FEB to Kate, Christi and Juliana -- The Sneaky Artist

 

Kate mentioned that she liked the sun envelopes - so I did a couple more - sent this photo for her to choose which one. The first batch were all green with the green HELLO stamp and I did not have any more of those stamps. While the round stamp with the sun was clearly what made the envelope idea successful, I wasn't liking these two as much as the green ones. Kate chose the CHEERS and I sent the FUN to Christy. 

Then I did one more - and it's OK. The name is definitely better. 

***

For some reason, I stuck this link in a post - and left it in the queue - waiting for some envelopes and when I got back and clicked on it, I have no idea why I put it here - but I am not going to delete it because then I would have to go find something else. Skip it - unless you have too much time on your hands and the weather is not welcoming you to the out-of-doors.

https://www.instagram.com/thesneakyartist/

FEB to Lynne --- Mike Tallman

 

I found this style of lettering on Pinterest and I'm going to start a folder called *Probably Not* as in - I probably won't try it again. I'm drawn to letters where they all start as a square or rectangle and then something is carved away to make the shape into a letter. I wish I had time to flip through my 6.000 posts to see if any of them have ever been really good - worth doing again.

***

My older son has a friend from high school, Mike Tallman, who studied graphic design. He is also a musician. Over the years, he has cultivated a very nice business in designing album covers as well as silk screen prints to commemorate concerts and music festivals. I had an idea for a poster and emailed him.

We emailed back and forth - and then it dawned on me that he would be a perfect designer for the USPS because they often feature musicians on stamps. I looked into the requirements to be a designer and found this:

LINK to info about stamp designing. Basically - you send them a portfolio (hard copies) and if they like your stuff, they'll keep it on file. They pay a flat rate for designs but did not specify what that rate was. I Googled and found this info - which may or may not be true:

Artists commissioned to design a USPS postage stamp typically receive a total of $3,000, which includes an initial payment of $1,000 upon signing the agreement and an additional $2,000 upon approval of the final artwork. The original artwork then becomes the property of the Postal Museum.

Mike designed this poster for a gig here in Des Moines - when his band was in town. I love it - obviously.

LINK to Mike's website

FEB to AmyG and JeanR - 8pg + 16pg books

 

I like the idea of showing the two ways to approach the round stamps. The top one coordinates with the colors. The quality of the lettering is cringe-worthy. As I've mentioned, when I have more than 25 envelopes in a month, I tend to choke. 

The bottom one attempted to spin and idea off the lettering on the stamp. I had done all that gold scallop pattern with nothing in mind - and then I had no idea what to do with it. I liked it - but it was a good reminder to stop doodling on envelopes unless I have a plan. There's probably some way to resolve it - but - JeanR and I go way back - and she knows that not all of the envelopes get resolved. The name is pitifully weak.

***

Many of us have made the little 8-page booklets out of a sheet of copy paper. I saw a version with 16-pages and had so much fun making one. I do not have a link to the very brief video because it was a reel and I do not know how to copy/paste reel addresses. I did a search for *16 page folded book out of a. single sheet of paper* and this video popped up. I did not watch it so I can't recommend it - but she looks like someone who enjoys teaching.

LINK to directions for 16-pg book

First, we will look at the 8-page book. There are a gazillion YouTube videos with instructions. I do not have time to find the *best* one. 

LINK to a gazillion directions

The only tricky part is knowing which way the folds go. There are 3 folds - but some of them will be reversed.

***

Here are the steps for the 16-page book. If you already know how to make the 8-page book you can probably figure it out just by seeing the photos.

First fold the paper in half - both ways. Then divide each half, in half - again. 

After you have made the folds, you make 5 cuts. They are marked A-B, C-D, and so on.

The photo below shows the folds and cuts in more dimension.

At this point it does not matter which direction the folds go.

Then you need to put the page numbers on each panel so that you can make the sequential folds to get the pages in the right order. The numbers can be small and in pencil. I made mine big just for the photo.

Start with the paper in portrait orientation and do 10-11-4-5 across the second row

and 14-15-16-1 across the bottom row.

Then flip the paper around so that the first 8 pages are upside down.

and fill in 2-3-12-13 on the second row

and 6-7-8-9 on the bottom row.

Assemble the book by putting page 1 face down on the table and then folding each page so that the number is in sequence and right side up.

Voila.

Adorable little. books.

Here is another version of the 16-page book

You might find other folded book ideas at this link to Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3799980931187770/

JAN to AmyF and Lucy - cowboy

 

It's taken quite a while to part with the round stamps - but - I'm doin' it.

