Postcard Collective Fall 2013

The Postcard Collective invited me to participate in the fall exchange. I interpreted the theme of 'Objects in Motion' loosely by considering the object a story that flows from each character to the next, 24 of them in total- all one family, likely inspired by my excitement for the Thanksgiving holiday. They quite a bit of fun to make and I hope you enjoy them as much I did while making them.

 

change is a current

Exquisite chaos.

I am posting this from my phone as I am curled up in the front seat of my buick, which is parked in the furthest most inconspicuous spot I could find of the Glacier National Park airport in Kalispell, Montana. It isn't all that cold anymore and I've certainly slept in my car before. In fact, that's exactly what I would likely be doing had I made it to the campgroung anyway. Alas! I am trapped. The silly ticket machine cannot read my debit card and there no attendents around to do anything about it, the airport itself is closed and won't let me in, and I even tried lifting the damned bar with all the reflector tape on it to let myself out (which also means accepting the fear that I may be immediately swarmed by airport security) but there is absolutely no way out.

Which brings me to my current location. And one has to wonder: how did my life end up here, exactly? Not that I'm complaining! I'm simply thinking back to all of the people I have met along the way, especially the ones that directly influnced choices I have made in my life, what not to do and advice for what to do that I either trusted or ignored all together. And: had I listened to that advice might I be elsewhere? Or: would I really, truly WANT to be elsewhere, because isn't it awesome to be alone in my automobile drifting in to the strange realms of my mind that I don't usually have time for while I listen to She Hangs Brightly by Mazzy Star another millionth time then The Rip Tide by Beirut for nostalgic comfort and would I ever want to change any of this for anything else, ever?

This is not a post about mail. Although, I will say that I've thought about what goodies might be awaiting me in my p.o. box every single day I was away from home, visiting my post home, good ol' ohio. I think first thing I do tomorrow is go check it in atnicipation even though it is out of the way from the rest of my plans and after I finally escape the confinement of the airport parking lot.

While visiting I was able to sit down with one correspondence partner and very dear friend to me, Adam a.k.a Count V, and discuss the project we've been hard at work with lately. I can't wait until I have enough material to start posting it- I would like most of the story to be ready in case something ridiculous comes up and one of us gets too busy and has to take some form of hiatus. I'm infatuated with the story and characters we've created. It also serves for excellent motivation to do good work.

Cincinnati was draining to the core and rejuvenating all at once. I don't sleep when I'm in that city (so many people to see, so little time!) And for some reason this time I also couldn't eat (stress/nerves/anxiety/you name it but for some reason I can manage to force feed myself french fries and pizza (plain cheese only) so I somehow survived on a diet of such). But seeing my family and friends and just running in to familiar faces all over the place constantly can really make a girl feel loved. Still, in the end I happy to be back in Montana, even if it means being alone.

Postcards from Italy by Beirut.

Tomorrow I will see some faces I haven't in a long time. Reunion is always overwhelming, and I've been doing a lot of it lately. I think I am prepared though. I think I can handle this season, despite it all, somehow, some way.

I'm very glad I have things like the project with Adam and IUOMA and Postcrossing and other pen pals, such as Rory Delaney (if you're reading this, thanks for the Titanic posters, which I think will be nice conversation pieces for the dorm I will share with Lauren this summer), for which to keep me flowing like a river current.

I hope you are somewhere safe and warm and loving, and I apologize if that screams 'hippie'. I sincerely and genuinely wish that every one could have a warm bed and a mailbox.

Drifting to sleep. In my sleeping bag. In my car. In the airport parking lot.

Who could ask for more?!

let it go

I adore fantastically misshapen and disproportionate facial structures.
Title: Kyle's Cowlick or Wyatt's Whiskers
Sent this one along to my friend Laurence, fellow mail artist from IUOMA who sent me a tiny, handmade, personalized journal. I'm not sure how she knew that I also adore tiny journals but I hope she likes Kyle/Wyatt as much as I do her work.

You can do quite a bit with handmade mini-books! In fact, there is book that has chapters categorizing the different kinds of books you can make called How to Make Books (go figure) by Esther K. Smith. My favorite is the easiest and quickest: the insta-book.

1. Using any kind of paper your little heart desires fold it in half horizontally.
2. Unfold, then fold again vertically.
3. Fold each flap back toward the original vertical crease so that there are four sides and three vertical folds.
4. Unfold those two fold and there should be four squares/rectangles on either side. Using a pair of scissors (unless you have mega paper tearing skills) cut along the middle crease from the folded side, NOT the open side, to the center of the squares.
5. Open up where you cut and flip down the sides next to each other and there should be four double sided pages that look like an even plus sign from above. Fold it again into itself and you have yourself a freakin' quaint mini-book blank and ready to be filled with drawings or collage materials or sweet nothings or to do lists or addresses and phone numbers and ANYTHING.

I would recommend checking out Esther K. Smith's books for more ideas. A few of the designs are complex and require actual book making materials but oh, the things you can create with just a piece of paper!

I conjured one of these babies for my aunt and uncle out in Michigan and they geeked out over it. All I added was a black and white nearly stick figure level drawing on each page explaining to them why I have been out of school a year and still don't have a big girl job and spend all my time on crafts. Perhaps they were just glad to see I'm doing SOMETHING with myself, even if it is this.

