Can Mail Art Save a Language?

Wymysorys is a language with less than 100 speakers and classified as critically endangered by UNESCO. The language is spoken in Wilamowice where a group of locals are working to preserve it.  Wilamowice is a town with about 3,000 people in Southern Poland.  

Wymysorys belongs to the Germanic Language Family. But it is not German.  It is believed its origins come from Western Europe when a mix of Flemish and German speaking settlers moved east during the 13^thCentury. Wymysorys’s speakers are ethnically and culturally Polish. For centuries the speakers did not identify themselves as Germans. After World War II they were allowed to remain in Poland but the use of Wymysorys was officially discouraged.
 
My latest series of mail art preserves some Wymysorys vocabulary.  I have included words like brif (letter) mark (stamp), pöstkiöt (postcard) and briftröejer (mail carrier). This might be the first time the language has ever been used in mail art. But no, mail art cannot save a critically endangered language.

A Small Artist Book

I have been creating artist books for several years.  Often, I start with an old book that I repurpose with collage and paint directly onto the pages.  This is the smallest book I’ve done so far.  Starting not with a book, but an expired passport.   
This little book tells a story.  The passport belonged to my grandmother who travelled the world more than many people I have known.  Growing up, I knew no one who travelled like she did.   She was a department store buyer who made frequent trips to California, New York, Hong Kong, and Europe.   As a child this was just grandma’s job to me.   I knew it was a bit unusual but as an adult, I started to understand how extraordinary it was for a woman born in 1919 to have that kind of career.   She also played the more traditional grandmother roles with ease — no one made a better apple pie than she did.

Hand-Painted Wood Pisanki

This is the time of the year when I gather with friends to spend a day making pisanki — the traditional springtime eggs that are made in Poland, the Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe.  Often associated with Easter, this is a custom that predates Christianity in that part of the world.   Alas, Covid is still shutting down many traditions.  

On my own, I have been hand-painting wooden eggs (a form of folk art also found in Poland).  With pisanki the process involves layers pf dye and wax on the eggs.  A layer of wax, a layer of dye, a layer of wax, etc.  When the wax is removed from the surface of the egg, the complete colorful design is revealed.  

With wooden eggs, it is just paint.  But I do not have the steady hand required for the delicate paint work.  I have been experimenting with using small pieces blue painters’ tape to cover areas of the egg as I apply different colors.  The tape method is similar to the wax method.   These are the results so far.

“Traditional” Ham Eggs

 

Over the past few years, I have been exploring what I call post-folk art.  I have used traditional Polish and Kashubian folk art as the inspiration for a new direction in my mixed media work (see tofuart.com for examples).  

Painted and dyed eggs, pisanki are a spring tradition in Poland.  I realize I have pushed the limits of what might be post-folk art – but another great Polish tradition is producing the best ham in the world.  Could you make folk art by painting wooden eggs to look like they are made of ham?  Well, of course you can….

Stay Home, Make Art – Day 7

Today’s palette inspired by Polish Folk Costumes.  

Art is best seen in person

Borowiacy Folk Costume, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

“Couldn’t you just do this in photoshop?”— it is a question I hear now and then.  I realize it is never meant as some scathing critique of my work.  Some folks, so used to a digital format for all imagery, assume this is the best and only option.  It is tied into the same set of beliefs that an Instagram filter will turn you into an Imogen Cunningham or Edward Weston.   When you see one of their photos in person (not online) you immediately can tell.  Analog photography is here to stay. 

With collage and mixed media work it is a similar conundrum. There is some really good digital collage work out there.  And at times, I have seen some high-quality prints that are quite impressive.  But, when you view analog collage, handmade, one-of-a-kind work in person — you can see it.  Like practically all art, no book or jpeg can do the work justice.  

It is a problem I face with my work.  While I am glad for the ease of being able to share it online, it is never the same as being able to show it to art lovers in person.  

Wycinanki Dream

Wycinanki Dream, 24”x36”, mixed media on board

This can’t be called traditional Wycinanki (cut-paper folk art), but it definitely was the source of my inspiration.  

Bursts of Color on a Black Background

Rzeszów Embroidery, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

As I was researching folk art and costumes for this series I kept seeing embroidered vests with bursts of color on black.  I had to make a few small prototype pieces to get the results I wanted.  This is the result.

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Embroidery with Paint, Paper and Glue

Kaszuby Hafty, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

Embroidery with paint, paper and glue wouldn’t be embroidery any longer. But the color inspiration for this piece comes from traditional Kashubian hafty (embroidery).  It’s been years since we all did embroidery back in art class.  That was the post-hippie 1970s when embroidery was big — yes, my mom even made an embroidered work shirt for me.

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Red, White and Blue

Kashubian Coat,16”x16”, mixed media on board

It could be easy to assume this piece was intended to be a patriotic statement.  A few people who have seen it in person have already had that reaction.  This might happen in the United States or any of the 30 countries that use the three-color combination of red, white and blue in their flags.  Perhaps you assume this was a nod to the Norwegian Curling Team.  While I would love some of their ensembles for party outfits — no, this is not the case.  This set of colors takes its inspiration from folk costumes found in Kashubia in northern Poland.

