Received: Ruud Janssen - Litsa Spathi, mail art and Fluxus stamps (Breda, Netherlands)

[De Villo Sloan]

September 6, 2010 - IUOMA founder and artist Ruud Janssen kept up his mail art correspondence during these past weeks while traveling to Athens and Switzerland. I recently received an envelope from him that includes a page of beautiful stamps shown above (drawn by Thomas Kerr and printed by Joel Cohen) as well as a page of Fluxus artists' stamps. So far, the Fluxus page has the imprints of Ben Vautier and my personal favorite visual poet: Litsa Spathi. This is meant to be passed on to gather more artists for the Fluxus Rubber Stamp Collection (TAM Rubberstamp Archive - P.O. Box 1055 - 4801 BB Breda - Netherlands). I have to confess it's going to be a little hard to part with this, but I'm going to send it on it's way hoping other visual poets will contribute to this documentation effort. This is all an aside because I haven't gotten past Ruud's envelope:

As individuals spread across the globe will recognize, this is one of Ruud Janssen's hand-painted acrylic envelopes. I was practically stunned by the color and imagery when I took it out of the mailbox; I knew right away who'd sent it, only all I knew before was scans. I like mail art and the IUOMA because of the equality and mutual support. I also appreciate the access to people with vast amounts of experience, knowledge, and talent who are only too willing to share. Being intensely involved with mail art for about three decades, Ruud knows every nuance in the process. It's amazing to me to see the economy and utilization of space and forms in his work. Looking further into the piece, one can start to reconstruct the methods involved that strike a balance between quantity and quality. I talk with IUOMA friends often about these issues: quantity, quality, materials, expenses - Ruud provides a "benchmark" for the field. Here is the Fluxus Rubber Stamp Collection in circulation:

Bonus: Two pages from my copy of "OXID" by Litsa Spathi (REDFOXPRESS, Ireland www.redfoxpress.com)

[De Villo Sloan]

Ruud, glad to have a chance to thank you sort-of in-person for the mailart. You think I'm going to pass on Fluxus stamps? When you have a chance, please remember me. And a hello to Litsa Spathi too. Regards, DVS

[Ruud Janssen]

My travel kit: On the way I travelled with about 40 kilo's. So a heavy kit for sure.

De Villo Sloan, Thanks for the kind words. Can always send you a new fresh sheet with new fluxus stamps out of my collecton. That is no problem.

And yes, quality and quantity is an interesting subject to talk about. The masterpiece can be sending out ten thousands of originals.....

[De Villo Sloan]

Cheryl, I'm glad I helped YOU out by talking about visual poetry. I look forward to seeing more of your work after your trip. DVS

[cheryl penn]

I am with Julian here - DVS helped this artist over a rocky patch that will end in great things!

[Julian Grant]

Dear DVS, - Just a note to let you know how much I appreciate your writings on MA and how you have become the foremost diarist working here. Your critiques, observations and attention to artists working in this medium are greatly appreciated by me - and I can only assume - enjoyed worldwide by our fellow artists. Thank you for locating, documenting and putting in perspective everyone's work. A job well done.