Let's take a look:
THE MONSTROSITY WITHIN: A few days ago, the internet went down island-wide. It was down for nearly 24 hours. Since then, I can NOT get my printer to come back online. That's required me to use the printer at the library. The images are vibrant and so colorful...but the library doesn't have a lot of font choices...so I had to settle for this ordinary font.
I asked Maxima Strange what her next Goth Emporium assembling zine's theme was going to be. I didn't want to take a chance of missing it while I'm away for the winter. The theme is EYEBALLS she told me. Okay... I was starting to pull an idea together, but wasn't stressed as she didn't think she'd start it until November or so. The next day, she sent me the announcement looking for submissions. She'd just gone ahead and started the project. EEEK! And right in the midst of my current printer crisis! But if I wanted to be a part of the project, I had to act fast. For the previous one, I had sent my entries in a day or two after it was announced--and my entry arrived 9th. (She only accepts 13.) That was too close for comfort. 
THE CREEPER IN THE CRAWLSPACE: I think this is the last full envelope I printed stuff for at the library. And...it's another BLAH entry. The title is similar to another envelope I did--but it's totally different otherwise. Oops! I almost forgot the stamp...and had to find a spot for it.
Here are all of the entries. Mine sticks out like a sore thumb...so junior high-looking.
NIGHT OF THE RATS: Ho-hum...giant rats. Nothing new here. This is another envelope for one of (TIKI WITH) Ray's friends who wanted an envelope. It took me a while to get to it. I'm always soooo behind. I hope he likes it. If not--oh well. 
THE HOUSE BEYOND THE CEMETERY: Another--eh! Same ol'-same ol'...I may have used the title before. If I did, it was unintentional. What happened was I was trying to print out an old drive in movie ad to make into a quickie postcard. The image came out too small, but I didn't want to waste it. It was for a double feature for HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY and THE BEYOND. Just combining the titles was a no brainer. I thought up/printed out some tag lines with no idea what images to use. I scrounged through what I had onhand and it became a zombie movie. Snore... Originality is dead. 
But wait! That's not all! He also bought me a LARGER copy of the poster (one of only two printed. Ray has the other.). Yowza! How nice and how fun! Someone bothered to print my "work." I don't know which to frame and hang--the original, the smaller copy, or the big one. Such a dilema!
Fortunately, I was already knocking around an envelope idea in my head with this same theme. I was pretty well able to get this done in only a few days. (Now to think of ideas for the NEXT topic...)
(BEWARE THE...) DARK CARNIVAL: Since the carnival idea had originated as something for an envelope, I took the card I'd made for Maxima's project and remade it as an envelope. Eh... It's okay. I do like the original card version (above) better though. Anyway, since she was next in line, it went to BonnieDiva.
One of the envelope recipients (from THIS post....because I am so slow...) sent me a picture of the envelope. It looks like it survived its trip fairly well.
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE GHOULS: Okay--before you ask where the third ghoul is, look closely at the picture. Focus in the lower left corner. See him crawling out of a coffin? Yes, lame... But, it's what I came up with this time.
BEYOND THE THRESHOLD OF DEATH: This one I thought was going to be another turd...but I kind of like it now that it's finished. It's not great, but not horrible either. (And I've had some stinkers lately... case in point: See above!) The really nice thing about this envelope? It's my 10th new one---so that means I am DONE with this post. FINALLY!
Adam Roussopoulos is a an amazing (and historic) mail artist. He is the one doing the rubber stamped images of all of the current mail artists out there (who ask for one). Brilliant project and very generous of him to do it. I am humbled to have my martini-swiging skeleton edifice as a rubber stamp, thank you very much. Anyway, the other day, I received two pieces of mail from him. Both said that there was "something missing inside this envelope." Curious...
Inside of one envelope was a blue sheet of paper with the words "This part is missing" stamped out several times. Hilariously, the second envelope contained the the stamped out letters. Clever!
I had been thinking about classic monsters and how there really aren't any female ones. Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, etc are all men. No women. Sure, there was the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (which is probably the best film in the series), but she's only in the one movie--never resurrected in any of the subsequent sequels. I don't know what this monster is, but... RAWR!!!!
Somehow I got the printer back online. (I really have NO idea of how I did it.) However, halfway through my rushed idea, I ran out of color ink. ARGH! However, I was able to get it done...barely!
I wanted to use red letters...but they came out pink. I stared printing yellow letters...but ran out of yellow. That left blue for the bulk of what was left. The female figure also changes colors. (With the yellow gone, she took on a lavender hue.) I would have made the female and the eye in the window larger...but I didn't want to risk the ink situation. But...I got it done. Although...it does look RUSHED.
