Heebee Post #619 - Wilma Duguay - Shigawake, Quebec - Canada

Hello dear Wilma, welcome back to the Affair! It has been a while since since this lovely lady has last been here - and on such a momentous occasion - her B-Day! You can see her in all her splendour, sipping Spanish Coffee at her favorite restaurant, d'Etale, somewhere on the southern coast of the Gaspe' Penninsula of Quebec (just above New Brunswick). She confesses to dancing to the point of dizziness and had to be shown to her chair by her sister. Someone still knows how to have some fun. You go girl!
Above is a snap of the gorgeous beach at Shigawake. As rough and formidable as the shoreline appears here, this beach can also be tranquil, serene and beautiful, even in it's utter remote ruggedness. Wilma is of a robust breed that is admired by the Affair.
Here, she is showing off a neat collection of Mail Art artifacts by some well known Artists. A great ATC of Che by Sam Montalvetti (Argentina) and various Fluxus stickers by Umberto Basso (Italy) and Artistamps by Antonio Moreno (Spain). Great stuff! Thanks very much my old friend - be seeing you in the post soon!

Heebee Post #618 - Lothar Trott - Zurich - Switzerland

The Affair is positively delighted to have received a double shot (2 ea.) of his uniquely passionate brand of Mail Art. The first envelope contained this lovely "Contributors / Docu #4: "A card is a card"" compilation of his ongoing Mail Art collecting project. Above, is the cover of the handsome booklet. Nice to see Lothar returning to mail art in such a grand fashion.
The documentation included my Fluxus red swimsuit girl. The booklet and it's layout are nicely put together.
I am really liking the carvings (Linoleum, Rubber, wood) these days. Nice one shown here by Dr. Brignone and I see some jumping wolf-bear creatures by the prolific Frips. I haven't carved anything for a couple of years and I am getting the itch for it. I have a worthy looking set of carving tools I just purchased for peanuts at a local garage sale a few weeks ago. I'll report on the results of that at a later time.
A nice spectrumed assortment of Artists compliment the collection - and I see my cousin 'Arty' (bottom left corner) is also present. I guess Lothar will let anybody into his project! Heh heh! Miss ya Gunter!
Every page of the documentation was splendorously done. Great work Lothar. And I must say, that it has made me quite happy to see you back in the saddle with such a new vigor. I hope you remain happy and healthy old man.
Seen above is a Roland Halbritter postcard that Roland had included in his magnificent "Post fur Otto" catalogue. Lothar has modified the card and sent it on to The Affair - It is meant to herald in his new mail art project: "Stop Boring Mail". Send something to Lothar -something lively I would say- and a periodical doc to all who participate. Something rather lively is already on it's way old friend!
Above is Lothar's Fluxus notation regarding "The Paperclip" and the human condition (Mail Art).
The decorated envelope is fabulous as well. PI-PA-PO and off we go! Love the Artistamps Lothar - very nice! Postage of the dreamy realm of Pokuland, Lothar's faux Fluxus/Dada kingdom.

The image seen above is a large A4 sized exciting poster that was the contents of the second envelope, seen below. Meant to be large Artistamps, you can certainly feel the fervor in which Lothar created the pair. Libya is such a mess just now........

Lothar, I am very happy to know you are doing well - very glad to have you visit old boy. Your work lately is just fantastic - keep it up! Thank you very much and let's keep the exchange going. See you in the post!

Heebee Post #617 - Coralette Damme - (The Crafty Hag) - St. Petersburg, Florida - USA

The incredible Crafty Hag returns to the Affair with this glorious carved block print. This is my favorite one I have seen by her and it is a noble looking and fanciful coat of arms. Wonderful work Coralette!

You know, I had just had a postcard returned today from St. Pete (sent to Coralette) because I had written "N.E." on her address instead of just "N." - and yes, it was returned "not deliverable" by the Post Office. Sorry old girl. I'll be sending another off to you in the immediate future. This print is fantastic, thank you very much! Check out her Mail Art site: Dread Lippencott's Menagerie. Be seeing you in the mail very soon!

