227.

227.
From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

226. The power of prayer

I spent the evening playing with some postcards that never quite satisfied me, adding bits. This fringe is especially delectable.

226. The power of prayer
From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

Mail call -- from David Berube

What a great bug from Dave! The balloons are in celebration of his birthday.

Mail Call -- from Seren in Redondo Beach

Is this a great envelope or what? And she sent it stuffed with wonders -- a couple of articles, a list of mail artists' names and addresses, and more. And I don't think I've managed to mail anything back to her yet. That's what this weekend is for: I'm catching up.

'Cause I'm cool, that's why

Gifts from Jennie and Carolee to thank me for being part of their book Good Mail Day.

Mail call -- My Real Wall

From My Real Wall, who decided several months ago to stop e-mailing and start real-mailing. He posts everything he gets on his wall (or a wall; or the outside wall of a building) and takes a photo of the whole to post on his site.

Mail call -- from Richard Canard

Mail call -- from Happy Nerd

Mail call -- from dear Richard Canard

Mail call -- Richard Canard

Mail call: Richard Canard

Further consideration

I woke up at 6:30 this morning considering what other uses there are for a book other than mail art. I had two ideas:

Use it for target practice. My favorite weaponologist says most bullets won't penetrate all the way through, and I think it would be interesting to see the differing impact of different weapons.

You know that rapper who wears the big alarm clock on a chain around his neck? I could do that with a copy of the book. Drill a hole in it, slip a chain through it, and wear it around my neck like a rapper.

Meanwhile, back at the art studio, I ordered prints of the last hundred or so mail art pieces (I'd been waiting for Walgreen's to have their 'prints for 10 cents' sale). As I filed the photos, I found myself enjoying the variety, the colors, the fun I clearly had making them. I don't think I'm finished; rather, I'm bored with the book itself. But maybe I just need to find different ways to use the pages. We'll see what comes next.

As an aside, the reason I keep paper copies of the pieces . . . I seem to believe that they may one day evaporate from the web, and therefore I want something solid to document my adventure in postal pleasures.

225.

225.
Oh, my. The scan of this treasure really didn't do well. I didn't use tape to anchor the trim and so the fuzziness increased radically. On the other hand, you can still see the baby's breath (flowers), which is sufficient for a good day.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

224. Concentration

224. Concentration
"Here's what you learn in your first piano lesson: you have to concentrate. Life, death, eternity, redemption, salvation, where you're going, what you're going to do when you get there, how you make the trip, why you're going: you can't concern yourself with such things."


From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

223. Jesus and poultry

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

222. The weight of ashes

222. The weight of ashes

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

221. What if?

221. What if?
"[Nobody] seemed to care one way or the other about either the grammatical correction or the reality that Christians, even the ones without penises, are free to ask 'What if?' regarding both God and the Church."




From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

To go (on) or not to go (on)

I got a message from my friend Jeanette the other day. She'd come to see my art but said she couldn't quite figure out if the project is still ongoing.

I was asking myself the same question. When is enough enough? Especially since I've made far more of these cards than I've mailed. Some I don't want to part with. Others I don't know who would be an appropriate recipient. Also, there's a point at which I'll be beating a dead horse. Finally, I've had a few moments lately when being tied to a text has felt restrictive.

On the plus side, I've bought some new bits of fabric in recent weeks; and my friend Mary Flowers gave me a pile of trim that would look oh so wonderful, if not bizarre, on some of these pieces. Right now I'm set to go up to number 300 and then reconsider.

I'm always happy to exchange mail art. If you've sent me something and not got a return, please leave a comment. The post office sometimes has issues with my address -- or perhaps it's with my existence -- and either returns mail sent to me or passes it to the dead letter office. Perseverance is in order.

Holiday Mail for Heroes 2009

The Red Cross with the aid of Pitney Bowes is again sponsoring Holiday Mail for Heroes. Cards will go to service members, veterans, and their families. The Red Cross will begin accepting cards on November 2, 2009. For more information head over to their site.

The mailing address is not yet available, but if you plan to make rather than purchase postcards or greeting cards, now is the time to begin work. Limit: 15 per person, 50 per organization.

Specific guidelines are available on the site. Easy on the glitter, folks, and you don't need to include envelopes.

220. In the last days

220. "Schubert was in the sanctuary as I crooned a variation on Joel's words: In hte last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and the young people shall see visions, and the old people shall dream dreams. The passage,so often presented somberly, became a lithe and dancing promise, a song of love and hope as Brian's passion and mine melded into the wind and fire.
From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

Spider alert: We interrupt this program to bring you Halloween

Spider Alert: The postcard below has a trim with spiders on it. They're creepy enough that I'm posting a warning lest anyone have a spider phobia.

The scan is fuzzy because of the trim. Sometimes taping it down helps but in this case the trim is fuzzy enough that I think it will pull off with the tape.

This piece is going out to Dave at Berube Bugs.

219. Cornfields

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

218. The useful concept

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

217. Don't worry about Thanksgiving

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

216.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

215.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

214,

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

213. Easter

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

212.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

211.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

210.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

Mail Call -- Guilt free mail

From Fast Eyes.

209.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

208.

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

207. Past, present, future

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

206. Pentecost

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

205. A baby in a nightgown is a fine thing

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

204. The felt inside a Yamaha piano

204. The felt inside a Yamaha piano

"The felt inside a Yamaha piano is made of wool from the underside of sheep sheared on a cold day. If the piano is not tended to properly, moths will eat holes even in this exceptionally tight felt. As a result, the tone of the piano becomes tinny."

(Incidentally, this is the first paragraph in the book.)

To dear Richard Canard. From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.

Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art

Image from amazon.com.

Hie thyself off to a physical or online bookstore and buy the newly published Good Mail Day. This spiffy book includes samples of mail art from around the world -- including a piece of MINE! How cool is that? I know this because the authors notified me and because on amazon.com you can see the contributors' pages -- and there am I.

Buy it, read it, and rate it with five stars on amazon.com. (Someone told me lately that the 5-star ratings are the ones that move a book up in rank.)

203. Celebrate

From the It's Only a Book project in which I'm deconstructing my 2003 book, Grace: A Memoir, and turning it into art.