Mailing a handful of cards
Robert Beall, stamp dealer, brought a lot of interesting stamps to our November PDXCC (Portland Correspondence Club) meeting at the IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center.) Our theme of the month was Day of the Dead. My theme was Day of the Dead Leaves.
Leaf Monoprint
Stamp Side, Day of the Dead Leaves
Postcard backs showing artistamp, vintage postage, and mailster.
Here are the message sides of the cards I sent for the mail art exchange between the Portland Correspondence Club and the San Francisco Correspondence Club. Check out Mar Goman’s artistamp for the exchange! Each card has an interesting assortment of stamps and is numbered from 1073 to 1096.
Here are the front sides of the cards I sent:
English Post Van Postcards
More English Post Van Postcards
Land Rover Postal Vehicles
I was thrilled to find this collection of cards in an antique store in Manassas, Virginia. I can’t wait to see what I get for the exchange!
Return Cards/International Addresses
There were two themes for a mail art show at the South Store Cafe: “Orange is a Difficult Color,” and “The Transformative Vision.” Above are the return cards for international addresses. The envelopes on the left contain both return cards, the middle stack are for “The Transformative Vision,” and on the right are cards for “Orange is a Difficult Color.” We received 45 submissions from 19 countries!
Orange Cards – USA Addresses
Here are the 32 round cards I sent to participants in “Orange is a Difficult Color”. First class postage plus non-machinable surcharge!
Orange you glad you participated?
Needs more orange!
Day of the Dead Ghost Cards
October’s theme for the Portland Correspondence Club was Day of the Dead, so I used an image painted by my deceased friend Elinor Pine (b. 3/2/48, d. 10/18/95). It’s called “Gaan Dancer, 11/23/92” The reversal gives it a ghostly look, below is a normal photograph. As in past postal projects, I had fun with vintage stamps!
Gaan Dancer With Vintage Stamps
31B Defacto Lane
How mail artists spend their vacation: this picture shows my hand putting postcards into the box at 31B Defacto Lane in Stehekin, WA, 98852, the mailbox shown on the front of the card!
Valentine Envelopes
From the outside they looked pretty cool, the inside was even better:
String of Hearts
Greek Map
There was no return address, but I think I know who sent these. Thank you for the valentines day mail!
Cascadia Art Post Catalog, Cards, and Artistamps
I met Jack Lattiman (Cascadia Art Post) at the Focus on Book Arts Conference in a sketchbook class taught by Jennie Hinchcliff (Red letter Day) , and we’ve been sending things back and forth ever since!
I responded to his mail art call “Keep the Post Office Public” by sending a card of the Raymond, WA Post Office. He sent back a catalog of the submissions so everyone could see what he received. Here’s some more of the great stuff he’s sent me!
Open Catalog, Artistamps
Welcoming the Summer Solstice
Welcoming the summer Solstice, back
Michael Bidner – originator of the term Artistamp
Text on the back side reads “Cascadia Artpost honors the 70th anniversary of the birth of Canadian graphic artist and painter Michael Bidner (1944-1989) with the issue of fifteen artistamp reproductions of Bidner artistamps. Bidner originated the term “Artistamp,” was active in the Vancouver mail art movement of the early 1970’s, curated the first international exhibition of artistamps in 1984 and began to compile a worldwide catalog of artistamps at the time of his death. His collection of 10,000 artistamps was bequeathed to the art research center Artpool in Budapest, Hungary.”
Michael Bidner, other side
Mail Art at the Zoo
I’m mailing these cards from a letter box at the Portland Zoo – it’s my favorite mailbox in Portland. Mail deposited here is hand stamped with one of the last remaining Railway Post Office cancellations. It’s a Portland treasure!
Dick & Jane’s Spot Postcard
I’m mailing this card to Jennie Hinchcliff. I bought it from a coin operated post card dispenser in front of Dick and Jane Elliott’s house (called Dick and Jane’s Spot) in Ellensburg, WA.
Dick & Jane’s Spot Postcard Dispenser
Reflectors in front of Dick & Jane’s Spot
The Hallie Ford Museum in Salem, OR will show a retrospective of his work from May 1 to Aug. 24, 2014. His installations of reflectors, arranged in geometric patterns, are visible on buildings throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the Yakima Sun Dome, the Henry Art Museum (U.W.), and on the front of the Hallie Ford Museum.
Liana Swink 