SMTMA: MaoMao’s Postal Art Crosses the Big Sea

[Thom Courcelle]

Sometimes I get something in the mail that I just think, “...Whoa. What did I do to deserve something like that showing up in my mailbox?”  It’s “Something More Than Mail Art.”  Exhibit A:

Holy Seamonsters, Batman!

...That’s an envelope made out of CANVAS, hand-painted, gold calligraphy and embellishment (even those “stitches” are painted!), ephemera-laden with maps, exotic postage, and real (gilded) wax seal—a piece that is more appropriate for framing than for handling by mechanical postage machines...and yet like all our postal artwork, the mechanical postal intrusion on this masterpiece only adds to its mystique.

Someone’s precious creativity and time were poured into this ‘reach-across-the-ocean’ masterpiece and its receipt made for a blessing of the end of a long day. Lots of us have had those moments—it’s why we keep mail art-ing—the long slog of a day at the grind of work; the drone of mindless commuting after a long day’s brain-fizzzle; the unapproachable thought of having to make an effort to dirty more dishes in order to sustain yourself with another meal of edible SOMETHING...before you can drop in the easy chair that’s not so easy any more...

But...HARK... there’s something stuffed in the porch mailbox, so plump that it keeps the mailbox lid awry. What could it be? But DANG!!! It’s correspondence from a mysterious fellow human being traveling the world in her boat and mailing magical vellum-wrapped parchment around the globe. So colorful you can feel the waves underneath the prow and feel the mist from the whale’s blowhole. 

This is why we mail art and connect with others. To live vicariously through the artists’ eyes with whom we correspond. Long live Mail Art! Ahoy!

[Jayne Barket Lyons]

Absolutely wonderful art! And Thom you paint a beautiful picture with your words!

[Richard Canard]

(....Yes, what Ms. Debra Mulnick, Ms. Patricia Landon  & Mister DeVillo Sloan  said.) 

[De Villo Sloan]

wow - just wow

[PATRICIA LANDON]

yes,bravo!

[Debra Mulnick]

Amazing and beautiful!  And a beautiful narrative describing how you felt about receiving it.

Thank you MaoMao and Thom!