Heebee Post #616 - Strelnikov - Fort Collins, Colorado - USA

The Affair welcomes first time visitor Strelnikov as he is finger-printed and booked into the Fluxus Bureau. . Looks like they caught him "red handed"! The chart looks great Mr. S. - thank you very much.

Heebee Post #615 - Xtina Solano - San Leandro, California - USA

This primitive amphibian emerges from a primordial jungle swamp - and he doesn't appear to be in a good mood! A surprising work sent in by Xtina that may have had unexpected results. In any event, this acrylic on cardboard is quite interesting to behold. Monstroso!
Xtina decorates the reverse side of her card with carved words. "Peace, Love, Art" (some of my favorite things, good thinking!). The Vanilla Wafers look good too! Thank you very much Xtina.

Heebee Post #614 - Roland Halbritter - Nuedlingen - Germany

Nothing short of a standing ovation should be in store for Roland's monumental "Post fur Otto" Mail Art documentation catalog. Otto von Bismarck - yes, the same one the famous WWII Battleship was named after - 19th century statesman and the German empire's first chancellor in 1871. This Mail Art project was wildly popular and it seems that just about everybody who is anybody in Mail Art is included in this handsome and very classy edition. Bravo Roland, Bravo!
The extraordinary response to the Halbritter mail call included Mail Art icons Denis Charmot (above), Luc Fierens, John Held Jr., Ivan Zemstov, Samuel Montalvetti and many others
All of the participants were shown in the fun to read catalog - fantastic!
William Philyaw's 'plate block' of von Bismarck artistamps is a super piece of work.
Dmitry Babenko's portraiture is noble and beautiful. Are the smaller ones ATC's meant for the Artomat machine at the Museum?
There certainly was a full spectrum of artworks to view at the wonderful exhibit in the Museum. The showing itself was a spectacular achievement.
Roland's note explains that copies of this magnificent catalogue can be had for only 8 euros plus S&H! Unbelievable! A postcard of gratitude is on it's way to you in humble thanks for this lovely booklet Roland. I am quite thrilled to have been a small part of it. Thank you very much - excellent job! Bismarck Mail Art. Also: Halbritter Mail Art.

Heebee Post #613 - Janet Heritage - Wheatridge, Colorado - USA

Janet's latest visit to the Affair is this fantastic, oddly harem-like tent "Charm School". The envelope flap has a swimming 3-D appearance that is quite eye-popping seen in person and serves nicely as the 'big top' for the fascinating 'fashion tent'.
This side of the gorgeously decorated envelope is actually very glossy photo paper with different media adornments - such as glimmering gold-flake pieces that I couldn't capture with a scan. Upon closer examination, I discovered that there were contents inside.
This little collection of Cigar bands were included (almost did not notice them). Thank you very much Janet. I love your 'envelopescapes'. Be seeing you in the post.

Heebee Post #612 - Umberto Basso - Barletta - Italy

The Affair adores commemoratives in mail art and this one is superb. The 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Before 1861, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states. Mar.17, 2011 (150 years later) was declared a national holiday with schools, offices and other business activities suspended. Here, Umberto celebrates with these handsomely obscured panels of self portraits in an Italian flag colored theme. Nice Fluxus adornment too! I love this card.
It is wonderful to see you here again Umberto. And thank you very much for this fabulous uplifting card. Viva Italia! Basso Art.

Heebee Post #611 - Art Tower (Gunter Schwind) - Aschaffenburg - Germany

Cousin Arty once again strolls into the Affair with this trademark Art Tower portrait. I have seen an entire wall of these contemplative fellows - when Gunter sets up for an actual Art showing. That wall has a grandeur that is imposing and beautiful and makes a magical background for him as he stands in front of it with his other paintings. Quite a sight!
When my dear cousin was last in the states, we both had the fortune of finding quite a few of the 'QSL' (old ham radio clubs from around the world) rubber stamps at an antique store and picked up quite a few of them. You can spot two of those charming rubber stampings near the top of the above side. Gunter and I have had a lot of fun together here in the Heebee Jeebeeland and hopefully he shall be visiting here again soon. Miss you old friend! Thank you very much. Art Tower Mail Art.

