Mail Art 13: Lick My Stamps!

So, yes. I'm back at it. I do realize I need to slow down my pace. I am retired from mail art, so doing it is by choice whenever I want to. There is zero pressure right now pushing me to work further. I have other stuff I need to turn my attention to. I have zillions of boxes to wade through from the move. I have blog posts to prep and write.I also have to figure out what I am going to do with myself. I'll be needing some money, honey. I canNOT live on the less than $700 a month Social Security has awarded me. Hmm...

While I contemplate that aspect of my life, here is the latest mail art from Monster-A-GoGo. I decided to make something for the International Union of Mail Artist's (IUOMA) Maxima Strange. It's not for a project. I don't need to make any copies of it. It's just for her.While working on a 2nd card for her SAMHAIN project (and hating it), I was thinking I was going to make a third card. I was cooking up an idea that involved scarecrows somehow. Before the idea could gel in my brain, Maxima found the picture of me in front of the Dunsmuir Mansion on Instagram. Duh! I had wanted to use that for my mail art in general, but couldn't find it. So once I had that photo again, the scarecrow idea was out the window--and the third version with the "scared" me in front of the mansion from 20 years ago was born.

As I said, the scarecrow idea never came together. I found several interesting scarecrows to use, but I had no...premise of how to use them.So, for Maxima, I thought I would just make her an envelope with an expanded version of partial idea. (The rest of the envelope just became yet another haunted house scenario... Oh well.) Halloween is her favorite time of year. I know I am early, but you never know how long mail art can take to arrive... (As of this writing, she still has NOT recieved my first submission to her Samhain project that was mailed weeks ago.)(D)

The person on the right side of this next envelope was the subject of a creepy photograph. It was all blacks and grays with mostly just her face showing through--and those creepy, staring blank eyes sent it over the top. WOW! Very weird. I cut it out. You could just make out the outline of her outfit. But away from the black background, she doesn't look nearly as menacing. With her smile, she looks more happy that horrifying. I shouldn't have used her, but it is too late now. (?)

Well, so much for being in retirement. I have --AGAIN-- received a "friend request". This time, it is from a very mysterious someone going by the clever name of "Miss Noma." I know nothing about her. Apparently she's been an IUOMA member for YEARS, but has kept her privacy settings all of the way up. I didn't even know she existed until getting the request, that's how secretive and mysterious she seems to be. There are no examples of her work to be seen on her page and her address is not listed anywhere there either. But I'm sure I will get it soon. That's the mail art game. Everyone wants mail...

In the meantime, I got busy on a couple of other pieces. First, for Cathy & Travis, who I do not believe ever got their original piece I sent them, now will be getting (hopefully) TERROR PARTY. (Yes, that IS a young Betty White on the left.)(D)

So, yes... the mysterious Miss Noma did send me a note. In that note was an address, of course. One line of it was crazy long...so it got placed way in the top right corner, where the stamps usually go, because I just could NOT fit it in anywhere else. And can I complain again about STAMPS!?! UGH! I still do not know why Miss Noma contacted me. She is English speaking. The only way she could NOT understand my pleas to leave me alone are if she didn't even bother to read my page. Whatever. Here's her one & done envelope. Now I can go back to my regularly scheduled retirement...(D)

On October 5th, I have reservations at a "castle"-turned-hotel near me (just a ferry ride away). Having never been inside before, I had stopped by for lunch in early August when I was on the Olympic Penninsula, heading back home and waiting for the ferry. While there, I checked online for some information about the place...and discovered that it is supposed to be haunted. After lunch was finished, I wandered about a bit and came upon the hotel's desk clerk. I asked her about the alleged ghosts--and she immediately perked right up, very much delighted to be talking about the subject. I really liked the clerk. She was very enthusiastic and friendly. In fact, it was her enthusiasm that got me to spontaneously book a room--the supposedly "most haunted" room in the place-- for this coming week. The "castle" also has an attic and basement that are supposed to be haunted as well--and I would LOVE to have the chance to explore them. Wanting to reconnect with the clerk before the date of the reservation--to both refresh her memory of our conversation...and possibly persuade her to take me to the attic--I decided to quickly make her an envelope. Using odds and ends that were already cut out and laying about, I whipped this together...which came out rather well, I think. I will be off-island tomorrow (the 1st) and want to get this in the mail then so hopefully she receives it before the 5th. (?)

And just when you thought it was safe to relax a bit and catch your breath...ANOTHER "friend request" shows up on IUOMA...less than 24 hours before I'm to go off-island. GRRR! The guy is in Greece, but I am getting tired of cutting people slack in regards to my request to NOT do mail art with them. However... here is the piece o' crap I slapped together for him, using mostly tidbits that would have otherwise been trashed eventually. Golly, I don't want to make my IUOMA account "private" (i.e. invisible), but I do NOT want people coming to me for mail either. I'm not sure what I will do about that...(D)

Helene was another unplanned for "friend request." I had been asked to share my local post office on IUOMA. I did. I also explained how my post office is a branch of the mail art police and that they hassled me about my mail art. She didn't understand--so I told her the full story. As a consolation prize for being hassled by ther post office or as a thank you for sharing the story, I received a friend request. ARGH! Amazingly, for her one & done envelope, I really like it. The stamps SUCK, but... I hope she is a fan of it.(D)

Of those who are already my "friends" on IUOMA, even though I (think) I have made it clear that I do NOT want any mail art from anyone, that doesn't mean I am outright abandoning them. This one and the one below it are going to mail artists I've sent things to in the past, but that they never received. I mis-measured when putting this together and the stamps cover part of the "tagline" for this faux movie poster. GRR! Dang stamps!(?)

Despite the title of this one, NIGHT OF 1,000 GHOSTS, only three ghosts are depicted...and the middle/lavender one kind of fades into the background. Oh well...(?)

My mail artist friend Amy and her boyfriend Chris, who came to visit last month, invited me and my best friend Erich (visiting from California) to Seattle for the weekend.

We went to a cocktail club they belog to for a cocktail creation competition. It was quite fun and samples of each entry were included. All of them were good. Someone came around with a Polaroid camera and some props. We didn't come out all that well. Maybe the film was old? Here we have Chris, Erich, Amy, and myself.

And, o' the horror...Here are Amy and myself--and golly I need to shave.

It was a super swell weekend and I decided to send them a quick envelope with a note to THANK them for the marvelous time and generous hospitality. I needed to get it done quickly as I was going off island again a few days after. Utilizing images pre-cut out, I configured TRAILER OF TERROR for them. It's not great by any means, but I am very proud of this catch phrase I thought up for it:"Single-Wide Trailer, DOUBLE-WIDE HORROR!!!" Ha! I hope they like it.(D)

And that's it for now. Tomorrow (well, actually later TODAY!) I'm off to visit the haunted Manresa Castle in Port Townsend, WA. While there, I'll get some more mail art sent off. I do hope Amber Dawn got the envelope I sent to her at the castle...and that the trip is somewhat adventurous.