A Thank You Returns

I've been 'under the gun' to get art work completed for the Western Heritage Artists Show and Sale which opens on the 15th of March in Great Falls, but I also owed a Thank You to a patron. I completed a Harley motorcycle image for her in January, and simply had not had the chance to thank her for her purchase.

Yesterday, I received the card back as NOT DELIVERABLE. If I could show you the entire address line, which I won't, it can clearly be read by anyone who can actually READ. I suspect a machine could not read it, so therefore it was kicked back to me. I'm not at all happy.

It is now going back to the post office, and I will get an explanation for this 'human' error, because I can't accept this ridiculous rejection.

Two More for the Flyway

This makes an even dozen. I have one more to do and then I can start doing commissioned work that I garnered at the Footprints on the Trail Show.

Two More!

Two more sincere Thank You's on their way to patrons who purchased during the Footprints on the Trail show.

Two more Fly Away.

After being out of town for three days, I've returned to catch up with thank yous. More tomorrow as well.

Riding Shotgun and One for the Road

I wonder if I have any more wrecked car or gun related paper... Why, yes, I do. Now, to get my Thank you's taken care of.

Two More for the Mailman

It looks to me like I'm going to be at this for a couple of weeks. I only have one patent medicine left if anyone is interested...

Not to worry. The active ingredient in this one is tap water.

Red Dots Get a Thank You

Patrons who purchase art from me get what they deserve - a proper THANK YOU.

Footprints Success

I had eleven Thank You cards to send after the Western Heritage Artists Footprints on the Trail Art Show and Sale this year. This first one was not a sale, but a gift. These folks bought the very first piece of old paper that I framed up and sold off the wall at an antique show here in Helena. They've been patrons ever since. They came to my room this year and gave me a color proof sheet from the second printing of "Good Medicine", which was a compilation of illustrated letters and envelopes by Charlie Russell. The proof sheet is old and brittle and stained in a couple of places, but it is like gold to me.

The second is to the patron who purchased My Brownie Baking Company piece which I did for the Quick Finish on Thursday evening, and a fun piece it was! He wanted the Chocolate as much as Uncle Sam did.

The third is to the patron who purchased My Breakfast Brownie piece on Saturday evening at the Art for Causes Quick Finish and Auction. And a lively auction it was! Our primary cause this year was Breast Cancer Awareness and we raised over $11,000.

To call this year's show a success is an understatement. And to top it all off, we welcomed a new grandchild to the family at 11:00 AM on Sunday, the last day of the show. Her name is Celine.

Three Sisters - Memories are Made of This

 

  

 

My first post of the new year. I have no idea how many pieces of mail art I actually posted in 2012, but it wasn't as many as I would have liked. Life got in the way more than once.

These three sisters of mine gave me a whole lot of memories this past year, and then topped it off with some wonderful reminders during the Christmas Season.

The time we spent at the 5 Spot in the Queen Anne district of Seattle was one of the highlights.

It really doesn't get much better than that.

For all of you who are still faithfully following me in my little corner of the Blogosphere, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and I hope you are all as blessed as I've been - with family.

Indian Motocycle Rides Home on a BMW

I completed two pieces of Indian paper before going to the Western Heritage Artists show in Great Falls, Montana, the 14th through the 18th of March past.  Bob (and his wife) purchased a piece of Winchester paper in 2010, and they didn't find anything in my room last year that piqued their interest.

My theory is that if you offer a little bit of history with some art in the mix, people sooner or later will fall for a nice dose of both.

Bob liked Contact Point #2, which I tied with a leather thong to a BMW badge from a 1923 BMW motorcycle for his Thank You. Indian paper is not only hard to come by, but hard to hold onto. I love it when that happens. And thanks to my Brother-In-Law Tom Benson for gifting me the wonderful paper.

The Parrot Talked - and Walked! PFF #54

Back in November of last year, I posted an image of a Parrot Confectionery receipt - with an image of a  Poll-Parrot Shoes bookmark with which I had "enhanced" the old paper. This Parrot wasn't eating peanuts in my room at the Western Heritage Artists show the middle of March. It flew the coop like the little guy in the return address.

This is the Thank you I sent to a couple of folks who now have Breakfast Brownie Doughgirl and The Walkin' Talkin'  Good Tastin' Chocolate Bookmark.

I'm also in the game today for Postcard Friendly Friday, my 54th. If you like to look at mail art, hop on over to Beth Niquette's The Best Hearts Are Crunchy where she plays hostess for the day.

C. M. Russell Shoots Pool

In September of last year I posted an image of a single-striped number 9 Hyatt pool ball on a piece of letterhead from a Chicago business by the name of Hubbell & Grote. The letter itself was interesting enough that I had a difficult time sizing the ball so that sense could be made of the letter. I'm not just in this game to put the art on a piece of paper without allowing the paper to tell its story as well.