I'm ambivalent about these two. As I've already said - having 28 people sign up is a little intimidating. While these two did have a couple warm ups - on scratch paper - they're still quite rough.

***

Back in January, I had a little *rant* about the suggestion that wearing nicer clothes on airplanes would resolve the problems with manners. I said that I enjoyed people watching and didn't mind unusual outfits.  I mentioned an example of a portly, long-haired, bearded cowboy in cut-off bib overalls, cowboy hat and cowboy boots - and wrote in the original post that I was sorry I had not been able to snap a photo. 

As I read that post during my final read-through right before it popped up, I pondered doing a quick sketch of the guy, from memory. That didn't seem like a good use of my time so I thought to myself: Hey, maybe I could ask AI to make a picture. Voila. 

I'm the last person I would have expected to be using AI. 

Above is the second version. It's perfect - except that the cutoffs might've been a little shorter and the hair was grayer. Below was the first one I did. On the first go, I thought about asking for him to be at the airport and figured that might be asking for too much - but it wasn't. I'm really impressed with AI. But I do not expect to be creating any more AI images. While it was able to create my visual - that style of illustration is -to MY eyes - barf-worthy. Yucky. Offensive. 

What, you may ask, makes it so repulsive to me? It's difficult to articulate. I'll return to this topic.

I took off the word *portly* and asked for gray hair and beard. I'd like the guy to be halfway between these two - weight-wise. The one at the top has the right size beard. I'm curious to know how it works if a person wants to fine tune details....but not curious enough to do any more research or experimenting.

FEB to Gavin and Nicky - art talk

 

Even though this one is really simple, I like it a lot. I like the double circle G - and the roundness of all the lettering. It's a happy envelope. There were 28 exchangers in FEB - so I had to come up with some ideas that did not involve a lot of detail.

The envelope below - to Nicky - is very similar to the one I posted yesterday. I only had two of those stamps. So, I made suns to go with them. Then, I had a lapse when I chose someone to get this envelope. I didn't double check my chart to remind myself that Nicky had already received a sun with runes in January. Grrrr at myself. I hope it is a consolation that she did get one of my favorite stamps. It was hard to part with the last two.

***

Yesterday we established that the experience (of making art) doesn't need to have a relationship with the product. I stand by that statement - as long as said artist is only creating for their own enjoyment. Once we turn the corner and find ourselves with someone who is enjoying the experience of making things PLUS they hope to find a market for their product - we are in a different situation.

It's a slippery slope. It's fun to see someone who felt a calling to fill up potholes with mosaics end up with a career. He probably doesn't expect to hit the pinnacle of the contemporary art scene with his work. But it looks like he's doing well enough to provide for the essentials. The best part is how content he is with his path.

I know I had the same old dream that every artsy kid has.... to become a famous artist and have a studio. It's a fun dream. As I reflect on where I ended up and the different parts of my free-lance career, I'm satisfied that I balanced things and ended up with lots of artsy friends and kids who don't blame me for being a terrible parent. The boys were off dreaming of being professional athletes. I'll post my daughter's dream, later, because it's so dang funny....and I need to add it to the blog I am creating with all my memories of those kids. Sorry, it's a private blog. But, I might cross post some of the stories here.

FEB to Judi - AI

 

I enjoyed making sun designs and rune lettering in January so I made a chart of who-got-what. Judi got a script in Jan so she gets a sun + runes in February. I wish I had made her name a little larger and used a different color on her last name. I ended up really liking the feel of the rune style - even though it's the one called New Celtic. I can't remember if I ever resolved the names of the styles I used in January.

***

I am writing this on Jan 23 where I just read the daily post about the camera Lucida. In listing the various ways to get an image on a canvas (or wall) prior to painting, I mentioned using a slide projector to project an image. I brought up the question of whether or not it was cheating to use any type of device to transfer an image. 

This is probably a topic with tons of opinions and no way to reach a definitive answer. I am amused by  people who are not artists - yet they insist that anything other than using your eyeballs and hands is cheating. 

Which brings us to Artificial Art (AI). Personally, that's where I draw the line. Maybe it's because it's so new. Maybe people who use AI are experiencing the exact same things that I experience when I am maneuvering my markers across an envelope? After computer graphics had been around for a while, I started to see how the endless clicking was *legit* art - even though I thought that computer generated art was lacking in the tactile sensation one gets with traditional tools.

