two more to go

Craypas have taken over.

star faces

A cute card from a three-year-old Dutch postcrosser named Eva (her mom sends cards for her) carried some cool stamps. Great mom you've got, Eva! I loved the message, too: "The sun is shining and I'm going to go outside to play with my friend!"

the cards that came with them

Here are the cards that carried the stamps below. The top one is a photo from a Brazilian postcrosser named Jessica, a student who likes photography. The shot is of her town square, a popular place, she writes, to walk and talk. The bottom one, from Mrpotani, advertises an ice cream shop in San Francisco that offers offbeat flavors, such as olive oil, chai chili lime, white miso, blood orange, candied chestnut, and on into the night. That last is not a flavor, though there is one called secret breakfast. On her last visit to the shop, Mrpotani tried the brown butter and loved it.

stamps

The delivery guy (go, go, go) is from Brazil. the Arshile Gorky, with ice cream cone, is part of the fab Abstract Expressionism series recently released by the USPS.

lil picard

On at Grey Art Gallery, New York University, from April 20 to July 10: Lil Picard and Counterculture New York. It features paintings, sculptures, drawings, and collages, as well as journals, photographs, fashion journalism, and art criticism by artist and critic Lil Picard (1899-1994), who was active in the Downtown New York art scene in the 1950's, '60's, and '70's. An early feminist, Picard used multimedia installations to examine the trauma of the Vietnam War and other political issues.

cy decosse

Cy DeCosse, who takes mysteriously beautiful photos of flowers, has a show called Fifteen Flowers, at the Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis from April 9 to May 14. This card for the show came in the mail today and took my breath away. www.weinstein-gallery.com

chickens

Bits and pieces of this card kept dissolving along the way, turning it into something quite different from what I had envisaged it to be.

more tickets to ride

I'm still working on the pile of rail ephemera--and retrieving memories of trips past.

multiportrait

My British friend Carolyn sent this postcard, showing a joint mural made by members in one of her art classes. She writes that her effort was based on Modigliani. I think I got it. A great idea to turn the joint effort into a postcard, don't you think?

stamps

Just when I think the UK has the most boring stamps in the world, something comes in the mail to surprise me, like the dragon stamp at top. The other one is from Estonia. There must be some reason for the shape but I don't know what it is.

white tiger

Sandy Sapienza sent this handsome white tiger, a proof of a stencil she made in honor of the year of the tiger. Just when I was thinking I'd never get another tiger card again, today's mail surprises me.

levitating apple

A young Estonian postcrosser sent this postcard she picked up on a recent visit to Stockholm. She wrote that she didn't really understand what an altered card was but hoped this would qualify. She's got a fun, 'girly' kind of blog at www.bowtiediary.blogspot.com.

easter reproductions

Now's the time to send Easter cards. Once I send these two, I'll have just two more left from the wonderful collection of Easter reproductions put out some years ago by Darling & Co.

take the train

One things leads to another, especially when I start going through train-related ephemera collected on travels. I would love to be on that Prague-Budapest run right now. Or even skip "trough" Prague and go straight to Budapest.

the hallucinogenic toreador

Lynn B sent this Dali postcard, of a painting called The Hallucinogenic Toreador.

color print

This postcard collage was prompted by a cache of b&w photo prints that reminded me of my photo shop in Tono. I can only assume that, as with my photo shops here, it's now out of business. Who'd a thunk it?

strike up the band

For many years now friends Jody and Yue have used a card created by their daughter Vera for the family New Year's card. I didn't expect one this year so it was a total surprise to open this "very belated" card in today's mail, complete with a note from the artist--and wishes for a harmonious 2010. Another welcome harbinger of spring!

stamps

I like all of these stamps but the two at top, of Chekhov and a fox, get the gold star.

old mail

A Finnish postcrosser made this evocative card, on the theme of 'old mail', using bits and pieces from the 2009 Helsinki Historical Calendar. She said that the calendar was too amazing to throw away and she used it to make cards. This one incorporates a New Year greeting. All of the text is in Swedish. Lovely, lovely!

life is short

This amusing card came from a German postcrosser, who wrote that she can hardly wait for spring so that she can get back into the garden. Thanks for the laugh!

thatched house from bobrivnyk

There's nothing like a thatched house. I know, I used to live in one. This card, from a postcrosser in Khabarovsk, Russia, shows a house in the village of Bobrivnyk. She also affixed a Russian bus ticket to the back of the postcard. Love it!

jug hollow

Lynn (below) also sent this card showing a 1927 woodcut called Jug Hollow. It's by wood sculptor Wharton Esherick, whose hilltop studio/residence in Paoli, Pennsylvania, is now a musuem. Esherick's motto was, "If it isn't fun, it isn't worth doing." Lynn, who did woodworking herself, is a big Esherick fan.

bata shoe museum

Friend Lynn Berkowitz sent this card from the Bata Shoe Museum on a recent trip to Toronto.

congee to tenderloin

These are two of ten cards Mrpotani picked up at various shows in San Francisco and used to send a long message. She numbered the cards one to 10 and mailed them together. Amazingly, they all arrived here in the same mail delivery. I picked two faves to post.

postmuse

PostMuse sent this collage card, a subtle advertisement for her site. Check it out.

ocean city post office

Driving into Ocean City, Maryland, early Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't help but see this signpost advertising the local post office.

The post office, too, crisply carried out the maritime blues and whites befitting a seaside resort.

postcard posters by the seaside

In Ocean City, Maryland, on Wednesday, I saw these posters just off the boardwalk. Made from blown-up images of vintage postcards, they were definitely eye-catching.

mailbox in the snow

A belated image from one of several snowstorms last month. Amazingly, the mail was delivered throughout.

fiberart international

From April 16 to August 22, the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh is holding its triennial show Fiberart International, featuring contemporary fiber art by 84 artists from 14 countries. www.fiberartinternational.org.

tasha tudor tulips

Uchida Kahoko, who works in the Ayaori post office, sent this postcard of Tasha Tudor tulips. She writes that the wild coltsfoot are out and tasting good in tempura. Makes my mouth water.

lesley dill: paper and bronze

Paper and Bronze, at the George Adams Gallery in New York until March 27, features new work by Lesley Dill. I haven't made it to NY of late but Dill's work is always worth a look. The cast bronze piece shown, called Rapture, stands 72 inches high.

olga bajusova

Friend Olga Bajusova is having a show of her enchanting illustrations, animation storyboards, etchings, and other work from her portfolios at the WNY Book Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. The show runs till April 10. Her husband Jozef Bajus emailed that a March 13 showing of the Slovak animation Strigonove Vianoce (Christmas Wizard), which features illustrations and sets by Bajusova, was a great success. Congratulations, Olga!

fashion show

The Bethlehem Area Public Library is advertising a benefit fashion show and luncheon on April 28 with postcards. I was lucky to get hold of a couple,as they're now all gone. Let's hope that means lots of money for some of the struggling libraries of cash-strapped Pennsylvania!

censored klimt

A French postcrosser cleverly altered this postcard poster by Gustav Klimt and wrote: Imagine living in a time when Klimt made the posters for the next art exhibition. Most of her message, though, was about her fascination for Leipzig, which this year marks the 325th birthday anniversary of Bach and the 200th of Schumann.

passport

A Polish postcrosser altered a postcard of the Sydney Opera House to make an international statement.