Heebee Post #610 - Andrea Escorcio - Sao Paulo - Brazil

Andrea returns to the postcard parade of the Affair with this fine example of her fanciful work. A lot of interesting elements - both demure and a wild departure into dreamland. This large card (6" x 8") manages to somehow evoke a delicate Fluxus Affair theme that keeps the eyes busy with it's loving detail - as if she is bathing in a tub full of bubbly imagery. Great job!
Nice to have you back Andrea. I know she was on hiatus for a while, but now back in action - and in very good form. Thank you very much. Check out her work here: Mil Ponthihos. Happy Mail!

Heebee Post #609 - Medwolf - Nakusp, British Columbia - Canada

It has been quite a while since Medwolf has visited us. I see that his interesting picnic barbecuing techniques are still being enjoyed. Wow.
Medwolf has moved way out west from the remote wilderness of Saskatchewan to the village of Nakusp on the shore of beautiful Upper Arrow Lake in British Columbia (Canada). Nobody has more adventurer in their blood than this sturdy and warm hearted fellow. It is with more than a little envy that the Affair notes his colorful life in the back woods and mountains. Good to see you again my friend. Will send something to the new address soon!

Medwolf's Mail Art.

Heebee Post #608 - Kiki Desvaux - Le Vigen - France

Dear friend, Ms. Desvaux , sends in this beautiful double plate block set of Artistamps - much to the delight of the Affair. Kiki is really becoming one of the excellent faux postage creators and my lovely collection of her work is growing steadily. I shall be collecting them all together soon and framing them for my art room wall. They are exquisite!
There is something oddly sexy about this arrangement. Kiki always seems to have a good feel for Fluxus Affair style mail art. Not over the top romantic, but nestled in there for investigation. Perfect! The Affair will be reciprocating, in kind, very soon - Kiki is a favorite here and a pleasure to exchange with. See you in the post dear girl. Kiki's Mail Art Received and Creations. Thank you very much!

Heeee Post #607 - David Stanely Aponte - Lancaster, Pennsylvania - USA

Recognize this painting? Maybe not. This painting was done by the accomplished artist Osvaldo Romberg whose long career often explored masterworks from historical art. In this case he photographed Vincent van Gogh's self portraits (24 of them) and painted over the images. Although his brushstrokes often mimic Vincent's, the reworkings differ greatly in size (stretching and dislocations) from the originals and unusual elements and detail are added - distorting the images.

Thank you David, for sending this in to the Affair. I like your carved monogram stamping and the interesting quote from McLuhan as well. It is important to remember and be able to recognize artists works, such as Romberg.

Heebee Post #606 - Cornpone - Clarkston, Georgia - USA

The return of Cornpone to the Affair confirms that he is still in fine form with this 'cryptic fabuliptic' postcard. A festive looking piece - rather like an x-ray from Mars. Love it!
Sure glad to see Cornpone here again - he has a great sense of enthusiasm for this art form and a good sense of humor. Thank you very much 'Pone - be seeing you in the post! Cornpone Art.

Heebee Post #605 - William L. Philyaw - Shawnee, Kansas - USA

William's current visit to the Affair is this gallery booklet entitled "Chapbook 2". It arrived as you see it above, adorned and held in place with ribbon - nicely packaged!
The cover, opened up, of the little artistbooklet. William's imagery is always a visual delight. This particular project really showcases his deftness with the exacto knife. Splendid precision and a keen knack for artful juxtaposition.
William's created universes invites the viewer off the main paths and onto trails meant for the viewers steps alone.
He uses both the familiar and the strange into his heady mixture of culture adventure..
A very handsome booklet and a lot of fun to behold - like the 'new' news!
One of Philyaw's wonderful habits is to include a fantastic assortment of stylish vintage U.S. postage and this is a great example of that. Another terrific submission by one of the best in the Mail art business - Thank you very much old friend. Addressee.