Bella Italia (Part One)

Venice Postcards for sale -- and Boots for the Tidal Flooding

I'm back from my trip and have lots of photos to share with all of you. I did buy postcards
and I did have to buy some rubber boots for the flooding
but we were lucky enough to leave the very day before the major flooding.
I was so sorry to read about it and hope all the wonderful little shops, cafes
and restaurants I visited survived without too much damage.

Paper Shop
Just look at this wonderful little paper shop -- filled with marbleized papers and all
kinds of beautiful things made with it.  

You can just bet I was drooling at this window....and planning what I'd like to buy.

Onside --- rack after rack of marbleized papers....I know some of you are getting
jealous by now.

Don't get too jealous --  the shop was
CHIUSO
That's right - closed. Sometimes life is just not fair. And trust me, I wasn't about to take the
vaporetto  and then a bus to another town no matter how tempting that paper was.

This kind of emergency calls for a drink -- maybe a small glass of Limoncello?

Even with that disappointment it was pretty easy to find other paper, pen and stationery shops
all around...I happen to have the most fabulous tour guide in the world
(mio marito)

Often just looking at everything is enough for me...but I did pick up some pretty labels
here.

Fountain pens?

Little kits with pens, ink, sealing wax and seals?

Maybe some cards?

More pen nibs and seals -- I am becoming tempted...and they are small enough to
easily fit inside a suitcase. A suitcase you must tug along behind you on the boats and the streets
and the raised boardwalks over the flooding because there are absolutely no cars
in Venice. Just saying.

So then I got this really great idea --- when I saw the laundry hanging out over the canals
looking so pretty I thought -- "What about a  Cristo-like mail art installation with mail hanging on all those clothes lines instead of laundry?"  A good idea, si?
I'm sure it is -- not I just have to figure out how to apply for a grant to do it.
And hope none of the mail art falls into the canal.

Jet lag is really starting to set in around here at my house. I could sure use a shot of
cappuccino - or espresso - or hot chocolate. I'd like one of those machines but what I'd really like is to go to bed.....

We can blame any mistakes here on the 14-plus hours plane ride home from Istanbul
yesterday.

I have mail boxes and post boxes and all sorts of other things to report on. And then there is Istanbul.
So, stayed tuned.

Ciao.

Per ricevere i messaggi buono -, è necessario inviare una mail buono!

Life's Little Adventures

OUTGOING
Creepy Halloween-inspired handmade envelopes.....
are there tricks inside?
Or treats?

Stack of Outgoing Mail
I have really been busy sending out lots of mail...keep the post office in business and
keep me out of trouble...
plus, as we all know, you've got to send good mail to get good mail.

Outgoing
Collaged postcards

OUTGOING
Handmade envelopes with little treats tucked inside...and apples from my apple tree.
(Yes, there was pie)

OUTGOING
More outgoing (I told you I've been busy) -- collaged postcards and another creepy envelope.
Creepy in a good way.

INCOMING
Not to complain, but last week wasn't a real great mail week -- except -- all this arrived on Friday
and that was a good mail day.
One day my mail was delivered at 7:40PM! Can you believe it? I have to say, I think that really
is way too late.
And after waiting all day long for it to come, I didn't get anything good.

INCOMING
Three collaged postcards, loaded with stamps, have arrived from New Delhi, India.
I have a friend living there for several months and she is making mail art
and taking cooking lessons -- so I am hoping for an Indian dinner when she gets back (are you listening DD?)

Correspondence Co-Op Meeting
on Wednesday night. Always fun. Getting my passport stamped with artistamps
is just part of the fun....

Seeing Catwrangler's fabulous postal bag was another highlight....

Show and Tell is always fun too - CW made a stamp-carving zine and brought in some
Eraser Stamps that can be used for carving rubber stamps...
I'm going to have to try making some..

Happy Halloween
So all you ghouls and goblins...in case I don't see you...have a
Happy Halloween.

Washi decorated luggage tag with air mail ribbon on suitcase..
I just can't leave well enough alone, can I?
I think the tag and suitcase look much better with postal trim.

Now everybody -- mail me something back!

249 "followers"?
Who will be lucky number 250?

POSTCARDS FROM THE ROAD NEXT!

Travelin' But Not Light

Turkish Airlines Postcard

I'm getting myself ready for a trip! But I'm afraid I just don't travel light.
I try.
Really, I try but what about art supplies? My journals?
Camera?

Airline Stickers --
Wake Me Up For Food??? Oh yes!

My friend Christine H sent these to me today and I had to laugh --
what do you do? Stick one on your forehead in case you asleep on the plane?
Why no "Wake Me Up for the Drink Cart"? or"Wake Me Up When We Land?"
I can think of quite a few ideas.
So funny, thanks Christine.

Absolutely no idea of what clothes to pack but I cleared off my work table
to work on getting some travel journals started....
first things first, right?

Large Travel Journal
I'm combining both countries I'm visiting into one journal,
Turkey (Istanbul) and Italy.
I found some wonderful old postcards of Istanbul when it was still called
Constantinople.
I'm adding old maps and the vintage cards now and all the rest while traveling...

Two Mini Journals
I made a small mini for each country. I've been writing notes in them like addresses and info. I plan on carrying one around with me when out and about.

The (mini) Italian
embellished with a lovely stamp.