The story was not a very long one, but the folks to whom this Thank You is addressed found it to be interesting enough that they decided to take it home. Why is Charlie parked next to the pool ball? Well - Because they are also C. M. Russell fans, and this one of Charlie with a pool cue in his hands was just the right touch.

Uneeda Biscuits and Last Chance Whiskey

It's taken me well over a week to get all of my Thank You's done for those whom I consider patrons. These folks like what I hung on the wall at the Western Heritage Artists show in Great Falls, Montana, last month during Western Art Week. Not only did they like it, they decided to hang it on their walls instead of mine. You can follow the story of the Biscuit Boy in this previous post, and this one as well.

As I've been doing the Thank You's in the order in which they were purchased, I'm also doing the same with the images I post of the Thank You's themselves. This one was particularly sweet. It hung in the Juried Lobby show with a little RED dot on it the entire time. I've also posted about this piece as well.

As I hear from the folks who received their Thank You's, I'll post more of them. It'll keep me busy for a bit.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did doing them!

Brownies - The Palmer Cox Variety

The day before yesterday I received a piece of what I took to be mail art. It had a little Brownie stamp on the front, made from a 13 Cent USPS stamp with the image replaced by one depicting two Brownies. That was more than enough to pique my curiosity, since I didn't recognize the name on the return address. Actually, it looked like the envelope had been made to fit a stiffener, so I carefully opened it to discover two pages from old children's books, both with wonderful illustrations by Palmer Cox, who originally created the Brownies in the 1880's. Both of the illustrations were by Palmer, and one of them was an illustrated one-page story. Both of them were Christmas related, one of them with Kriss Kringle taking top billing, but the Brownies weren't far behind.

I was stunned. That appeared to be all that was in the envelope until I had a friend stop by for coffee and scones. Homemade. Not what I'd call a Breakfast Brownie, but I like blueberries, and I make a mean scone.

After we'd sipped for a bit, he asked me what I was working on. I told him I was working on developing a Brownie envelope to use for mail art for my siblings. You know, the kind that are hard to gift. I showed him the pages that I'd received in the mail, and the envelope they came in. To me, it was like an early Christmas present from someone I'd never met. It is truly amazing where the path leads when you're generous and appreciative of other artists interests.

The reason I was so struck by the whole package was it was totally unexpected, coming just at the right moment as I tried to develop an envelope I could use for Brownie mail art. I really haven't let the cat out of the bag with this one because I intend to do something special with the Brownies for my siblings, but this really meant a great deal to me.

My friend picked up the envelope and examined both sides, and then looked in the envelope. He proceeded to shake a card out of it that I was unaware was still in the envelope. I read the wonderful note she's included, and suddenly it all came together. The pages that Beth Bynum gave to me meant a lot, but the fact she's a Nick Bantock fan as well sort of put the icing on the Brownies. Did I mention she has a blog? The fact that she'd taken a collage class from Lenna Young Andrews put another piece in the puzzle, as Lenna is a Brownie fan as well. Beth discovered I was a Brownie fan through Lenna, but what she didn't realize was that I like my Brownies for Breakfast.

The Breakfast Brownie Cereal is the real deal. Thank You, Beth. A wonderful Breakfast Treat!

Joni James - This one is for You!

 

Joni James, the Calligram Queen, asked a question a couple of weeks ago. If you were able to choose an image, what would it be, and what words could be used to describe yourself. I follow her and am fascinated by her images consisting of words that tell the story of the image, so I decided to give her a couple of hints:

She ran with them.

Once I had seen what she had done, I decided to use my artistic license. She does calligrams, I do monograms. So - I put together a little mail art of my own to let her know how much it meant to me that she would gift me some of her work - and it's a piece I'm going to hang on the wall, matted and framed, and I'm in awe of what she does with words. Thank You, Joni. You made my day.

Not to be forgotten

Yes, that's correct. This place will not be forgotten, at least by me. I'm not certain how the other artists fared during the exhibit, but I really can't say enough about the Custer County Art & Heritage Center.

A big thank you to Kevin Layton and his entire staff (including the volunteers) that make this venue such an attraction for artists like myself. Miles City is not exactly the center of Western Civilization, but it certainly does have one site that caters to a vibrant art community. And a wonderful collection of L. A. Huffman photographs that are to die for. I'd go back in a heartbeat, and I hope I get an invite.

Thank You For being Patrons

First off, I want to thank the entire staff at the Custer County Art & Heritage Center in Miles City, Montana, for asking me to participate in their recent exhibition. There were five artists in the portion of the show entitled Inside Out: A landscape exhibit, and myself with Old Paper New Art. The opening was held on Sunday, October 9th in the afternoon, with demonstrations and gallery talks. It was fabulous. I really couldn't have wished for a more splendid venue.

I didn't have a chance to do much demonstrating, although I did try to finish a Thank You for a piece of art I'd finished the week before, but I spent most of my time on the gallery talk, and answering questions as they were asked.