EYEBALLS: Although I had the next three envelope images/texts printed out already (I maximized my library time), I jumped ahead to the envelope version of the Goth Emporium project cards. I still have a huge list of mail I need to send--but those who send mail get a "fast pass" and jump ahead in line. So, once again, Amy and Chris get the envelope inspired by another project. (Previously, it had been the Halloween Party poster I had done for Tiki With Ray’s upcoming festivities at Tacoma's Devil's Reef.) The envelope version was...eh. The lack of fonts at the library is so sad. The title, EYEBALLS, lacks a punch here due to the limited font choices. Oh well...
Hold the phone! Last-minute switcheroo! The new, different fonted title doesn't save the envelope...but it's better than it was.
Mike Parsons from IUOMA (International Union of Mail Artists) sent this to me recently.
THE INSOMNIAC (remake): In the face of printer issues as well as time (He was coming to Washington in early October sometime. I was hoping to reach him with this before he left home.), instead of waiting for my brain to think up something original (Uh....), I decided to do like I did in the last installment of the blog and simply redo an envelope that disappeared into the ether and was never seen again... However, I was not very successful. ARGH! All of the elements are the same, for the most part. However, in remaking it (withOUT the use of my printer and relying on the library), I got the sizes of everything all wrong. The guy is too small as is the girl. Before the guy was a creepy, pasty white. Now he's kind of normal looking... The images were so small, I had to fill up the space with other stuff (that, fortunately, I had in my bag of extra stuff that was already cut out. The really awful thing is that it is unlikely to reach Mr. Parsons before his trip. That's a double slap in the face. You can see the original envelope HERE.
Geneen and Kevin got theirs (as seen in the previous post). Hooray! Seeing it again--yes! I like it better than I originally did.
My maul art pal Amy in Seattle and her boyfriend Chris sent me a packet o' mail. They started a little correspondence club within the cocktail club they belong to. Chris wrote a note pounded out on a 1930's Remington typewriter. Amy's note was handwritten. She also included a mail art-y poem on the back of a card.
THE BEAST IN THE BASEMENT: With the house and the monster alone, it was okay---but then adding the stairs, screaming girl, and the title---it just got to be a crowded mess. Oh well...
A packet arrived from Maxima Strange. It was her latest Goth Emporium assembling zine entitled NIGHT CREATURES.
Not that it's mail art, but mail artist Mike Parsons came to Washington. He had no set date of being on the island, but I gave a list of three dates I would not be available. Well, as luck would have it, he emailed that he had arrived...while I was out to dinner with my family celebrating my nephew's 20th birthday! (One of the dates I told him I wasn’t available on.) Argh! That proived to be awkward. By the time I got home and contacted him, he was fading fast--as he was used to East Coast time. He and his wife had an early (!!!) ferry the next morning to Port Townsend. So---we didn't meet up. He later emailed that he had driven by my house and briefly saw my town before I (or anyone else) was awake. He sent a picture of he and his wife with the town wharf behind them. (I am literally just three blocks up the hill from the wharf.) C'est la vie...
In my previous post, I shared the poster (I know...NON-Mail Art...but it was mail art-esque) I was asked to create (in my "mail art-style") for a tiki Halloween party my friend (Tiki With) Ray Wyland's Tiki Goth Club is having at Devil's Reef in Tacoma soon. He recently visited and brought me a copy of the poster (He had it printed to share with the club members.) AND the poster I had made. (Ooooo I now have a Monster-A-GoGo original! Ha!)
Although Maxima Strange is still collecting entries for her current project, EYEBALLS (see above), I was worried I'd miss the next one while out of town (and away from my glue sticks and printer). So, I went ahead and tackled the next project (the name of which I cannot tell you. But you may guess by seeing what I came up with...)
BonnieDiva sent me a packet o' fun recently---including one of her ever-so-delightful Bon-Zines!
Hold the phone! Zowie! Talk about your 11th hour fixes. I was just about to send this (and had already posted this photo on the blog) when this bad envelope continued to bug me and...I added in a 3rd ghoul (Maybe it;'s the one in the coffin after all? You can't really tell. Better--but still no winner.
Yep, that's it for now. ...And now is going to be quite a while as I will be gone for several months! No glue sticks, no printer, no desktop computer. I may take some scraps to fashion into something AND I am already at work (everything I need is printed up and waiting for assembly in a few weeks or so) on Maxima's NEXT project after EYEBALLS (which is almost filled up) and CARNIVAL. (I even have the makings for an envelope version of the next project once I finish up the cards for it.). Christymas is coming and I have even MORE people to send cards to this year than last. Plus I have to "make" Christmas cards for Shookie, Vye, Nedra, and Erich for out annual card exchange, like we did last year. Hmm... However, despite all of that, I doubt I'll produce much mail art--certainly (probably) not enough for another post.
Halloween is just around the corner. It ushers in the holiday season. I hope your holidays are super swell!
Thanks for visiting the page.
CHEERS!
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Comments
How cool! A poster of your work. I think you should frame and hand the large one.