Vintage Turkish Postcard

What else have I been doing besides obsessing packing, art supplies, weather, etc?
Well, I took up a challenge from
Karen of I Am Rushmore and Mail Me Some Art
and last night I had fun making some duct tape booklets. These are really quick and dirty
(as some say) and quick and fun to make.
I'm thinking they would be fun to make while traveling using
"foreign" papers and ephemera. 

Here's an inside page.........

Chinatown Photo/Collage/Book Project

I've also been working on my Chinatown project (it is an ongoing one).
I am making a series of books of photos, joss paper, collage and vintage Chinese booklets.
And those chopsticks are made of paper.
Pretty cool, don't you think?

Another Page....
I think I should put this project aside and figure out what clothes to pack though...

Chinatown lunch - Clay Pot Chicken

I found an old test from an Italian class I took -- with a B on it.
Not bad -- too bad I have forgotten everything.


Any of you out there have any great restaurant tips for Istanbul or Venice, Italy?
Any helpful hints?
Anyone want to come over and help me figure out what to pack?
Can anyone tell me how to pack light????

Send Good Mail --- Get Good mail

High Temperature Equals Lull in Mail Art

OUTGOING Origami Booklet
Maybe Kelly P has gotten this already...this was a fun booklet to make
and fill with a letter and a few surprises.

OUTGOING ALICE Envelope
This time to someone other than Alice!

OUTGOING Origami booklet with many pages
for Planet Susannia in Germany

I hope she enjoys all the pages inside

Here's a look at one but I don't want to spoil the surprise and show all the pages.

OUTGOING collaged postcards....

It is a good thing I did all this BEFORE the 90" heat hit the usually cool grey city of San Francisco.
It sure isn't cool now and we are not amused.

FREE APPLES in my studio today..
My very prolific and organic apple tree is giving me more apples than i can use up.
I guess I could stick a stamp on a few and mail them off
but instead I gave bags of them to my friends who visited my studio today.
You know who you are!

LUNCH

It's never too hot for lunch -- this was Saturday's lunch -- but there was lunch today with the above-mentioned friends too.

Come in to my back room in my studio....and just sit for a while....it is way too hot to do anything else....

....except maybe sort a few stamps while drinking something cold...

or maybe work half-heartedly on my travel art kit for the upcoming trip....

Trust me -- it is way too hot in SF. I think I will just kick back and think about FOG.
But I have sent a lot of mail out and as soon as it cools off I'll get busy again..

In the meantime -- I love hearing from all of you.
How about some cool comments?

PS--It was 98!!!!

UPDATE: back to 64" and I'm back to mailart. And here is a link to
Planet Susannia
showing the fabulous NYC origami booklet she made from my tutorial.  And here are the pages inside her origami booklet I love her work.
For those who asked -- GinaVisione and Texas Leigh -- put Origami Booklet into the search box on the left  and you'll see OK YOU ASKED -- my tutorial on how to make them.
And have fun!

                                                                           

My Day with Dave and Other Postal Stories.....US Post

A Random US Post Office...
I picked up this snapshot at a thrift shop yesterday and it got me wondering...
Who took this photo? Why?
In my experience, only mail artists run around taking photos of post offices and
mail boxes.
I am curious about the story behind this shot but I guess I'll never know.
I can make something up!

Hand Canceling With Dave

One of my happiest postal memories is an afternoon I spent at the Valley Ford, CA
Post Office with
Postmaster Dave Bordessa.
He let me cancel all my own letters and a few others too...
I was in heaven.

Canceling in Action
Dave is keeping a strict eye on me as you can see.

This was in the 80's and you will have to excuse the bad perm..

Dave's daughter EB

One of my best pals was -- and is -- Dave's daughter Elvera.
Here she gets to cancel a few stamps too but you can just tell she wasn't as
over-excited as I was.
She has put up with a lot from me over the years...

(Happy Birthday today EB!)

Hum....do you think Dave is counting his stamps and making sure I didn't sneak off with any?

Dave was a lovely man and well liked by everyone in the small town of Valley Ford. His wife Edith was a fabulous cook who would make great Italian feasts and host wonderful dinners, including a number for the artist CHRISTO and his wife while they were in the area working on the Running Fence. I was invited to some of the feasts too.
Sadly the tiny Valley Ford Post office is just exactly the type of the USPS is trying to close today.
A wonderful part of US history that is changing and in my opinion, not for the better.

POSTMASTER RETIRES
and Valley Ford just won't be the same.
Dave and Edith are gone now but I know their memories live on  in many people who knew them
and enjoyed their warmth and hospitality.

Irish-American Pen Pals Meet

Oh yes...something else from my postal past....I have had many pen pals over the years
and this one, Louise Maxwell came over from Ireland to spend a summer with me and my family.
We had a blast. I visited her years later in Ireland too.
Another pen pal I had (who knew Louise) was Sue Brent. She casually wrote "My father George Brent is an actor"
and I was not in the least impressed...if she knew the Rolling Stones yes...
I mentioned this to my mom who who was VERY impressed. I guess George Brent was well known to her generation.

And yes, my hair was blond back in the day. The perm...the blond...The less said the better.

I have always -- always -- loved mail. I don't really know why but my mom also loved to write and receive letters so maybe it runs in the family?

And my mom...now there is another postal story waiting to be told...

What are your stories?

Send Good Mail -- Get Good Mail