Oh The Places I Go!!

Time for another art trip to Portland, Or. And I am having fun driving myself crazy...er...I mean, getting ready....
Of course I have to make things. Much more fun than figuring out the clothes to pack.

I need a travel journal....
This will do. I like green and I am going to the Uptown Stamp Show to forage through  postage stamps. But, it is kind of plain, don't you think?
SEE the last trip to Uptown Stamp Show here

Hummmmmm
This is better and Portland IS The City of Roses....

I really want this Cavallini paper to line the inside covers but no one in San Francisco seems to have it, And online shipping costs as much as the sheet of paper so I hope I will find it in Portland.

A little stamp action on the cover....

Altered Book From Previous PDX Trip here

And, I needed a tin to carry some art supplies. I am going to a letter writing social at
NOUN.
You can check it out right here

So, here is my book, ready to toss in my carry-on and work on  in PDX. I am hoping I can talk my PDX pals to work on a page to add to my book too....

Isn't this fun? I was browsing the Back-to-School supplies (would you expect any less?) and spotted these cool pocket dividers and I thought I could do something with them....
I cut them down and added them to my book and I can tuck in business cards and ephemera inside.

I prepped a few pages...

I think I will add a photo to this page later on.

My newly made tin is all packed up and ready to go.  My
HAVING A GREAT TIME
WISH YOU WERE HERE
rubber stamp comes in handy at a time like this.

I really don't bring much -- my altered book and tin plus double stick tape, glue sticks, washi tape on a ring and postcard backs.
I am pretty sure my PDX pals will share their art supplies with me if I am good.

And my address book, of course!
You CAN put addresses on your cell phone but I'm analog. 

So, here you go -- all packed up and ready to go. But clothes? Not so much...
This is the fun part of packing.
So, Karen and JJ and Miss Polly and Michelle -- get ready because I am coming!
See you all very soon.
And, I'll see the rest of you in the mail or back here at the blog when I get back.
Don't forget to check my IG photos @PamelaArtsinSF in the meantime.

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

GET GOOD MAIL

Dori Singh Mail (skippydori on IG)
As promised, here is some of my wonderful incoming mail. I love everything I get from my pal Dori....

Patti Martin (mysticartbypatti on IG)
Patti sends me all kinds of wonderful mail. She made me a BOOK this time....

...and all the pages are beautifully collaged....if I made this I'd want to keep it!

She included this postcard that I had sent her...so very fun to see it inside the book.

Adrienne Mason
Check out her great blog and collage adventure here
A wonderful collage and postcard from my pal Adrienne really cheered my mail box.

Christie JZ
Another cool handmade book arrived in the post from Christie...

And she also re-cycled some mail I sent to her, like this orange envelope. I loved getting it back.

Of course there is usually a postal theme in what I get since all my mail art pals know how I love mail.

Michele C (mbcano1 on IG)
Michele sent me a cool.....(I'm not entirely sure what to call it)....postal folder made of envelopes.
Just my type.

See? Very cool.

Tammy W (PaperTams on IG)
Tammy sent a little booklet with surprises inside.

Two rolo cards from PaperTams for my Rolo Art File.

Michelle G (@HoldDear on IG)
From the amazing Michelle Geller an airmail fantasy.....this was really a good mail day!!!

Virgo
From Virgo and Russia with Love
I love trading mail with Virgo in Russia. And this mail only took two weeks to get to me. That is fast. Sometimes mail from him has taken five weeks and I am a very impatient Aries so I don't like that.

Margarete (Margarete.Miller on IG)
From another special pal -- my first mail from Slovakia! She spent five weeks in Europe and sent mail from Slovakia and Vienna.....lucky me! But I'd be even luckier if I was there with her.

Even with all these numerous photos I haven't been able to include all the great mail I've gotten but each piece is very wonderful to receive and thanks to you all.
And, remember
SEND GOOD MAIL --  GET GOOD MAIL

What are you waiting for??????

Still Working?

I'm still working on the Altered Rolodex Card a Day project.....whew....not easy to think up something every day but so far so good...
wanna see a few?

March 2017 -- finished!

I try to use whatever is sitting around on my work table.....that's my excuse for how messy it is....but it works for me.

February 2017
Here are a few from February....

February 2017

March 2017

I saved my favorite (so far) for the end -- just look at those tiny little envelopes!
So cute.
My pal (you know it) Monica let me use her die cut machine to make them and I knew they would be perfect to stick on a rolodex card.
Don't you agree?
So, now on to April........

A Rolodex Card a Day Project
I think I will need at least two Rolodex files to hold them since they are quite bulky after I get finished with them.
Anybody out there making rolo cards too?

Still sending out a lot of mail too.....
SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

We Are Family

For various reasons, I have been thinking a lot about family lately.
Most likely because I just lost my beloved, ancient father in law. Some families are being split apart by politics and others by a member being deported.
When you lose someone, I think you start to realize how important it is to keep your loved ones close.
Your friends, your family, your tribe.

My career and first passion has always been photography. I had a Nikkormat in my hands when when I was just a kid and never put it down.
And, I collected vintage photos, tintypes and old albums for years and years. I just took a bunch of them out to look at some of those faces.
Someday someone at a flea market or vintage paper sale will probably be looking at my old photos someday (hopefully not too soon though).

I have a teeny tintype album given to me by my step-father (now gone) and he was so excited that it was dated March 25 because my birthday is March 26. I kind of have to laugh every time I look at that -- I mean, it is a day off -- so really.....
The rest of that date is 1874 and no, that isn't my birth year.

Don't you just wonder about all these people? What were their lives like?

Another thing that got me started thinking of family and photos is that a member of my mail art group brought a lot of his own family photos to the swap table. He said no one in his family wanted them and he thought (correctly) that those of us in the mail art group would certainly know how to put them to good use.
I used the photos in making collaged postcards and sending Jerry's family members all over the world...

Jerry's family sitting on lawn chairs in Spain -- I bet they didn't expect to find themselves there!

So, now I am inspired -- I've got out a bunch of old photos and glue and scissors and Rolodex cards and passports and I am getting to work.....

I'm sending JB, my lovely FIL, on a long fishing trip.....working on his passport is a good way for me to honor and remember him.

Have passport -- will travel

Thanks to all of you who comments on my last post. Your kind comments -- and the emails and cards -- were all very much appreciated.
It's been a rough few months and I've been sad but having my tribe sending kindness has most certainly helped. A lot.
And making art helps so I'm off to my work table....

SEE YOU IN THE MAIL!!!!