Postage Due -- Mail Art 3: CURSE of Mail Art

The Mail Art saga V.2 continues...

Not long after posting the previous entry, I received a manila envelope full of Mail Art stuff. I think it was intended as a "welcome pack." I'm not sure. I had never had any communication with the sender, Jon Foster, nor had he included any sort of note. There was just all of this...stuff. (Okay, truth be told, it felt a bit like Mail Art spam...but what do I know? I've been away from the community for literally decades. I don't know what to expect any more. But it was still very nice of him to send me something.)

I had been working on an envelope for someone else (someone who was kind enough to comment on something I had posted), but decided to just send it on to Mr. Foster as an acknowledgement of his mailing and a sort of thank you. I was out of ink in my printer for the most part and I'd had to make do with what I'd already printed. The results were rather uninspired--but it was what I came up with. (?)

The second envelope I was readying went to the person who had started the "Envelopes" group on IUOMA (International Union of Mail Artists--the online site I had joined the week before). It was also rather "meh..." but what I could come up with using what I had already printed up. It would be heading to Greece. (D)

I got the two bits o' mail posted late on a Monday night. And then...something unexpected popped up in my mailbox two days later. Jinkies! I got BUSTED by the Mail Art Police!

I posted about the incident on IUOMA.  This is what I said:

"Since my return to the Mail Art world, I've mailed off only 11 pieces. Of those, I know that three of them have reached their destination; one in South Dakota, one in Seattle, and one in England. Of the other eight, I have yet to hear.  I found the above notice in my mailbox today. Oops. BUSTED!

I don't know how they found me exactly. I have never put my return address on any of the pieces I have mailed off. I have 'signed' the  back as 'Monster A GoGo,' but... I guess the Mail Art Police saw a couple pieces of Mail Art sent to me from others addressed to Monster A GoGo, saw the backs of my envelopes (I just sent two off late Monday night)---and put two and two together (Golly! They should work for the FBI!), and figured out I was a bad, bad boy---a  (GASP!) mail criminal! Will I be sent to postal prison? O' the HORROR!!

Of those eight pieces still unaccounted for, I at least have a photographic record of them. Six of them (along with the three that did make it through) can be seen in my 2nd Mail Art blog post here: https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2022/03/return-to-sender-mail-art-2-son-of-mail.html

 The other two are posted above. 

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I'm guessing it is these last two that are being held. I wonder if any of the others that have not reached their destinations are also being 'detained.'

The truly bummer-ific part is that I am currently working on three other pieces. Do I stop? Continue? I know I like to go beyond the confines of the envelope's borders. How can I work around this... Hmm?

Stay tuned and see what happens tomorrow when I go and speak to 'Josh.' Whose stamp do I gotta lick to get them off of my back? Jeepers!"

The next day, I posted this on IUOMA:

"Today, I headed to the post office with my note from the Mail Police. 'Josh,' the person I was supposed to see about my postal crimes, was (Gasp!) not in. The local yokel manning the front desk informed me that he was 'well aware of the situation,' and walked to the back to get the offending Mail Art. 

He came back with the two most-recent pieces I had mailed. He tried to be nice about it, but really? The Mail Art was outside the size of a standard envelope--which I already knew. He was trying to tell me that, because of this, they would have to be sent as parcels instead of standard mail. The one destined for North Carolina would cost about $5 to send and the one to Greece about $15. They must have been sniffing envelope glue if they think I was going to pay that much to mail my simple envelopes. They are not worth that much. 

But... I still needed to get them back.

I said I could, perhaps send them in manila envelopes. He said no, that wouldn't work as they are stiff and non-pliable, unlike envelopes of regular paper. They would not go through the sorting machines -- and the one to Greece would require a customs form. (For what? It's nothing but paper, glue and some marker. Geez!) 

That all seemed very bogus to me. Hadn't they ever heard of 'hand canceling' mail? And other people send non-pliable things in manila envelopes. It's not that unusual.

It was obvious that I was not going to pay the extra $20 bucks they wanted me to cough up for the two envelopes, so he agreed to hand them back to me.

'They got pulled and were not put in the mail stream,' he said. 'If they had been put in, they'd have to be sent and the receiver would have to pay the extra postage.'

I kind of doubt that. Four of the nine pieces I had sent have now been acknowledged as having arrived at their destination. (The latest being one to West Virginia.) No one (not even the one to the U.K.) mentioned anything about postage due.

