleaming aluminum table. she wished her sink looked that clean.

Mr. Dinwoodie should have known better than to mess with Mrs. Dinwoodie--afterall--her first three husbands dying under mysterious circumstances should have given him pause.

thanks for all the great art!!

[De Villo Sloan]

Update - I've been having an offline discussion concerning the Ray Johnson Lucky Strike scan I posted. For sure it's a Ray Johnson piece, but determining when it was made and when modified is a bit tricky. I just don't want to circulate inaccurate info.

Lucky Strikes are still available, so the perpetuation of this RJ "signifier" continues.

[David Stafford]

Love that lucky strike knife....

[De Villo Sloan]

IUOMA is great. A veteran mail-artist with astonishing knowledge far greater than mine sent me a message that the Ray Johnson Lucky Strike piece I posted is likely from the 1950s, despite the 1981 that might have been added (maybe with additional material?) by someone much later.

Why Lucky Strikes? Probably because he was smoking them. In 1950s Jackson Pollock also smoked and painted. Sometimes cigarette butts are encrusted in the paint on the canvases. Makes sense to me.

[De Villo Sloan]

Oh looks like add-and-pass from 1981?

[De Villo Sloan]

The continuation of the Lucky Strike tradition is great! Here is Ray Johnson m-a from what? 60s or 70s?

[David Stafford]

Twas me....great backstory....Avon rep 3rd wife looks like she still burns a torch for old hubby...quite literally in this case....Mitt guy is appropriately smug...this ellipsis addiction needs a treatment center....

[Nadine Wendell-Mojica]

Back story for sticker; I just love the idea of being trapped in a hot living room with cigarette puffing relatives that show up with weenies in a blanket. The Avon Rep is his 3rd wife who just 'happened' to bring her samples and does an impromptu demo for everyone and even the men have to buy her crap. The Anarchist kid with the gauges still lives at home and of course hates everyone and ends up stealing Gramma's money. The Mitt voter speaks for itself. He thinks he's not part of the 47%.

[Nadine Wendell-Mojica]

Wait just a darn minute....I seem to recognize Mr. Stafford's handwriting from a card I got in Dec that was unsigned and no postal markings. It had a story line of merit badges for micro-dermabrations, main protagonists were Pedro and Mr. Latimore. My Puerto Rican husband appreciated the illustrated "reaching out to Hispanics" from a Republican. Waaa too bad for phony glad handing to get the vote. Was it you David??????

[David Stafford]

I bet Nadine's drawing has a backstory all its own...Do tell, Nadine.

[Alicia Starr]

David's story - pairs perfectly with Nadine's characters. you two might consider a collaboration piece, then send it to me ;-)