Next Stop Atlantic

I am sending this card by photographer Stephen Mallon to a Dutch postcrosser who likes ships and water. This gorgeous photo was part of an exhibition called "Next Stop Atlantic," which I saw in New York City a year ago. The series showed out-of-service subway cars being dumped into the ocean. More photos from the show can be seen here: http://stephenmallon.com/#/Photography/Next%20Stop%20Atlantic/1/. This series got quite a lot of press, including an article in Juxtapoz. I hope the recipient will love the imagery as much as I do. 

We Are Family

Love this family of wild boar from a Belarussian postcrosser! My father used to hunt boar in Japan and the color of these animals remind me of a vest he got made from one of his trophies. 

Shrimp on the Line

An interesting altered postcard from a Dutch postcrosser. I like the swirly doodles on this card. It seems like this prehistoric man is fishing for shrimp with a line. The drawings carry the water theme effectively. 

Image and Word

Two cards from two Chinese countries using image and word. The lovely papercut card is from China and I love the heart sticker the postcrosser affixed. The papercut itself spells out the word "Fuk" as does the character on the right. I thought "blessed" was an interesting translation. I had associated it more with good luck but I prefer "blessed."

The card below is from Taiwan. The postcrosser explained that this card celebrates a story in 277 BC when a famous poet and minister fell into the water. The people threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves to the fishes so the poet wouldn't be devoured. The custom continues today of eating bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings on the fifth day of the fifth month. Sweet!

20 Years of Belarus Stamps

Here's a colorful postcard from Belarus that commemorates 20 years of stamps from that country. On the reverse side the postcrosser's 18 month-old son drew a cute bunny rabbit over a colorful wash of paint. Very sweet, and so was the red chicken stamp. 

Sunshine Kitty Cat

Summer has arrived in San Francisco! It's pea soup fog and chilly. This sunny postcard from a cat-loving postcrosser in Hong Kong is the perfect antidote for our damp Sunday. Actually, I love fog and cold summers.  

Cossack Poste

A Ukrainian postcrosser sent a card titled "As Cossacks wrote a postcard to the Turkish Sultan."  This cartoon is based on a painting by Elias Repin titled, "Zaporozhian Cossacks of Ukraine Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan." The original painting is below:

Apparently in the 1660's the Turkish Sultan wrote a letter to the Cossacks demanding that they voluntarily submit to his rule. A most defiant letter was mailed back to him.

Successful Repurposing

I love this card created by a Russian postcrosser. She said that she doesn't like city views but felt she needed to buy a set when she first started Postcrossing. More than half the cards were yucky and she put them away in her desk. My request for altered cards was a perfect reason for her to resurrect and transform them. cards. The end result is absolutely gorgeous and I am the lucky recipient. She asked how I came up with the idea of altered cards. It is precisely to inspire postcrossers like her. 

Sparkling Metallic

Here's a handmade card from a Dutch postcrosser. I love the stickered quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The stickers and patterned tape look so European to me in both the color palette and motify. The only thing missing is a mushroom or two. I love this shiny card!

Remembering Deborah

Deborah Thomas, an artist on my board, passed away unexpectedly last year. Her Southern California chapter pulled together a lovely retrospective exhibition at Avenue 50 Studio.  Deborah was very involved in Eco-Art and created some very interesting installations. 

Transmissions and Super Heroes

I found two great 2007 Creativity Explored postcards in my box of old cards downstairs. The one on the left is for a show called "Transmissions," which featured a mail art exchange between CE artists and a similar group of developmentally disadvantaged artists working out of A Studio by the Tracks in Alabama. The bright yellow card on the right is for a show called Super Heroes/Super Villains, another delightful show at CE.

Stamps and Cancellations

Some pretty stamps and cancellations.I wonder how long before these lovely tokens of mail travel disappear? I have a passport full of cancellations from countries I visited. But today the immigration agents take fingerprints and photos of our travel weary faces and rarely stamp our passports. Without these markings in our books, our memories of exotic travel fade and we are left with nothing. 

Aloha

A vacation card from Stephen arrived yesterday. He's been facebooking about his Hawaiian adventures all week. Interesting how many of my friends are vacationing in either Hawaii or Italy right now. 

Walking Distance

Another lovely dance card from ODC. Alas I missed this festival this year but next year, when I am less encumbered, I intend to go see a lot more dance performances. And film festivals.  

Fly Girl

Interesting card from a Russian postcrosser.Without much explanation, I am free to weave a story. Somehow it brings to mind an ancient Japanese movie - Mothra vs Godzilla. Do you remember the twin girls with the magic voices? The fly girl could be their cousin. The man with the net will soon realize he is no match for her venomous stings.

