a horse from finland

This postcard from a Finnish postcrosser reminds me that spring and the Kentucky Derby are not far away.

sticking with the blues

A postcrosser in Taiwan sent this blue view of Sun Moon Lake.

zunftschild in dresden

Now this is a good sign. The postcard is courtesy of a postcrosser in Germany.

ultra-altered card from germany

This altered card came from a German postcrosser named Astrid, who pasted over the original card, a view of Dortmund, then added stenciled designs and greetings. Simple, direct and transforming.

altered card from lithuania

The photo looks like Bryant Park in New York but the card came from Lithuania. The sender altered it by adding the blue bird and maybe something else (there's a sticky-looking splotch over the big tree on the left) that came off en route.

the milky way express

This postcard shows Giovanni and Campanella, the two main characters in Ginga tetsudono yoru (A night on the milky way express) by fave writer Miyazawa Kenji. In the story the two are boys but this illustration probably takes a hint from an animation of the tale which pictured them as cats. I'm sending the card to a cat lover.

starry nights

I saw Hale-Bopp several times from my now-gone house in Tono. For that matter, I saw the Pleiades, too. I found these postcards earlier today while searching through a basket of clutter. Both photos are by Hirohisa Matsumoto.

irises from japan

A Tono friend sent this spring greeting. It's as springlike in Tono as it is here. Snowdrops have just appeared from under the snow.

Baseball Card Call for Entry

Here's a fun call for entry:

CALL FOR ENTRIES -- "CARDBOARD FETISH"

In July 2009, in conjunction with its 11th Annual Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day, the Baseball Reliquary will present "Cardboard Fetish," a major exhibition celebrating baseball trading cards, past and present. The exhibition will be held at the Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, California. A major component of the exhibition will be a display of original and one-of-a-kind baseball trading cards designed by artists.

The Baseball Reliquary is now accepting submissions for this unique exhibition in any format: original drawings, altered or manipulated cards, collages, computer-generated, etc.

GUIDELINES

Submission Deadline: June 15, 2009
Exhibition Dates: July 6 - July 31, 2009
Up to three trading cards may be submitted for display.
Due to space limitations, we request that cards be no larger than 8-1/2" x 11" (standard trading card format is 2-1/2" x 3-1/2").
Cards may be sent either framed or unframed.
There is no submission fee, and cards will be returned upon conclusion of the exhibition, with the Baseball Reliquary covering the return shipping costs.
At least one trading card from each artist will be exhibited; if space allows, up to three cards from each artist will be shown.
Please mail trading card(s) to:The Baseball Reliquary, Inc.,P.O. Box 1850, Monrovia, California 91017
For additional information, contact Terry Cannon, Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary, by phone at (626) 791-7647 or by e-mail atterymar@earthlink. netwww.baseballreliqua ry.org

more stamps from japan

Fluxus/St Louis Mailart Call

Received this Mailart call from Keith A. Buchholz:

Call For Art :
Send us your Mailart, Fluxus, Sound Work, Visual Poetry, Images, Books, Objects, Etc……In Conjunction with the Open Studio Tours of Fluxus/St. Louis, sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. We are hosting a Mail art exhibition. All works will be shown. No limits. Please send work by July 1st, 2009. Exhibition will take place July 25/26, 2009 with Additional Venues to Follow. All work will be permanently archived at Fluxus/St.Louis. Documentation to all participants.Send work to:

Fluxus St. Louis
c/o Keith A. Buchholz
4615 Oregon Ave.
St. Louis, Mo. 63111 U.S.A

eros, c'est la vie

From Los Angeles, mrpotani sent this Man Ray photo of Marcel Duchamp as his alter ego, Rrose Selavy. Duchamp chose the name because it sounded like "Eros, c'est la vie."

gelatin print

Friend Sandy is having fun experimenting with gelatin printing. This postcard is a by-product.

ruokapaketti

This flowery greeting came from Finnish postcrosser Carita. The original is by Raija Nokkali and is called Ruokapaketti, which means food package. Some of us, I guess, eat flowers.

schluchsee lake

Elisabeth, a German postcrosser, sent this snowy view of Schluchsee Lake. Alas, the bits she added to alter the card were pretty much sacrificed to the bar code machine. Thanks for the effort!

la serenissima

An Austrian postcrosser named Karin sent this annotated card from a recent trip to Venice.

love-crazed cat

My plans for the day fell apart and I ended up making more altered cards while listening to the Phillies on the radio from Clearwater. I used a card advertising an exhibition a couple of years ago in San Francisco for this one. I'm sending it to Poland. Hope it doesn't get stuck in the mail!

penciled eggs

I made this postcard from a manipulated photo I took of some eggs in the refrigerator. I love the pink, blue, green, and mottled shells of these eggs, which I get from a neighbor's daughter. She's been keeping chickens now for several years.

narva

This pretty stamp from Estonia features a romantic view of the castle in Narva.

jazz faves

John Coltrane at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival.

Thelonius Monk in a 1969 photo.

Two postcards from the archives feature two of my favorite musicians.