near you

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And for anyone else looking in,
if you can spare 2:11:
Take a short read/ride link

Be seeing you!

coffee and other forms of art

Le Select, Paris (click to enlarge)
(pic from the google)

Reading about this particular cafe
(now bistro), there have been many famous
people connected to its history. Francesco Illy,
who invented the espresso machine is the first
that comes to mind.

Predating him though, it is said that Lenin
and Trotsky were served here. Famous
socialist filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein used
it as a source of inspiration. Hemingway began
to write The Sun Also Rises here. Eric Satie and
Claude Debussy sat and discussed music here.

Last but not least, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo
Picasso, Leonid Massine, Jean Cocteau and
George Balanchine sat with coffee and
collaborated on Russian ballets here also.

Been reading more about outsider art,
and if you have time, there is Part 2
with Nellie Mae Rowe, 1900 -1982,
who was the daughter of a former
slave, born on the 4th of July
in rural Georgia.

Part 2 is here and you'll
see more of her art.

ray johnson

Stamp Francisco & Friends

hR9 and family, coffee messiah, bugpost

picasso gaglione & john held jr
what a group

click article to enlarge

One of the magazines back then was:
National Stampagraphic, which this
article came from, Spring 1995.

Ray Johnson

leaf book

All our words are

but crumbs

that fall down

from the feast

of the mind.

Kahlil Gibran

===========================

Umbrella Magnolia leaves,
part of a leaf book,
sent by a very dear
and close friend.

Amazing, they made it too,
all in one piece.

Thanks again
(you know who you are!)

illustration challenge

Illustration Challenge @

ArtSpark Theater

click to enlarge

Drawing challenged ; (
& there was a line to quote,
but neglected that part ; (

lives in the balance

click to enlarge

Flag background: Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The creation

of a thousand forests,

is in one acorn.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

=======================

An internal struggle here in the usa is going on
about how to fund health care, and how it will
bankrupt the economy. Where has everyone
been the last almost 9 years, with trillions
of dollars going to wars, with no way to fund
them having been made? Except that
future generations will be paying in the end.

While life and wages we once
knew are swiftly retreating backwards.

faux postage - artistamp

To an old man,

a cup of coffee is like

a door post of an old house -

it sustains

and strengthens him.

Old Bourbon Proverb

I will be having some stamp sheets perforated
very soon. The first time in many years.

dust in my coffee

mail art = senders receive

Source Book For The Network Of International Postal Art Activity,
by Michael Crane & Mary Stofflet, 1984.
Very hard to find and worth seeking to learn
how it all started and about the early players.

Written and published in 1991, another good resource
for a lot of interesting information on the network.

Artistamp News always had samples of faux postage
made by people all around the world.
I need to look into it and see
if Anna Banana is still printing this.

Chuck Welch used to put this out and also
wrote a book called: Eternal Network A Mail Art Anthology.
Not long after I received my copy,
he wrote and mentioned it was out of print.
If you find a copy, grab it.

What Is MA?

For many years, this was put out by APO
until she handed it off in the late 90s.
I only saw one issue after that.
It was a must read for mail art calls,
among many others.

Sometimes in the mail, you'd receive items like this.

Tim Mancussi, wherever you are,
made some amazing faux postage stamps and mail art.
Ray Johnson inspired, the man given credit for starting this
and who started the New York Correspondance School.
More details on much of this at a later date.

Received from Beth Johnson who made fantastic faux postage.

Does anyone know the whereabouts of gorey laurie?

This zine came out of Florida and had some
amazing art work in it,
topical to the times it was printed.

Group 362 has done some amazing things
over time and dabbles in poetry,
found items, dada, fluxus and cigar box gee-tars.

An envelope received back in the day.

When I started out, this group: Underground Rail Art,
would have a list of people, send an idea around,
and everyone would do whatever they wanted
and the last person would send it off to the receiver.
It was fun, but after awhile, there were so
many projects circulating, it was hard to keep up.
Not sure if it's still going or when it stopped as a group.

The Church of Right Now put out some amazing material,
and sadly lost track of their whereabouts.

Joki, from Germany did some amazing projects.
This was one I sent something to,
and he then made booklets with everyones project, name and address.
Sadly, I believe he died a few years ago.

Clemente Padin, from Uruguay has been
involved for many years. In the 70s,
due to his protesting of the policies of the government.
He was arrested and his mail art confiscated.
He still sends mail which is topical
and reflects on issues around us today.

A small booklet received years ago.

Chris Kenny from the UK always sent some interesting work.

The lady who made these envelopes would put a home made zine
about her travels around the country.
She was a character.

FluxBux, don't leave home without it.

bird nest

Some places it's snowing, some sunny,
here rainy, hence the out of focus look.

A gazillion squirrels out collecting,
more than any other year we've
been out here, wonder what it means?

And the birds?
Everywhere, and noticed the nest
when I got home today.
It's in our next door neighbors yard.

Promise me you'll always remember:

You're braver than you believe,

and stronger than you seem,

and smarter than you think.

A. A. Milne - Winnie The Pooh