Rainy Days and Mondays Never Get Me Down

This gorgeous reflection card was sent by a Ukrainian postcrosser. At age 19, she is a student and loves music and travel but hasn't visited many places yet. She looks forward to lots of travel in the future but right now she's happy spending all of her free time with her friends. She calls them the best people in the world. What a lovely sentiment! I hope that you'll share those positive vibes as you make your way into the world.

Something to Say

I think it would be a great idea to have a "Bring Your Dog to Work Day." On the back Canadian postcrosser Lukasz wrote 3 reasons why I'm fabulous: 1)Yr. left index finger 2) Yr thumbs 3) Yr eyebrows

Hmm...these are parts of my body I've never considered as assets. However, I just lost my favorite brow groomer so am in the market for a replacement!

 This card was a joint effort by the children of a Brazilian postcrosser. The two kids wrote: "We think it's (altering postcards) very strange and you're cool! But we find that crazy too.

This sleepy time card is from a Dutch postcrosser. It's a romantic notion. I have slept in a bed similar to this during my travels. It is a torture bed. It is too narrow and the pillow keeps falling off. In the morning you wake up completely stiff from trying to hang on and not fall off. I did not dream of cupcake bushes and butterflies.

Outlines and Markers

Three cheerful cards from three different countries. The cat card above is from Tatiana in Belarus. Although this wasn't an altered card, I love the use of black outlines around a colorful design.  The middle card is from Daniela in Austria. It's a simple yet lovely alteration using a marker to outline the roses and a heart sticker. These simple changes transform the roses into stainglass forms. The bottom card is from Magdalena in Poland. This is her first altered cvard, again using a marker. 

Calligraphy and Narcissus

What a lovely combination of poetry and narcissus bulbs. I love the uprooted roots that look so robust yet evoke the impermanence of life.

Bangalore Post Office

No message from this postcrosser in India. However, an internet search reveals that the North Karnataka Postal Region is part of the Karnataka Postal Circle Organization in Bangalore. It is rare to get a postcard from India and this faded card looked like it had baked in the sun.

Backs

Sometimes the backs of cards are exciting, as these recent examples show. The top card includes a self portrait by a Chinese postcrosser. The lower card shows a beautiful composition of words and image by another Chinese postcrosser.

Some Lovely Stamps

Introductions

Creativity Explored always sends fabulous postcards publicizing their shows. This one is in honor of their 30th anniversary. The works are by Keenan Dietiker, Steven Liu, Marcus McClure and Kate Thompson, four artists under age 30. 

Vampire in the Sky

A striking vertical card from a South Korean postcrosser. She writes that she likes a book titled "The Bird Who Drinks Blood." The woman could be a witch or vampire.  Interesting that the clouds have fishes swimming beneath them. I like her imagination!

Pink Snake

A kiss snake from a Belarussian postcrosser. It is one of the few snake cards I've received this year. On the reverse side she left a lipstick kiss.

Femininity

The top card was sent by Susan. What delicious pink shoes! I've always had a soft spot for pink suede shoes, soft as butter. I also love pleated skirts, though my favorite color for that is ivory. I still remember the lovely pleated skirt worn by a young Jeanne Moreau in the film Jules et Jim. The lower card was sent by a Ukrainian postcrosser. She says that this is her first hand made card. I love the asymmetrical pink ribbon and the foam butterfly & flower.

Platter of Delights

A gorgeous hand-woven card from a postcrosser in the Ukraine. He took apart two cards, then wove them together. I love the fact that he left spaces so that the card has a real textural quality about it. It's a magical, abstract platter of pastries and sweets. He says he likes to travel, particularly to hike the mountains with his wife and young son. I am so impressed with the beauty of this card!

Celebrating the Body

Missed this fashion show put on by Kearny St Workshop but I did get their nifty card. KSW is an Asian Pacific Islander nonprofit that operates in our building. Their arts cover a range from fine art to performance to music to fashion. I love their programming and appreciate the broad range of Asian talent in the Bay Area.

Harry Potter - NOT!

This Dutch postcrosser is not a fan of dark things and that includes Harry Potter. She altered this card to make it bright and cheerful with stickers and tape. Quite an interesting alteration, I must say!

Paradise

It is rare to receive a card from a postcrosser in Indonesia so I was delighted to find this card with the lovely picture of Balinese dancers. She is from Bogor, north of Bandung. The stamp is lovely too, depicting paddy fields. I visited Bandung years ago with a friend born there. The card brought back sweet memories of that trip and all my dear friends there.

Ikea Card

A lovely card and stamp from a French postcrosser. She's a big Ikea fan and so am I. I had seen Ikea cards online but this is the first received. Too busy to bop over to Ikea right now but I wonder if they're available State-side?