On that note, I should mention that these sentiments are not my own (I do no feel I'm wasting my time!). I think that arts and crafts and, most specifically, mail art are the most worth while pursuits in a era such as this. Let's face it: technology killed the paintbrush. Now we can create sharper images with photoshop and transmit messages as soon as we think them via email or phone. The sanctity of the post is exactly the sort of thing I like to have in life as a reminder that not everything about our daily selves needs to be as fast-paced as possible. Taking the time to write a letter forces you to 1) spend some time with yourself 2) focus energy on creating your own something rather than consuming what others have made 3) acquire satisfaction from having actually put forth effort instead of finding the easiest way to accomplish a task set before you. It also shows your recipient that you cared enough to take a moment out of your day to think about them and how/what they are doing, which is just plain nice, don't you think?

Currently:
Listening to Could We by Cat Power
Reading Good Mail Day by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler
Drinking water from the nearby natural spring (in Hungry Horse, Montana!)
Working on a List Book for little bro's graduation present (congrats to all the new grads of 2013!)

so they say

Have you ever watched the anime series Paranoia Agent by Satoshi Kon? In episode 9 the plot diverts to four housewives discussing the recent chain of events involving a child assailant and his victims (the plot for much of the series is about the first victim and the detectives investigating her case). Each one takes her turn alluding to a rumor she heard but before sharing she'll say, "You won't tell anyone?" and the others follow suit with waves of the hand and like hens clucking, "of course not, of course not!"

Miss Thing to the right is my Americanized version of those characters. This is a woman who buys overpriced shampoos and anti-aging lotions in bulk from infomercials.

"so they say" is en route to Hollywood where it will hopefully reach my friend Nadine from IUOMA (international union of mail artists). She, too, creates cards with squiggley caricatures and snarky captions. I think she will appreciate the one I made especially for her.

The whispers of this country are growing louder by the minute. The masses want explanations and answers and reasoning for the turmoil. What are these random acts of violence? Who are these angry aggressors and what are they trying to achieve? What message are they attempting to communicate? Is this the new form of protest?

Something certain in my mind is that there are far too many Miss Things twisting the truth and getting off on it. The media feeds us thoughts that we spew back like first graders (sorry to all respectable first graders). We allow ourselves to be distracted by our constant news feeds from our phones and our facebooks and our twitters. I think breakneck communication and mass information spread can be beneficial, but like anything, too much of a good thing isn't good at all.

The repetitive occurrence of tragedy in our recent past is somehow part of whatever revolution is taking place. It is the harrowing side of what the masses are feeling. The ultimate explanation seems to me entrenched in the common struggle experienced daily. Because of things like the aforementioned distractions many are apparently able to ignore quite a bit of the constant anal-fucking the government/corporations inflict. Although, clearly, there are a handful who are responding out of desperation and frustration and pain and suffering. After all, misery loves company.

Perhaps there is a way to change all that by rallying the forces that make their choices in love, not fear (helpful hint from Uncle Bill Hicks). Anyway, apologies for my armchair philosophy post.
Here's hoping both you and your mailbox is happy today. The post is one of those sacred, untouched parts of society that encourages me to keep faith in humanity. Take time to write a beautiful letter to someone you love- I guarantee it will help you both feel even the slightest bit better amongst all the reasons to feel melancholy!

Currently:
Listening to Ann Peebles- I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
Reading The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Drinking a honey mocha
Working on a Dear Juliet letter

Tuning In

Thank you for tuning in to OdderMail!

I've been making postcards and garnishing letters for a span of time so seemingly endless that I couldn't truly name the place and moment that I became a 'mail artist'. What I can tell you is that it was a mere month ago that I discovered the community of artists like me who prefer to make our art for others and send it off through the postal system. It was similar to a storm of melon sized hail raining down on me; DUH. How could my ego allow me to think that I was alone in this for so long? Exasperated and dumbfounded I began to explore the trajectories of this cult and with every blog, union, alliance, and CFE I couldn't assuage my anticipation- now, more than ever, I wanted to let the mail art explode from my fingertips.

My grandmother, who I always addressed as Nanoo (even on envelopes!), had shoeboxes upon rubbermaid drawers upon manila folders of tiny bits of patterned papers; candy wrappers, used matchbooks, clothing tags, tickets, pamphlets, brochures...all for the purpose of re-purposing. We would sit at the same table and let the spread of materials grow and thicken until there might be a path to the chairs in the end. Sometimes the materials created crop circles of makeshift work spaces that I would hop to and from like lily pads of a pond and I an eager frog with newly sprouted legs.

Her artwork was graceful and methodical and beautiful, just as she was.
She made me all kinds of lovely little notes.
She also sent me postcards. Between her and my aunt (her daughter, of whom she also had aesthetic impact on) I have received more postcards than one might know what to do with. But, following their example, I knew precisely what to do with all those cards. I cherished them.

My postcard collection has reached 700+ and is growing all the time. The line graph showed steady and healthy acquisition of cards throughout adolescence and the college years until I came upon postcrossing.com, where one can send and receive postcards from others all over the planet. Since then, the increase has exceeded the graph itself.

When Nanoo passed away a chunk of me flew off with her spirit, wherever it may be. She told me once that if reincarnation is what occurs in afterlife then she knew that the two of us would reunite as river otters and spend our days floating down streams hand in hand (a completely unwarranted conclusion suggested over brunch. She was a rather odd lady herself despite her sophistication).

Thus, OdderMail! Inspired by the correspondence between a grandmother and granddaughter, two otters just tryin' to be together and the legacy of her that I intend to forward with all my might.

OdderMail will be updated weekly with my various working projects, ideas, musings, DIY instructions, any books or websites I find to be of aid, and documentation of current correspondence. So tune in every so often, but in the meantime feel free to send me your address:

ellopoppit08@yahoo.com

and I will gladly whip up something sweet for your mailbox or if you are a fellow mail artist who would like to share with me my address is:

Cassandra Gallagher
P.O. Box 62
West Glacier, MT
59936