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Inspiring Polish Folk Costumes

Kurpie Zielone, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

I adore this Polish Folk Costume tumblr blog, It is a great source of inspiration — both for my art and for some sartorial choices.  I need this coat for those chilly San Francisco summers.  In the meantime, I love the color palette which helped inspire this Post-Folk Art piece. 

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Living with Folk Art

Kashubian Pottery, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

I started working on the Post-Folk Art series in January 2018. For a long time, I did not recognize that I was also being influenced by the items around me.  My home has pieces from my collection of Polish folk art in every room. As an artist I know we find inspiration in many different places, but sometimes, it takes us a little while to become aware of some of the sources of our inspiration.

With that in mind, I can say this series’ origins go back over 30 years.  That is when I started collecting Polish folk art at Cepelia shops.  In the 1980s, when you visited family in Poland, you were required to exchange a minimum amount of hard currency for Polish Złotys. You were not allowed to change the currency back for dollars or marks and were not permitted to take the Złotys with you when you departed from Poland.  Even for a college student, the amount ($7 per day) was not a big sum.  The place to spend your money was Cepelia. Back then the stores were essentially state-run folk art collectives.  The stores had wonderful, high quality crafts and the prices were incredibly low. Nowadays, with a modern European economy and higher wages, you will never find a beautiful, hand-carved wooden box for the equivalent of a few dollars anywhere in Poland.  But that is okay, I am making my own post-folk art.

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com. 

  

Post-Folk Art

Łowicz,16”x16”, mixed media on board 

My collage work has changed in recent years.  I have moved away from found ephemera and have shifted to making my own material.   Typically that means painting paper in different colors and then cutting it up into small pieces.  The cut, painted paper is reconfigured into collages.  For the past year I have been working on a new series that refer to as Post-Folk Art. This series is a nod to the color palettes found in costumes, textiles, pottery and other forms of traditional Kashubian and Polish folk art.

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Vintage Orange and Blue

Krakow, 16”x16”, mixed media on board

Am I stuck in the 1970s?  I do not think so.  But anyone who visits my home notices that I like orange.  From the pillows on the sofa, to the bathroom rug, to the kitchen floor.  My kitchen is orange and blue.  It is a color combination I really like.  When I spotted images of folk costumes from Krakow with orange beads and embroidery on a deep blue background, I knew this would be another piece for the Post-Folk Art series.

The color combination gave the piece a very vintage feel going back to the 1930s or 40s — an unintended surprise.  A friend noticed, among my collection of vintage packaging, that this old container of Casco Glue Powder had the same colors.  I have to agree.  

You can see the entire Post-Folk Art series at tofuart.com.   

Post-Traditional Folk Art

My personal art collection includes many folk art pieces and others which I would describe as “post-traditional” folk art.  By post-traditional I am referring to work where the artist has gone beyond recognizably traditional work, yet the influence of centuries of artists before them is clear in what they create. For myself, I have often relied on traditional textile work, especially quilting, for many of the patterns I incorporate into my own art work.  My map collages and map quilts have been some of the best examples.  During the creative process, I often think about expanding on folk art motifs. 

Recently, I had one of those aha moments when I was watching an episode called Neighbors from the PBS series Craft in America (it’s a fantastic show!).  The film included a segment on the ceramic artists Carlomagno Pedro Martínez and Magdalena Pedro Martínez in Oaxaca (you can watch it here).  As Magdalena was demonstrating how she preserves and depicts traditional Oaxacan folk costumes in her ceramic work, I was immediately, instantly inspired!

I follow a blog of Polish folk costumes which got me thinking about how to depict the folk art of my Eastern European heritage within my own work.  My collagescape series has been focused on capturing the palette of landscapes I wander through.  Much of my work in 2017 centered on ideas of color and memory.  It all is starting to coalesce in a new series where I capture the colors of Polish folk costumes.  The first three pieces, shown here, are inspired by Kashubian folk costumes — a place some of my ancestors emigrated from about 130 years ago.  You’re seeing a preview of what’s to come in 2018.

Polish Wallpaper

The Lewandowski’s Wallpaper, mixed media on board, 10”x10”x1.5”

Recently I have been exploring ideas about memory and color.  Pink Week will be coming up in Sacramento in just a few months, so it felt like the time to explore some pink memories.

When I was in my 20s, I spent a lot of time travelling and living in Europe.  Different countries, different cultures and some color palettes and home décor that was not what I was accustomed to.  There was a lot of wallpaper, including in the places I lived.  There was also a more liberal use of the color pink in all shades imaginable.  Go back to an Easter Monday (Śmigus-dyngus), over thirty years ago in Poland.  It was a visit to the home of my cousin’s in-laws to celebrate the holiday known for water fights and, of course, another big meal.  Poland is the sort of place where the most distant and long lost relative, like I was, can be made to feel incredibly welcome by everyone you meet.  That afternoon will always remain in my memories, made to feel so very welcomed in the Lewandowski’s home.  And, here is where the pink comes in.  I remember that every room I saw in their home had pink wallpaper — each room different from the next.

I would have never imagined, decades later that I would recreate that day and their home the way I have, in the summer of 2017.  But here it is.