There is the experience of making the art. Then there is the product. Is one or the other more significant?

Trick question. They both matter and neither can be measured so it's pointless to compare.

I guess we have to drag this topic over to a third day.

FEB to Rachael - Aristotle & the other guy

 

I'm getting my FEB duds out of the way. I like this idea, but I used a ruler for guidelines and then was too careful when I did the final lines by hand. I also chose a terrible stamp and none of the colors are quite right. The lettering stinks. The proportions are all off. I'm tempted to redo it to show how it could be improved. 

***

My little rant yesterday about Aristotle went off on a tangent where I questioned whether he even said or wrote down the words: nature abhors an empty space. I did some research to find out if he actually wrote things down and if the original documents still exist. Our Easy-Peasy-Rumor-Service popped up with an answer to my question that says he left lots of writing and it was passed down through medieval scribes. 

I hesitate to trust/believe anything I read when I am clicking on the internet. I also hesitate to trust/anything that was transcribed by scribes. So, this topic has hit a dead end. I'm pretty sure that the person who originally said: nature abhors empty space was Aristotle's gardener. The guy was just lamenting the never ending job of pulling weeds. He muttered it to himself - and Aristotle who was just hanging out on his patio overheard the gardener and thought, Hmmmmm - that's a good one. I better jot it down.

Does anyone know which philosopher did not leave anything written down? Socrates. I'm debating whether that tidbit deserves further research/surfing. Also, I read it online - so there is only a 50/50 chance that it's true.

FEB to Troy. - correcting Aristotle

 Remember that horror I wrote about yesterday? I feel like I create something horrific when I try to fill up the space. This is wretched. I made something else that I liked - that looked like an envelope and had just one of these stamps - as a consolation envelope to put inside. Then I forgot to take a photo of it. I have more of those stamps - so I will do the same thing on the last five FEB envelopes that I've not done.

Troy has contributed some very good stories to the blog. A couple related to Mardi Gras - so maybe there will be something fun in the FEB envelope that he sends.

***

I came very close to deleting the following blurb when I did my final edit because the topic no longer amused me. But, if I deleted it, I'd have to find something else. So... maybe it's fitting that a real dud of an envelope is paired with a dud of an add-on.

Am I just being cheeky or am I foolish to be taking on Aristotle? Yesterday's blurb from Wiki quoted Aristotle as saying: nature abhors an empty space. Excuse me, Aristotle, but who's the cheeky fool for suggesting that you know what nature abhors. Nature, AKA Mother Nature speaks for herself and she does not use words. Her actions speak louder than words.

Nature takes its course and there are plenty of examples of nature offering up empty space. Has anyone noticed those deserts? OK, technically they are full of sand - but that is splitting hairs. Deserts are visually quite sparse. So are prairies for that matter. How about the sky? The sky can run the entire spectrum from empty to full. I rest my case.

My apologies for calling Aristotle a cheeky fool. He wasn't. He was simply a resident of a small peninsula so his perspective might be a bit provincial. He never went up in a hot air balloon or flew over any of the other continents. Did he understand the planets and orbits? Did he ever vacation anywhere? Who invented vacations? 

An old favorite link that I posted a while back - TRIVIA

JAN from Gavin - horror vacui

 

Gavin followed the suggestion to put something inside the envelope so that it was not eaten by the USPS machines - which is what happened to his DEC envelope. This one came through beautifully. He lives near St. Louis and must have been inspired by the abundance of snow that St. Louis had. There was so much extreme weather in so many parts of the US, I spent a lot of time wondering how the exchangers were doing...but I didn't say anything on the blog. It seems like real time jabbering throws me off. I need to just write things in order - and no back-tracking.

***

Am I the last person to find out about horror vacui? Spellcheck is not cooperating. It looks like latin and the obvious translation is being horrified at emptiness. That is correct. It is the flip side of my natural inclination to leave some white space. While I lean towards loving white space, I often admire works that fill up all the space gracefully. I'm not a big fan of haphazardly shoving everything into a space just for the sake of filling.

I was allowing myself five minutes to scan through IG and some work by Jurgen Vercaemst. I popped over to his page, scrolled a bit and discovered a reference to horror vacui which led me to Wiki - and this intro:

In visual art, horror vacui (Latin for 'fear of empty space'; UK: /ˌhɒrə ˈvækjuaɪ/; US: /-ˈvɑːk-/), or kenophobia (Greek for 'fear of the empty'),^[1] is a phenomenon in which the entire surface of a space or an artwork is filled with detail and content, leaving as little perceived emptiness as possible.^[2] It relates to the antiquated physical idea, horror vacui, proposed by Aristotle who held that "nature abhors an empty space".^[3]

I felt better when I read Jurgen's blurb (below) along side the above image - which suggests that he, too, has only recently learned the official terms.