I got the two letters and envelopes back, thank goodness. I realize the postal workers are just doing their jobs. I just live in a very small town. What else do they have to do but be nit-picky?

But I also have a Plan B up my sleeve. 

I have medical appointments off of the island and a few trips planned in the near future (one road trip throughout Washington and another trip back to California). Instead of mailing anything else from here, I will just save them and mail them from elsewhere. I'm still not putting a return address on anything...but, while I'll still number them, I'll also refrain from 'signing' the back. (Perhaps I'll 'sign' them inside of the envelopes?)

Hopefully Plan B works. Hmm..."

While all of that was going on, I got a "friend" request from a very nice guy in Russia...so he's getting this (?):

Responding to my IUOMA posts, this person from The Netherlands asked me to "send me something WEIRD." This is rather derivative of some of my other recent ones and I'm not wild about it, but this is what is coming their way. (D)

And this person in Kansas asked me to "send some monster-y thing." This is what I came up with (D):

A guy in Italy "friended" me...and this is what I whipped together for him (D):

And then, on the IUOMA website, I stumbled upon someone who I think could be a former co-worker's relative here in Washington. So I sent her this to say hello and to see if she is my friend's relative or not. (?)

On April 4, I received this postcard from someone named Mike Parsons. He had responded to a post of mine on IUOMA, so I was a little familiar with him.

Although I am not thrilled with the end result, this was the next envelope I had ready to go-go, so-so he is getting this in return. (D)

I do not know Kalerina Nikoltson (aka MomKat) at all. She hasn't "friended" me nor has she sent me anything. But she has commented on several things I've posted on IUOMA. I appreciated her cheerleading efforts in my return to Mail Art---and this is what I had ready to go. Again, not great, but... (D)

With the hinderance of the Mail Art Police situation -- and now realizing I'll have to go off-island to mail things, the time it takes to make the Mail Art pieces, my general neuro-muscular disabilities and my other health issues (I have had such horrible blood pressure problems of late---from shockingly high BPs or awful medication side effects), I have felt like total crap...and have pretty much decided that I am ready to "retire" again from the Mail Art world. I've now removed my address from IUOMA.

However, Mail Art still keeps coming my way. I received this from a guy in Canada:

Aside from his faux artists stamps on the outside of the envelope, inside I found a nice note and a delightful little book...as well as some homemade stickers. Now I owe him something in return. 

This is what I made for him. I HOPE it reaches him. The stamps and address could come off so easily. EEK! (D)

This guy in West Virginia  sent me a strange missive:

Inside was an oddly written note as well as some artists postcards. I owe him something now as well. He did say that "Zombie Proctologists", which was the piece I had sent him originally, "was praps the most wonderful I've ever received. No shit."

I responded a bit later with this piece, asking him in the enclosed letter to please not bother responding again. (Was that rude? I just want do my Garbo and be left alone again.) But I hope he likes the envelope. (D)

With the Mail Art Police still fresh in my mind, I've been trying to contact some of the people I sent things to but had not heard back from. Had my Mail Art to then made it through? BonnieDiva, the IUOMA Mail Art who sent me that wonderful little All About Me Mini-zine, replied back:

"DUDE! I got your fabulous mail. It was placed in a giant USPS 'We Care' envelope with a giant window (awesome, because I love window envelopes). I'm at work and don't have it in front of me to tell you when it came. I'll let you know. I'm surprised they are making such a big deal.

"I get some weird stuff in the mail... like one time this guy sent me a piece of wood with a stamp on it. I got it just fine. I think some post offices are more into rules than others.

"Please don't leave the mail art world. We need artists like you!! I'm going to send you my famous Bon-zine, which is my bi-monthly vintage zine.

"Cheers, Bon"

I wrote her back, thanking her for telling me the piece arrived safely. I got another reply:

"Hey Monster,

"I'm home now and looking at the collage you sent me. I ADORE Vincent Price! Fabulous! I'm sending you mail tomorrow! "

I think BonnieDiva is the favorite Mail Artist I've "met" so far... While I look forward to her sending me something--I also dread it. That's just something else I'll have to create back. I need to dissuade her. 

And that's about it. I have a few more people I feel I should send something to. (There are others I'd like to send things to as well that have their addresses hidden...) After that, barring any further Mail Art coming my way, I should be able to "retire" again.  The current "outgoing" pieces of Mail Art probably won't be sent until next week sometime when I hope to leave the island for a little road trip-a-go-go! (I HOPE I feel up to it...)

CHEERS!

Continue to the next part HERE.