You Never Know

You never know where your mail art will end up.....I spied a piece of my mail from 2010 in a gallery at SFMOMA.

The mail art was displayed on a large piece of glass you you could see both sides of it -- what a great way to display it. I wish I could do this at home.

The Snap + Share Show up up at SFMOMA and if you are in the Bay Area and like mail art I suggest you go see it.
Check the SFMOMA website to see how long it will be up - it just opened so it will be a while.

Here's my contribution......funny....it doesn't like like what I do now but it was sure fun to see it hanging there...

Lots of mail art from the collection of John Held, Jr

My feeling exactly.

I really enjoyed her work....

Moyra Davey

Moyra Davey

Of course Ray Johnson was represented...

On Kawara

There it was again in the New York Times today.....this is fun.
Send Good Mail -- Get Good Mail
You never know where it might end up!

Time Out (For Art)

I needed an antidote to all the holiday hustle and bustle and what better place than
SFMoma and Robert Rauschenberg?
It was delightfully uncrowded. I think everyone must have been out holiday shopping.

Many times people ask me things like "How do I learn about collage (or art)?" and I tell them what they told me at art school -- look at A LOT of art -- as much as you possibly can.
You educate your eye by looking...and looking.
If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in mixed media art, you really don't want to miss this one.

Talk about re-purposed art -- this is it!

Detail

Detail
Rauschenberg was a master at layering -- and using repurposed  ephemera in his work -- you can see newspapers and magazine pages embedded in some paintings..and there was a sock in one too...and a dime in another..

Detail
I love the bits of paper layered under paint..
and the colors...

He started a lot of things....

These two I really wanted to take home with me....they are very large...there is no sense of scale in the photo...ok, if I have to I will just take one...

Another favorite -- it is large too...

Silk screened. Mixed media lovers -- look and learn.

Detail

There were lots and lots of these pieces - all different - zippered together and on three walls.

Detail
I love this.....I left feeling happier and inspired and wanting to go back and look at everything again.
GO if you can. And, if you can't, maybe check out books of his work from the library.
You will be glad you did.
An art break with five artist friends. And, a Japanese lunch.
Can't beat it.

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

Art, More Art & Food

The last week has been pretty great around here. I wish you all could join in the fun  here but I bet you are all having your own fun.
Saturday was an art field trip from SF to Sacramento CA -- my pick up time was 7AM! I am NOT a morning person -- just ask the other three who were in the car with me!

My friend Monica and her sisters and old friends have had a yearly art  and crafting meet-up and I have been lucky enough to be invited along the past two years. It is too much fun!
We shop at places like SCRAP or book sales, we craft, we have show and tell and we eat.

This year my talented pal Monica brought a big box of stamps she made using a die cutter, freehand, pieces of plexi and sticky back foam from Michaels. They were so much fun to stamp with. Some folks stamped the designs on tote bags but I made my pages for my altered book.
Now I really, really want Monica to help me make a bunch of these stamps for ME.

I loved seeing all the recycled papers on the work tables and all the different things everyone made.
This is an incredibly creative group I can tell you..

Even the trash was pretty nice. We had to clean the stamps with baby wipes so the ink pads wouldn't get all muddy.

Did I mention food?
Lots of wonderful salads and fruit and dips and crackers......thanks to Tracy & Melissa.

The very next day, Sunday, was the SF Correspondence Co-Op's 5th birthday party!
Five wonderful years of monthly mail art get togethers. I've made such good friends from the group. That first meeting, organized by the one and only Jennie Hinchcliff, seems like just yesterday.

Of course here was food.....

And sangria.......

And, friends and socializing....

There was an artistamp for our passports.....

There was a raffle...and a swap table.

And some of the folks even wrapped gifts to pass out...
I am looking forward to the next five years of mail art meetings and friends. As I've said before, I highly recommend starting up a mail art group of your own.

Friday I went to a fabulous show of collages by two local SF artists at
Inclusions Gallery
The artists are Mark Faigenbaum and Kim Smith. If you are local, I highly recommend the show.
And Kim has a pretty great book out (used on Amazon) too.
(The above collages are Kim's)

These are some of Mark's. I would like to have them all if anyone wants to buy me one.
After that I went to the soon to be reopened SFMOMA on a special tour given by two pals who work there.It was so amazing I didn't even take any photos and that is a first. It is huge, filled with art and the store is great too. I'm just saying. 
GO
if you can get to SF. 

Today I just had to kick back and think about all the art I've seen in the last few days.
And, I did have to eat lunch. There is something so wonderful about being with other friends and making art together and going and looking at art together.
I am so inspired.
I need to stick around my studio for a few days now and get busy and make things.
But -- being out with all my friends is addictive -- I am planning the next adventure in my head now.

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL