A Very Pink Art Opening

Yesterday we arrived in Sacramento and spent the afternoon installing the 400 pieces of pink mail art received for this year’s, 23^rd Annual Pink Week.   As we blistered our thumbs pressing in all those pushpins, it was amazing watching the space transform into walls of pinkness.  That evening was First Friday in Sacramento and we had a busy opening that included quite a few local artists who mailed in handmade pink postcards for the show.  Thank you again to everyone who participated and helped make the show happen, including our hosts at WAL and to Gioia Fonda, the incredible force behind Pink Week.

The show will remain on exhibit through November 30 at Warehouse Artists Lofts (WAL), 1104 R Street, Sacramento, California.  If you cannot get to Sacramento, you can still view the pieces on flickr and pinterest. 

Aerial Idaho Mail Art

Recently I had a great road trip wandering around Idaho and Montana.  Back when I was planning the trip, I switched to the satellite view for an online map.  Those circles caused by irrigation dotting the landscape were an immediate source for inspiration.  It was another way to combine my love of maps and landscape in my art.  These are not literal representations (do not uses them to drive around Idaho) but inspirations of the land seen from above.  Today’s outgoing mail art includes the first pieces in the Aerial Idaho series.  They are studies for more work to come.

How to Hang Mail Art

On Friday we will be installing 400 pieces of original, postcard-size pink mail art.  The art was made by artists of all ages from around the world including 21 states and 34 countries.  If it were possible, we would hang each postcard, mounted between glass, in a space where visitors could view the work from both sides.  Ideally many pieces should be displayed where both sides can be appreciated.  But, like with most mail art exhibits, the curators have to come figure out different ways to display the work.  I was recently in a mail art show in France where they opted to clip the art to dangling pieces of string.  At WAL we will securely mount the mail art with pushpins.

I still wanted to hang a handful of pieces so they could be seen from both sides.  This one from the artist Snappy up in British Columbia is a good example.  He sent his piece secure in a cellophane envelope and that is where it will stay for the show.  Those delicate, pinkified models boys will remain safe from the grabby hands of the hoi polloi.  My trusted grommet maker and some pink chains from Cliff’s Variety will secure a few pieces to the wall, yet visitors will be able to handle them and appreciate them front-and-back.

The opening reception for Pink Week is on Friday, November 4, from 6-9 p.m.  The show will remain on exhibit through November 30.Warehouse Artists Lofts (WAL), 1104 R Street, Sacramento, California

Pink that Traveled the Farthest

Mail art from the South African artist Cuan Miles is always a special treat in my p.o. box.  The recent envelope and its contents (see below) was no exception.  But, I was wondering why I had not received a piece for the Pink Mail Art Show until it finally arrived yesterday.   It took nearly a month to make it from South Africa to California.  Perhaps that is appropriate as it is the pink mail art that has traveled the farthest. 

Come see Cuan Miles’ pink mail art along with the 400 pieces of original, postcard-size art — all sent through the mail.  The art was made by artists of all ages from all around the world including 21 states and 34 countries.  There are small paintings, prints, collages, drawings and a multitude of mixed media works — and the theme they all have in common is they are all pink.

The opening reception is on Friday, November 4, from 6-9 p.m.  The show will remain on exhibit through November 30.
Warehouse Artists Lofts (WAL), 1104 R Street, Sacramento, California

Always Use Zip Code

Sometimes mail art takes a long time to get from the sender to the recipient.  Normally mail arrives quickly form Germany, but Inge Niermann’s piece for the Pink Mail Art Show took almost three weeks.  The Pink Ladies made it time for the install this Friday.  The postcard lacked a zip code.  At some point the USPS printed an incorrect barcode in orange across the top and then another postal work “redacted” the barcode with a swipe of a permanent black marker.  That was was hidden under one of those removable white stickers.  Is the piece ruined?  No, but it certainly has been authenticated a genuine mail art.

We cannot fault Inge, she did not grow up in America with the beloved Mr. Zip and all the commercials and films like this one found online.

Come see the Pink Ladies and 400 pieces of original, postcard-size art — all sent through the mail.  The art was made by artists of all ages from all around the world including 21 states and 34 countries.  There are small paintings, prints, collages, drawings and a multitude of mixed media works — and the theme they all have in common is they are all pink.

The opening reception is on Friday, November 4, from 6-9 p.m.  The show will remain on exhibit through November 30.Warehouse Artists Lofts (WAL), 1104 R Street, Sacramento, California