NEW blog for Mail Art, Artistamps, Postcards, Letters & more

MON - 11 JAN, 2010 (or 11/01/2010)

This blog is for Mail Art Call postings, submissions, receipts, etc.

Artistamps, altered text/graphics, drawings, paintings, prints, collages, et al, will have a happy home here.

Some of you may remember the print periodicals, Global Mail and Factsheet Five. They endeavored to connect mail art traders and zine publishers alike. Factsheet Five even provided reviews of the zines it reported. Here in the electronically-connected world, the known practitioners of Mail Art and self-published works have greatly increased. What was once a de facto underground nexus is now offered to casual users who happen to search for "crafts", "rubber stamps", and the like.

Hopefully, there are those who will generously provide notices of calls/exchanges and those who will to attend exhibitions that they will report here.

Relevant Biographical information:

My background comes from a fascination with mail delivery, the methods and means of effecting same, and the artifacts produced by this age-old way of corresponding from afar. I was the only kid on the block standing or playing near the mail box for the express (sorry) purpose of knowing exactly when the mailman had delivered the goods. I loved all means of producing a letter known to me at the time; handwritten in pen, pencil, or most intriguing, fountain pen as well as by the blazing fast method of using the typewriter.

I attempted to produce "fake" mail that was historical such as by recreating the letters of Benjamin Franklin including antiquing the paper, using a fountain or dip pen, and then folding my own envelope or "folded letter". For later recreations (post 1840), I made my own stamps, hand-drawing them in some cases. These activities were what I did during my elementary and middle school years (up to 1974). What a revelation it was to find out about Mail Artists! I had now idea that others practiced any form of art or expression on objects to be placed in the mails.

Currently, I have my own permit (USPS Mailer's Postmark Permit) to cancel mail so that it is often expedited, but more importantly, is cancelled how I please. For USA residents, they should know that the only cost associated with such a permit is having a rubber stamping device made; the permit is free!

Thanks for visiting and here's to hoping that you will find something of value to read and share.

Cheers,

Bradford
PO Box 676
Deadwood, SD 57732-0676
—USA—