Work I did a few years ago without any purpose or goal as to layout whatsoever. It seems I’m avoiding layout issues by using this ‘method’. Or as someone recently put it, horror vacui or a matter of kenophobia.

JAN from Juliana -- street mosaic

 

Juliana included a very fun letter in this envelope explaining that she was overwhelmed with the amount of markers and pens that have accumulated in her house. She used the testing of markers and pens to see if they were dried beyond usefulness as a fun way to decorate her January envelopes. If I had time to slog through the 6,000 envelopes on the blog I think I could find a few where I, too, did some marker testing. I do not recall any of mine turning out this nicely. It's a very pretty design. It's so nice that I can provide a  tidy little address that fits so beautifully and leaves just the right amount of white space.

***

Back in 2019,  this mosaic appeared in the street right where my daughter lives and where I visit so often. She knew I would love it - and I'm not sure how we learned about the *street artist* who was filling potholes in Chicago. It was there for a couple years and then one day the city pulled it up and did a regular repair. I was so sad when it was gone - but happy that there was one for us to enjoy for a while. 

Whenever I visited, I would get a little wistful every time I walked by the replacement patch, which was often, because they live close to shops, school, CVS, etc and I'm always out on walking errands. I thought I had posted this on the blog, but couldn't find it. Also, I had not thought of finding out how the artist is doing. Then, one of his works popped up on IG - and I am happy to report that his business is booming. 

LINK to Jim Bachor's website

LINK to Jim Bachor's IG

I wish I had included something in the photo for scale.

JAN from Morgan - Detritus - Lydia Ricci

 

A previous envelope from Morgan inspired a whole series. I knew when I saw this one that I would want to do a flowery vine name. There will only be one in the outgoing FEB envelopes because I didn't have very many flower stamps. I might revisit this idea. While I prefer the address written on the two colored lines - if we are only considering the design ---  I would suggest making 3 parallel lines and writing the address between the lines. That would be more friendly to the USPS scanners.

***

Here's a question. Is detritus and ephemeral stuff the same thing? I've been writing about ephemeral stuff. Then I ran across this person who is making a name for herself in the world of contemporary art. Her work looks a lot like the work of people who were once called outsider artists. 

It looks to me like the line between outsider (or whatever the proper term-du-jour is) and mainstream artist is not just blurred - it is gone. That's just my view. Feel free to ignore it. If you, too, like found objects, ephemeral stuff and non-traditional art - here's a rabbit hole for you.

LINK to Lydia Ricci's IG

LINK to her website  If you have time - I like the first animation - it's only 4 minutes

The following two paragraphs are from the internet - not my words. It's probably off the website - but, I'm not sure:

Lydia Ricci’s practice unfolds from a long-term process of accumulation, care, and transformation. For over thirty years, she has gathered everyday detritus—paper scraps, discarded objects, remnants of lived time—and reassembled them into sculptures that hover between tenderness and quiet disillusion. Central to her work is the notion of Letdown: not as failure, but as the subtle space between expectation and its soft collapse. These works give form to the fragile rhythm of ordinary life, where memory, anticipation, and imperfection coexist.

Her sculptures are imperfectly perfect replicas of quotidian moments and objects, constructed from materials charged with personal and cultural histories. Ricci’s process is deeply rooted in inheritance and necessity: raised by a Ukrainian immigrant mother skilled in improvisation, and an Italian father who never discarded anything that might one day be useful, she learned early on to value what others overlook. Tax forms from the 1970s, dried-out erasers, broken game pieces, old utility bills—materials she cherishes like family heirlooms—are honored through meticulous acts of making. From a tiny roller skate fitting in the palm of a hand to a wall-spanning lace bra composed of canceled checks, her works remain messy, fragile, and human, mirroring the way memory and perception function.

JAN from Janet + miscellaneous add-ons

This one took 2 weeks to get from Janet to me. While we live 17 miles apart - our mail is processed at the same facility.  Janet had a lot going on in January and forgot to include the ZIP code - so we had to wait for someone to figure it out. Their penmanship is pretty good. They clearly put some thought into the placement of the ZIP code in relation to the other lettering. It would be fun to meet more postal workers - especially the one whose job it is to help our mail reach its destination.

