New Arrivals

A few new things arrived yesterday. Of course, each piece is terrific, but this one from Wanda Mortensen really touched me.

I managed to get something en route to RF Côté in Quebec last week but that was about it. I have so many pieces in the works, almost ready to go out to others, but I've spent the last two weeks moving my office and when I was not hauling boxes, computers and furniture (with an enormous amount of help from my husband), I was collapsing into deep welcomed sleep.

I am looking forward to spending some quality mail art time this weekend.

Dark Matter Containment Vessel

I finally found a couple minutes to photograph the wonderful package I received last week from Scott Thomas. I love his whimsical fairy-nymphs and this was a real surprise. Click on the image to go to other photos on PostmarkArts.com.

In addition to the Dark Matter container there was a piece of "Drawn Steel" that I think I will hang in my car as a reminder of all the talented folks I've met from all parts of the globe, for the price of just a little postage.

Mail Art and Artistamps

I received some really great pieces the past couple days. Visit my mail art site to see what's been delivered recently.

For Sale

After much debate I've decided to sell this piece which I titled Dripping in Innuendo but that everyone understandably refers to as the "Hey" piece.

The book, Hey, is a book of short poems written and hand-stamped in an edition of 1000 by Carl Sesar in the 1970s. The buttons on the coat are made from pages of a second copy of the book. When I made this piece I had no idea who Carl Sesar was, I just thought it was an interesting book that I found at the world famous Pawlet Library Book Sale. The next day, I made this.

Coincidentally, in March of this year I met a talented writer and poet, David Weinstock, who back in the day was a student of Cesar's and actually helped collate this book for binding. He credits Cesar with having an enormous influence on his writing. That was a nice added twist.

Click on the photo to see additional photos.

Price: $650. Plus delivery. If you happen to live in an interesting place that I would like to visit - I'll deliver it. ;-)

Work in Progress

This is a piece I am working on for Jeroen called, Incubation. It's part of a larger visual conversation we're having about terror and the media.

Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, this piece began as a response to a card j0llyr0ger sent me which asked "What Became of the Elephant?" Because I have an anecdotal story about my husband and I almost being trampled by elephant in South Africa, (anecdotal only because it didn't happen) I grabbed one of those photos. That's how it started with a picture of an elephant that was going to be reflected in this window, but the image wasn't working. So, when the process of creation went in a different direction, I followed it. Before long I had the makings of what you see here. I love the way that happens. (Though I still want to make a card to send to j0llyr0ger!)

These are some of the photos I used to create this image (click to see them a little larger):




You can see I've taken elements from several different sources. The jars in the window are Maple Syrup color samples from the sap house at my neighbor's farm. The wires are spark plug wires from an vintage tractor. The girl's face is from a photo I took during our visit to South Africa in March 2004. I created the circuit balls with a circuit board photo and the stamp I created using Illustrator.

This still isn't quite finished, but I invite comments and critique.

Crazy Lazy Days of Summer

I FINALLY sent a batch of stuff to Ryosuke Cohen for Brain Cell. I've received three of them and totally enjoy every inch of them. There are samples on Postmark Arts site for anyone who doesn't know what Brain Cells are.

Yesterday I received a package in the mail from Scott Thomas in Kentucky. In it was A Dark Matter Containment Vessel that he created. It's wonderful. There was also a piece of steel that was decorated (etched?) with one of his wonderful fairy-ish characters. I will post a photos tomorrow.

Today I am exhausted from shopping for a new computer for my office. The nearest Apple Store is 1-1/2 hours away but it's a genuine Apple Store and walking into it alway feels like going home. Because I just bought a Dual 2hz G5 little more than a month ago for my home studio I don't feel like I can spend a lot for a new office machine - I checked out a 20" G5 iMac that would be fine for most of the work I do, especially web design. I took a cd of a piece I am currently working on (for Jeroen) to see how the iMac would deal with it (It's a 200Mb file). It did a decent job opening it and running filters. Honestly though, I kept gravitating toward the G5s. But that would mean a new monitor too - my old Radius (circa 1999) just isn't worthy. The iMac of course includes the monitor so...we'll see what I (or the checkbook) decides.

It was interesting talking to the staff. Mary Beth was very helpful and we talked about the implications of the Intel processor deal. When I explained to her the kinds of things I do on the machine she said it was a pleasure to talk to someone who actually got the benefit of using a dual processor. She said most people who get the machine don't really need the extra processing power. But boy Photoshop CS2 LOVES all the help! She made a joke about trying to do some of the art I do on early Mac models. I thought on the drive home about all the Macs I have owned (some that I still own) since 1984. Here's the list I can remember:

Original Mac with 400k floppy drives. (Microsoft actually made software that fit on them: File and Excel...times change. That's 400 kilobytes, not Megs!)
Mac SE with a 20 Mg hard drive! (still have)
Original LaserWriter (300 dpi - Circa 1987?)
Mac Performa 405
Performa 620 w/15' monitor
Performa 6220 w/15' monitor (still have)
Performa 6400 w/15' monitor (it has a subwoofer! and a TV tuner!) (still have)
Power Computing Clone (great machine)
LaserWriter Select 360 (600 dpi)
Bondi iMac (233hz) I am now trying to sell now for $50
Grape iMac G3 (still have)
Lime iMac G3 (still have)
G4 Tower - the original 400hz - (still have)
Titanium G4 Laptop - also 400hz (I am typing on it now)
G4 Dual 1.25 Mirror Door (HATED IT am selling it)
20 inch Cinema Display (Love it!)
G5 Dual 2.0 LOVE IT LOVE IT

and in a day or two...

the new machine...

(Which means I probably won't be replacing my second generation iPod anytine soon)

So what kind of hardware do you use?

Ask your doctor

A mail art day is a mental health day.

Today I did almost nothing that will generate revenue. Being self-employed means I can work when I want - which more often than not translates into "all the time," but today I actually blew off client project deadlines and instead, created, responded to and organized my Mail Art. I even updated my art site.

Tomorrow is another day.

Poem: The Discard Pile

Grandma is never too drunk
to play solitaire

Never too drunk
to scrape the cards
from the top of the deck
with her thumb
watching for a move
without raising her head

Card, card, card. Flip
Card, card, card. Flip
Card, card, card. Flip

Nothing

She pulls the last fortifying drag
from the unfiltered cigarette
that’s been unraveling into smoke
before she grinds it cold
at the bottom of the ashtray

then gathers the cards, turns ‘em over and
shuffles the way her father taught her,
convinced that Jack of Diamonds
is coming out this time
bringing with him
the key to possibility

A new deal

The aging dog
asleep beneath her chair
starts twitching through a dream

Mail Art Envy

Wow. The more I look around online, the more I discover wonderful mail art & artistamps being created and shared throughout the world. Look for yourself - you can start with some of the links to the right. If you know about other sites, let me know.