"Dear Diary..."

small, small world

I just received a very generous "tip" from someone who had stumbled across my blog, a friend from high school I had not heard from in more than 35 years!

amazing, this internet thing, the world just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

so, a thank you goes out to Mike in Indiana, and I hope he keeps reading.

and speaking of Indiana, I recently received a call for art from Artlink in Fort Wayne for POSTCARD ART - ooh, gotta love that!

go here for more information, and a link to download the prospectus.

I will certainly be sending them a few entries - there's no jury, no fees, no specific theme, no return of your artwork, and all participants will be listed on their website.

all postcards will be sold, with the proceeds benefiting Artilink's exhibitions.

I will also post my entries here, and I hope others will send me pictures of their entries, and I will post those here, as well.

going postal for an artistic cause!

later,

Patty

time flies...

I don't know where the time goes, it seems as if it was just Mothers' Day, and now it's Fathers' Day!
in addition to the new job, and getting caught up on yard work, digging in the dirt, etc., I'm getting ready to go to the Covington Art show in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
on Monday, June 23rd, I'll be teaching my "going postal" class at Artlink, in Ft. Wayne, and there are still openings - if you're in that area of the country, please register asap.
another event that I'm very excited about: this Thursday evening, from 5 to 8 pm, I will be the featured artist at Weathered Goods in Green Bay.
stop by for some wine & goodies, and, of course, ART!
it should be a lot of fun, and if you've never been to Weathered Goods, you must see it.
better get back to work,
later,
Patty

"my IL is going postal" project

I've been so inspired by the work of artists I've met through my blog - like Kathy McCreedy, and all the projects that blogging artists host - like JoAnne Owens' "in the pink" book project, that I've decided to host a little project here, myself!
I have been teaching a class that I call "going postal."
it explores some basic collage techniques in the process of creating some fun & funky mail art.
and when I teach the class this summer in Ft. Wayne, IN at Artlink, I want to have a book of examples to share with my students.
I have some, but most of them are my own creations.
and I don't have that many, because, well, when you make mail art, you usually MAIL it, right?
that's where YOU come in...
during the next eight weeks, I am asking that you send mail art to me.
now, I could just leave it at that, but what fun would that be?!?
so, we'll connect this to the weekly IL theme.
each Friday, I will post the IL theme here, and anyone who wants to participate need only make some mail art relating to the theme, and send it to me - after posting it at IL first, I hope!
I will make something, of course, and the first person to mail their piece to me will receive mine in return.
when it's ready to mail, just e-mail me, and I'll send you the address.
I'll post pictures of all the stuff I receive, and put links to your blogs/websites, as well.
questions?
just e-mail me.
comments?
by all means, please post them here.
and if you want to receive the weekly topics mailed directly to your inbox from IL, just go here, and subscribe.
ooh, can't wait to see what the theme will be tomorrow...
later,
Patty

finished

I finished the postcard for the show at Paper Kite Gallery, so now I'm off to the post office.

I like the "hanger" that I added to the top, using the cardboard back from the package of Patrick's new toothbrush.
the "sigh" was cut from yesterday's newspaper comics page.
I covered the back of the photo with a page from an old atlas, then address & return address labels from a piece of this week's junk mail.
have to make a quick trip to Milwaukee today - more about that later.
can't believe that tomorrow is April 15th - anyone still stressing over taxes?
hope not.
happy Monday!
later,
Patty

"poetry is insufficient...

art is not enough."

I thought I was doing a simple search for a particular thing, and suddenly, it's two hours later, I've been all around the globe, and now I'm frantically making a postcard for a show this next week at Paper Kite Gallery in Kingston, PA!
I know that my original search had something to do with mail art, and that took me to Dragonfly Dream's website, and from their to a list of mail art calls.
that's where I found the call for the exhibit at Paper Kite Gallery.
the show will open on April 18th, 2008 and will remain up through May 14th, 2008.
all works submitted will be offered for sale through the gallery at $10 each, with all after-expenses proceeds to be donated to Heifer International.
well, I just had to do this!
not only was it about mail art, which I admit I am becoming addicted to, but being able to contribute to Heifer International was perfect.
I'm not finished with this yet, but I wanted to post it now, because when it's done I will be going directly to the post office with it.

and speaking of "going postal" - the enrollment form is available for my class at Artlink in June.

can't wait!
later,
Patty

"crazy quilt" postcard

I received a postcard this week, from Kathy at "Love Letters" - what a treat to get postal art!

(and Kathy, I mailed your card yesterday.)
I especially like all the layering, and the Tootsie Pop wrapper.
recycling is good.
and I needed something red and cheery - the weather has reverted to late winter, rather than early spring.
woke up this morning with another light dusting of snow in the yard.
crap.
but we shall prevail.
Snickers & I discovered our rhubarb yesterday, just starting to poke up, and I could almost see that pan of rhubarb dream bars I'll make with the first batch.
maybe I will get out the cookbooks, and see what other rhubarb recipes I can find...
later,
Patty

more mail goodies

I promised I would share some of the other goodies I've received lately in the mail, and here is an ATC from Tania.

she included a couple of mulberry paper scraps that are lovely, can't wait to use them in something.
Tania is a former "going postal" student, and has become quite the collage-ATC-mail artist.
told me about swap-bot, and it's one of those places where you could get lost for days!
there's a couple of postcard swaps I will have to look at, but later, trying to finish up some projects BEFORE I start a new one - novel concept, I know!
and the swapping is not limited to finished products - there are swaps for fabric, yarn (yes, Brenda, YARN), collage supplies, ETC.
I suggest a trail of breadcrumbs to find your way back home...
later,
Patty

"love IN BLoom"

dug out my stash of old bingo cards, to make a couple of postcards - one to Kathy, a "swap," and the other to my niece, just for giggles.
and decided I would make some to put in my Etsy shop - real, one-of-a-kind postcards, that people can mail to other people.
or I will mail them, if they like, to...whomever.
(whomever?? is that correct??)
anyway, here's the first one, made with little snippets I cut from a quilting catalog - wouldn't you just love to own all that beautiful fabric!?
but then, what to do with it?
I better stick to figuring out how to use up the closet-ful that I already have.

this card is stitched around the edge, just because I like to stitch things, and the back has plenty of room for you to write your message.

back to work, if you can call it that!
have a lovely early spring Sunday,
later,
Patty

drum roll, please...

I've selected a recipient of my little piece of junk mail art, and it's...
Tania!
she doesn't have a blog - YET - so I'm afraid I have no link for her.
but she took my "going postal" class last fall, and has just gone crazy with mail art, ATCs, etc.
I'll ask her to send some pictures, and I'll post them here.
and I used this really wonderful random number generator to make my selection.
it came from Carrie at Violets are Blue, or visit her blog.
have to go, several Etsy orders came in yesterday, and I want to get them packed & mailed.
thanks, again, to everyone who has ordered cards & postcards from my sale.
more stuff will be posted soon.
later,
Patty