Altered Pets

The top card is from a Ukranian postcrosser who drew all over a conventional card. The cat's body is strangely distorted. The bottom card from a Dutch postcrosser who purchased a card of a dog dressed up like a bee. The dog looks so sad...

Dragon

I love this dragon card created by a Japanese postcrosser. She used a dragon New Year card and drew the green tail on the right side. The stamps she used on the reverse was fabu as well.

Birthday

Two handmade cards from the remaining FIPS team. The top one is created by Susan and the bottom by Irma. We miss Frannie but the tradition continues. We went to a great all-day symposium on Latina artists at the Galeria de la Raza.

Garment Industry

I love this card from Slovenia that depicts a garment worker. It reminded me of my past life, inspecting factories for human rights violations. 

Lambing

 It must be time for lambs to be born in Europe. These arrived on the same day from two separate postcrossers. The top one is from the Netherlands and the bottom from Germany. Though unaltered, I really enjoyed these cards.

RSPCA

This Australian postcrosser created a doggy sticker card from an RSPCA postcard. These letters stand for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. So are we being cruel to this sweet pug? The leash implies his appetite needs to be held in check.

Size Matters

This cool announcement for a Peninsula WCA show was sent by Cosette Dudley. We've stayed in touch via mail, our preferred mode of connecting. Cosette is a fabulous artist - a printmaker, sculpture, and mixed media artist.

Lovingly Crumpled

This postcrosser from Hong Kong drew this picture on a plain card, then crumpled it before mailing it to me. I love texture she achieved. She writes that she is a wool crafter and likes making wooly pet memorials for pet owners.

Life is Sweet

This Lithuanian postcrosser said the translation of above is "Life is sweet...or not." I love the combination of chocolate and chile peppers - both New World delectables but now spread all over the world. Indeed life is bittersweet. 

Alien Ladies

This Dutch postcrosser rubbed the card all over the floor, then painted the three women on the scooter, then layered with tape. The sticker was contributed by her niece. I love the rubbed off effect.

Swimmy

A sweet duckling from a postcrosser in Germany. The writer hated to paint on the card. I noted that the sender posted an unaltered version of the card on Postcrossing.

Club Cards

These cards were left on my windshield yesterday. I think the top club indulges in some sort of kink games and the bottom one has to do with trannies impersonating famous rock stars from the 80's. 

Peops.org

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I picked up these cards from SOMArts the other day and thought they were cool Went to peops.org to see what they were about but the website is under construction.

Irregular Movie

This Russian postcrosser collaged a card, then put tape on top to preserve the pieces. It's quite a stunning piece. She lives in the Siberian city of Tyumen and enjoys going to the twice-year "Irregular Movie Festival." Why irregular? It's a festival of arthouse movies with subtitles (not dubbed) and viewers are denied the usual popcorn and beer. LOL. All the movies in the States are irregular too - beer is never on the menu.

Gawth!

Here's a funky altered card from a postcrosser in Australia. She is a young university student who likes altered cards. This one is pin-pricked, collaged, drawn on, and cut into. It's also an Australian version of Uncle Sam.  

Retro News Nuance

I love this collage card from an Indonesian postcrosser. This postcrosser writes that this card is the biggest effort in making a post card so far. In looking at her profile, I learned that she is a feminist and dreams of becoming a pro-diver. The text translates into "something good shouldn't be expensive."

Punk Vamp

 This Polish postcrosser created a gorgeous vampire punk card with glitter and paint, pen, stud and safety pins.

Sweet Post Office

A post office in Crested Butte, a small town in the Rockies.

Frannie

In March I lost one of my oldest & dearest friends, Franciska Diemont. She started feeling ill in December and was in and out of hospitals for a few months. I feel blessed that I lived close enough to spend time with her, especially her last week. Frannie, Susan, Irma and I formed a gang of 4 called "FIPS" and we celebrated each other's birthdays and Holiday tea every year. We gave up giving presents several years ago and decided that we would spend time with each other on our birthdays. This included making art in my studio, walking around a neighborhood, going to the Nutcracker, going to Mrs Grossman for a tour/sticker-buying or other fun activities. In December, we had a tradition of having a luxurious Japanese lunch, then walking around downtown to look at all the Christmas decorations and buy ornaments. Then in the late afternoon, we had a sumptuous tea at either the St. Francis, Sheraton Palace or the Ritz. We also reviewed last year's New Year Resolutions and wrote down the coming year's resolutions. True to our friendship,  Irma, Susan and I spent time together with Frannie during her last month.  Frannie was also one of my letter-writing, card-creating friends. I found this undated Thanksgiving card painted by her. It reflects her giggly sense of humor perfectly. 

Baseball Season

Derrick Dodson reminded me that baseball season starts this week. Lefty Grove played for the Philadelphia Athletics back in 1931. Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, then to Oakland in 1968. I am a huge Oakland A's fan and Jacqueline was a Philly fan. We co-hosted Diamondposte, a baseball blog, as well as Little Red. Thanks Derrick for this wonderful baseball card! I am off to see the pre-season match up of the A's vs Giants tonite.