Kevin and Marie purchased "Have Duster, Will Travel", which I posted way back in November of 2010. It was a fun piece to do, but now I have to come up with an even better eye-catcher to hang on the wall.

Kathy purchased "Startup With a Coke", which I completed in June of 2009. A back story that was simply too good to be true, and both my wife and I will find it hard to replace it on our wall.

Bess purchased "Ming Trout Flies", which I completed in 2010. I did not post this piece when I completed it, primarily because I needed to get it to the framers before the Western Heritage Show. I've now sold every piece of (trout) fly paper I could put my hands on.

Dustin & Erin purchased "Five Feet In the Air", which I completed earlier this year. Here again, I don't know how long it will be before I see another piece of Brown Shoe Company paper, but I sure wish I could find some. Buster & Tige are still popular after all these years.

As is my rule, I will not put addresses on any of the mail art I put up here without prior approval. These four pieces will go in the mail in the AM.

Forgotten Bookmarks - Thank You PFF #51

A couple of weeks ago, I won a number of books in Michael Popek's Friday Book Giveaway. You see, Michael works in the family Antiquarian bookstore, and comes across unusual items used as bookmarks. He has been posting them on his blog, but the blog is now so popular, he has decided to expand his (and our) horizons. He just recently published a book that contains images of the bookmarks that he's found, and includes an image of the books they were discovered in. If you're interested in stories, these bookmarks are story-tellers.

I couldn't resist using an Author stamp (Hemingway), and a Bread Wagon stamp, since I hope this book is his land-locked version of his ship coming in. Thank You, Michael. For the second time you've given me a gift, and I'm all for re-gifting.

Don't forget to visit Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts Are Crunchy for more delectable candy that's been through the mail.

Ball Blue Fruit Jar paper

You may recall that I posted an image of a Ball Jar I called The Odd Ball several weeks ago. My art on the old piece of Ball Brothers letterhead was not just an accident. Larry Munson, who lives South & East of where I grew up in Northern Montana, gifted me that piece of paper. I have been waiting for the proper stamps to arrive, after purchasing a sheet of the American Glass stamp issue, Scott #3325-3328 from a seller on eBay. The stamps arrived today, although I had finished this cover several days ago. I will add the address to this cover and get it into the mail to him today.

The other fellow in this equation, Bruce Schank, who has a fabulous web site and collection of Ball Fruit jars (including the Odd Ball) will be getting a similar Thank You from me with a slight delay in it being posted. I have a show opening at the Custer County Art & Heritage Center in Miles City, Montana this coming Sunday. I have been asked to do a live demonstration of my art, and I intend to complete Bruce's cover during the opening reception.

Did I mention that I owe a debt of gratitude to both of these gentlemen? They've been very gracious in sharing with me not only their time, but gifting me the paper and taking numerous photographs for me. I'd like to thank them properly, and perhaps one of these days I will - in person.

The other person I'd like to thank is Marianne Dow. She put us all together in one way or the other.

Art Show Success PFF#39 Contest

 The Western Heritage Art Show was a success for me. It opened  Wednesday  the 16th at 7:00 PM with awards for the Lobby Show in which all sixty-two of us were allowed to enter one piece. I put the Pinned Ball Wizard in the lobby show, and hindsight tells me that I shouldn't second guess jurors, and I won't - next year. It wasn't a piece of Old Paper Art and probably should have been.

The rooms opened at the same time, and after being opened for ten minutes, I'd sold a piece. The same thing happened last year, when I sold a piece that I had included in  my ad in the program.

Thursday was just as good, and in fact the piece that I completed for the Quick Finish event  (a piece of mail art) in the evening sold for more than it sold for last year. The gentleman who purchased the piece brought it up to my room after the event and returned it to me. Charlie Russell's birthday was Saturday, and since I got my start by looking at his mail art over fifty years ago, I took it to the Russell Post Office on Saturday morning and had it canceled and then shipped it to its new home in Idaho.

Friday was another successful day in the room with two more pieces selling, and the piece I did for the Paint-Around in the evening sold for more than I thought it would. The event involved working with six other pieces and six other artists, with 10 minutes at the end of an hour to complete (or repair) your piece and frame it.  Below is a photo of me holding the completed piece before it was auctioned. I came in a disguise.

Fwench Awtist

Saturday was a big day for me. Two more pieces sold, but the highlight of the day was a visit from the author Jamie Ford that I posted about on Monday.

With the room open only from eleven until four on Sunday, I still managed to sell one piece. We were tired after being there until 10:00 PM every day, but I was wearing a big smile.

Now for the contest. 

The images at the top above are Thank You's for six of the pieces I sold.  I've posted about all of them, but not all of them are recent.  Add a comment to this post naming the titles of the blog posts for which these Thank You's were created. The first one to post the titles (or the dates they were posted) gets a piece of mail art. Happy Hunting! And make certain that you stop by The Best Hearts Are Crunchy where Beth Niquette hosts Postcard Friendly Friday. I'm sure you'll enjoy more postcard eye candy both old and new!