The Original Tree Poems - Marie Wintzer

I can pick out a Marie Wintzer envelope from across a room, from a corner under a stack of mail… Marie has a style that is unique. and yet this envelope has some echoes of her friends, I sense Vizma in the stamps and tape and Carina in the characters and yet it is wholehearedly Marie.  The refashioned vispo of the flower parachutist is wonderful!

One of the stamps that I should bring to your attention is thebookwormslunch.com that is marie's non-mail art website. In case you don't know, Marie makes artist books and  writes poets; she makes books of arresting originality, her photos are exquisite and her poetry affecting.  So, you can imagine how I felt when I opened the envelope and discovered the original pages of her recent 'Tree Poems'.  Aren't poets and artists meant to save (or sell) those originals?

Marie sent me a little letter too, in it she told me she had decided to free the original tree poems, so sent them TO ME.

The poems are on what I imagine to be daily scraps.  I guess they are trashpo in their own way. 

If you want to read the poems in order  (I muddled them up when I created the display) you can find them here:
http://mariesuitcase.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/tree-poems-or-how-to-grow-forest-on.html
Or you can download the book from scribd.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/248600378/Tree-Poems

Marie has been traveling with work, to DC this time, where she must have been to the postal museum, because she picked up some freebies that she enclosed in the envelope.

Lots to read, look at and think about here and I love the image of attempting to grow a forest on quicksand! Many many thanks, Marie!

Finn Badger's going bananas

I received a mass mainling from Finn Badger earlier in the week! I opened one and retreived a banana mailing from the bespoke envelope and proceded to get it attached to the sticky (very sticky) V of the envelope! See if you can see what i ruined…

The card I pulled out happened to be one without a name, so I had no idea who it was from, wondered if it were David Stafford, wondered if I'd forgotten one of the banana mailing people, and then discovered that Fin Badger had forgotten to sing his post…

He sent me this Wallace Stevens poem and what he called a 'bonus' envelope. Of course I LOVE Wallace Stevens.  I love snow too, but we haven;t had any yet in Battisford.

Fun, bold and graphic!  Many thanks Finn Badger.  I owe you a misadventure and a banana too!

ENCARTED - four lines become lifelines - Aristide 3108

If you have never recieved a piece from Aristide 3108 you won't know that there are layers to them.  first they are conceptual in thought but they are also beautiful to hold and to study. They are familiar because (perhaps) they exist around the ATC format, but each is very original and has design wrapped around it. Aristide's evelopes are created out of a piece of printed paper that related to the ATC, or the whole body of work in some way.  Soemtimes it seems to be an echo.

 Print is intentional.  some words are in caps and some are in colour. the repetition of form and sound add a dimension.

I hear poetry and see poetry.

This is an accordion with 24 pages.  What a crappy photo/scan!  I'm sure I took some others but can't locate them at this moment!  It is beautiful and the bodies, eovoked between the lines are all different and very expressive.

 I believe the words, hidden by the luscious colour, are words that we associate with lines, lignes.

The ATC, wrapped in the envelope inside the smaller envelope next to the book is (let's call it P12) is my hand coloured four lines.  Wonderful!

Issue 56 Subscription Opus (Maze Music)- Jude Weirmer

Delighted to receive this beautiful and fascinating piece from Judith Weirmeir.  Unfolded, it measures 19 x 13 and is printed onto glossy card. It arrived folded (inside one of those 'we're sorry your mail has been damaged' bags.  Luckily, it hasn't been damaged!) 

Above is one side of the Judith's mail art.  It is silkscreened  (I think) and has that wonderful haptic feel of raised ink.Great colours, expressive text and variety!

Below is an intricate digital? drawing that features music, language, gestures and flowcharts. It is funny, whimsical and in places political! FABULOUS! You will need to spend some time with this piece to get even part of it.  Zoom in and enjoy!

I love the floppy but sturdy quality of this book and the way it can be read in many ways! I'm feeling lucky! Many thanks Judith!

Nina Hermus sends 'a lucky dip' of dutch mail art

Not sure, but think this is not Ritual mail art, although the ritual of chain letters is an established ritual! Along with the exciting contents I have photographed is a letter with addresses and the request that I send out mail art to TEN people. I will try… but can't promise anything as generous as all that Nina included! Wonderful stamps to use, dutch motifs in PLASTIC as well as two beautiful books., one on the subject of stamps and the other a whimsical and romatic garden of delights!

Many thanks Nina!

Theo Nelson's Tribute to Guido Vermeulen

I'm sure the mail art world is still thinking often of our friend, Guido Vermeulen, who died earlier this year. Guido loved trees and sent many radiant watercolours to all corners of the world.  Theo has taken at least those two characteristics of our friend and brought him back to life through his wonderful poster and envelope!  Many thanks for this delightful memory of Guido.

Banana Appreciation Day 2014

Without further ado, here are this year's timely Bananas.  Others may straggle in, in fact some people are only posting their's today… I will tag them on to this blog as and when, so come back and visit later too!

You will notice Angie Cope's Mardi Gras banana headdress, some wonderful original stamps and general joy, both in spirit and colour.  I wish I could find some banana apparel!

Carina Granlund's envelope is all about men, no explicit mention of a banana,  just general silliness which we all love! And that wonderful Carina expressive style.  I feel like the banana is performing and I am part of the audience. I might even get my guitar out and start stumming and singing along. 

Dean's amusement centre is definately bananalicious! My whole studio smells like a banana.  The contraption at the bottom looks a little scary and I'm sure my bum looks fat in that mirror! 

Jay is givig me a French lesson.  How 'bout you, do you prefer peaches or bananas?  Personally I'm into pears at the moment, but we're all about bananas today, and I LOVE Jay's stamp!

Kat's tropical bananas are a welcome sight after all the rain we've had lately.  Hooray for International world Banana appreciation day!  Hooray for the banana, horray for tropical colours. 

Stripy goose couldn't resist putting a range of funky fowl on her banana missive and I wanted to do the banana with them by the end of my reading.  I can't see the moon tonight, but for sure it's a banana!  Thank you all.

Angie Cope

Angie Cope

Carina Granlund

Carina Granlund

Carina Granlund

Dean 

Dean 

Jay Block

Jay Block

Katerina Nikoltsou

Katerina Nikoltsou

Katerina Nikoltsou

Katerina Nikoltsou

Stripygoose

Stripygoose

Heleen de Vaan's banana mail arrived post blog.  It's always something of a let down when the bananas stop coming in, and Heleen;s versatility and the depth of this posting made its arrival even more special! It also reminds me to notice the banana as they are all SO different! 

Th final banana to slide in was from Mim! This expressive banana is basking in yellow and it feels utterly happy.  I want to rush in to the house to change my clothes, not sure that I have any yellow, though. Why not?  Perhaps if I strt wearing yellow I will keep smiling until 2015 World Banana Apprciation Day… 

THANKS TO EVERYONE!