Minimal Mail and More…

The latest batch of mail art I have received includes some seasonal pieces like a spring print from Meral Ağar in Turkey and some Poisson ‘d’Avril (April Fools) mail from Pamela Gerard (San Francisco, not France).  There is also some rather minimalist mail art from Lours Postal in France as well as collages made from paint samples by Marina Salmaso in a Blå Station envelope that arrived from Denmark.   The latest arrivals shown here are:

1. Meral Ağar
2. Gregg Biggs, Museum of Unclaimed Ephemera
3. Pia Zaragoza
4. Pamela Gerard
5. Jennifer Utter
6. Lours Postal
7. Marina Salmaso

When it Rains it Pours (Mail Art)

After an exceptionally dry February, it has been pouring the last few weeks and art has been pouring into mail box as well.  A few more pieces for Valentine’s Day and a Year of the Dog print from Gina Visione and even a nod to Presidents Day.  A poetic set from e. coles that included some wool from a British Southdown Sheep!  Big envelopes, collaged postcards and some spring time mail art from Greece.  Here is a list of the recent senders:

1. Dori Singh
2. Susan Stewart
3. Jennie Hinchliff
4. Gina Visione
5. Kerosene
6. Julia Crossman
7. e. coles
8. Peter Müller
9. Gregg Biggs and the Museum of Unclaimed Ephemera
10. Katerina Nikoltsou
11. Crackerjack Kid
12. Lours Postal
13. Marina Salmaso

This Must Be Belgium

This Must Be Belgium, mixed media on canvas, 10”x10”

This year I worked on a scanning project where I scanned and digitized hundreds of slides.  They were mainly travel photos from the 1970’s through 1980’s.  The slides belonged to a friend’s grandparents.  Earlier in their retirement they traveled all over the world, often with tour groups.  As I was scanning Europe circa 1973, I kept thinking about that silly old movie If it’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.  It was one of those movies that was repeated on TV often when I was growing up.  As I have been working on travel themed mixed media art this year, I knew I wanted to reference the movie in a piece.   Here it is.  I even made prints of some of those old slides for this one.

As for the movie, many of the great character actors from the original cast are now gone.  Suzanne Pleshette, Norman Fell and Peggy Cass to name just a few.  One actor who is still with us is Ian McShane.  He played the handsome, young tour guide back in 1969.  How I would love to see a remake with Mr. McShane reprising his role.  Today he is better known for playing the foul-mouthed Al Swearengen on the series Deadwood.  Imagine a character like Swearengen leading a bus tour around Europe.  That’s a movie I want to see!