Mail Art News #40: I Want

Sunshinysam on IUOMA

I'm just a one man operation, so I can't cover all the posts made by all the mail artists. I can however make note of the things that grab my attention the most. Occasionally people send me links and factoids. Per nonlocal variable, there exists an archives of the copy-culture publication known as Photostatic (1983-1998). Definitely worth a look. 

Diana Hale has a perforator. Adam R. has a Wizbang perforator, a gift from Michelangelo Mayo. 

Questing for a perforation machine...there are some leads. There's a nice looking, heavy duty one made in India, but attempts to land on a page where one could order the item has resulted in a slew of disorienting incoming emails. Shipping costs could be prohibitive.

Then there's word from Heather Wilkie in the Mail Art News group on IUOMA that a person on etsy is selling small scale perforators. The seller offers two or three different sizes, plus a circle-shape perforator. Very interesting! Kind of pricey, but could meet my needs as an infrequent creator of artistamps. Will keep it on the radar.

My car needs a new serpentine belt, so it's in the repair shop. On my walk home, I found a free lazy-Susan. There are some benefits to living in the city. Very soon, I'm going to rubber stamp the following onto the bumper of my car. Hopefully this revolutionary reminder will encourage more civility. Also planning to send some out as post cards. 

T. Brown, rubber stamped post card

I think later today, there's a meeting of the secret mail art society called ZMAG, which stands for Zoom Mail Art Group. I learned about it only recently. Learn more about them here. There may or may not be an initiation ritual. 

I tend to get obsessive. I am resisting the impulse buy, for now. Look at these designed by Cascadia Artpost and documented by William M on IUOMA. Ticket! Ticket! it's called. There's also a new Braincell out, but I think there are too many addresses on there for me to post to the internet. I'm not going to blur them all. Some people prefer not to have their addresses shared to the internet, unless they have a PO Box. Is a PO Box required for the attainment of the Mail Art Grandmaster title?

I go through periods of chess obsession. I am not interested in chess much at all right now. Even if I don't currently have what it takes for top level chess performance, I can apply some of the things I've learned from the game. The top players are called grandmasters. The top mail artists could also be called grandmasters, even if only for fun. What does it take to become a Grandmaster of Mail Art?

• ongoing ability to obtain postage stamps and envelopes
• ability to make rubber stamps (yourself or commissioned from a custom rubber stamp company)
• ability to design and perforate artistamps
• prolific creative abilities...you are able to create on a regular basis

You'll notice I did not say anything about the ability to get caught up on your outgoing mail. No one can do that. Or at least no one can sustain that. What else would you add to this list?

Pam C almost got caught-up. 

I did manage to send out a few recently. This one landed in Japan. Thank you Tomoe N for documenting! 

Only one incoming. Thanks Erica Durante. I'm including the original and my additions. 

My vehicle is ready. Time to walk back over to the car fix-it shop and then go grocery shopping, so I can keep the mail art machines running. Thanks for reading. Feel free to send me an email (or post card).