Janet and I both used this stamp for the JAN exchange. I've often thought it would be fun for everyone to use the same stamp during one month - but that would be impossible. The artsy component of the exchange supports the *I'll do whatever I want to do* perspective and it seems like the exchange attracts people who just want to do whatever they feel like doing - so we won't mess with that concept.

I appreciated seeing the cancel on the back of the envelope. It gave me an idea for stamp placement on the February envelopes. It might look nice to have the cancel alongside its coordinating stamp. 

***

I found another stockpile of things to use for add ons. This is for the people who like fonts and old lettering. Clover sent the link. Thank you so much. I found it in the 2024 folder <sigh>

LINK to the article

Here is another link sent by Clover - a public domain archive.

LINK to archive

And one more from Clover....font related.

LINK to font article

It's possible I already posted these - but, I'd rather just post them again to be sure. I'm a belt and suspenders kind of person. I was surprised how many people are not familiar with that expression. Perhaps the world has turned to elastic waistbands and belts and suspenders are things of the past. 

FEB to Jacqueline and Maggie - MARch Exchange sign-up

 

These two orphan stamps found. a home on some green envelopes leftover from a 2024 holiday mailing. The bouncy Celtic/rune lettering has become one that I enjoy very much although I will probably move on to something else. The white started out with an acrylic marker with a wide bullet tip. Then it was outlined with a bold white gel pen. I hope the white on green was scanner friendly. 

I am continuing my request for clear scanner friendly addresses even though I miss the fanciful addressing of yesteryear. It seems impossible that the USPS would ever stop delivering letters - but if it can happen in Denmark - it could happen everywhere. Probably not in my lifetime. 

Today through March 4th is the window to sign-up. Lists are sent on the 5th.

If you participated for the FEBRUARY exchange - just shoot me an email that says: SIGN ME UP - you do not need to retype your address and info.

Send your sign-up to:    PTEnvelopes-at-aol-dot-com

Let me know if it is your [Birthday] month or if you are willing to be on [2 Lists].

If you were not on a February list - or if you only sign up occasionally - or are a new exchanger - please send your information in the following format:

Jane Doe

123 Oak Street

Ames, IA 50010

janedoe@aol.com

[Birthday]  [2 Lists]  -- if those items apply

If you are new to the exchange - there are helpful details at this link:

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/p/rules-of-exchangement.html

JAN from Judi - travelogue

 

Welcome, Judi, one of the new exchangers in January. I've had fits trying to use up my gold envelopes and when I saw gold on silver - I knew I would have to try silver on gold. Wish me. luck.  And what's with the 3 stamps?  They are gorgeous - and design-wise, I can see how just one stamp might have. looked a little lonely. I hope Judi sticks with the exchange so we see if that's just her thing - using lots of stamps. 

I slacked off on critiquing and thanking people who do nice clear block print addresses. Judi's deserves a mention. 

***

Well, we did it. We made it through the shortest month. Often times it provides the worst weather as well. I haven't said anything about being in Chicago for two weeks. I wonder how that went. Maybe I'll leave this spot open so that I can insert stories from my travels. Did the grandkids bamboozle me? Did all the appliances and utilities behave? There are some aspects of Chicago that concern me. Maybe I'll take some pictures. It seems very rusty.

JAN from Nicky -- junk chandelier

 

Nicky is my new printmaker pen pal. She hand carves images and has nice inserts in her envelopes. I sent her a couple of my left over prints from the olden days. I fell in love with printmaking back in the early aughts and had a nice stack of prints. Little by little I've given them away. It's so hard to decide if my kids would ever want them. I guess I'll just make a little portfolio for each of them. 

When I was making prints, I often ran the plate through twice, inverting it on the second pass. Nicky liked that idea and tried it with her bunnies. All my prints were etchings - all in black. She used different colors which I think is very fun. That's why I love printmaking so much. You can make one plate and then the options are exponential. 

None of my 3 kids have any interest in art. I was so hopeful that I'd get an artsy grandkid. Nope. 

This one is my favorite of the three - which surprised me. I think it's the colors.

On the top, the yellow got buried.

***

Hopefully I have not gone overboard with the creative uses for discarded items. While chandeliers are waaaaay beyond anything I would want in my home, this work speaks to me on a whimsical level. During my Swedish Death Cleaning, all the itty-bitty items are being gathered. Perhaps I will come up with a clever way to assemble them into something useful. 

LINK to Harry's work