Heebee Post #950 - Anna Banana - Robert's Creek - British Columbia - Canada

 Anna Banana is a very interesting person and artist and quite a pleasure to meet: which I did last November in Seattle.  Her postcard  is actually an entry into fellow Canadian artist, Ed Varney's annual artfest of Labour and the Arts,  "Maywirks".  Theme: The Artist at work / A self portrait.. Above is Anna at work - An interactive performance ("Why Banana?") she conducted at the Dallas Public Library Theatre in 1983.  Amusingly, her hat seems to be a ripe bunch of bananas.

I usually steer clear of self portraits. Not really my thing. But, I really like Anna and Ed (who I had also met in Seattle last Nov.) and Anna did send an invitation. Okay, I'll do it already! Actually, I would really love to go to Nanaimo, British Columbia and see the opening for the show in May. That would be a gas! Anyway, be seeing you Anna and Ed in the mail. Anna Banana Arts.  By the way, anybody can contribute to this call - you don't really need the invitation.

Heebee Post #949 - Eduard Egorov - Alexandrov, Vladimirskaya region - Russia

 A Kremlin is a fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities.  Most folks think of that word to mean the most famous Kremlin in Moscow, but there are many along the vast Russian countryside.  The Alexandrovsky Kremlin fist began as a country palace for the Tsar and his entire court in the middle of the 14th century.  Although the palace did not survive, the Pokrovsky Cathedral that was also there in the Kremlin, did. The Cathedral was sanctified in 1513 and thus marks the official date of the Kremlin's origin - 500 years ago!  Ivan the Terrible moved into the Fortress in 1565 and had it even more fortified.  It was from the Alexandrovsky Kremlin that the Tsar received ambassadors from Europe,  Denmark, Sweden, Austria, etc.  The Tsar left the Kremlin in 1581 and never returned.

Eduard's Mail Art project is dedicated to the 500th anniversary of this famous Kremlin village. I very much enjoy historical projects such as this one and shall be soon creating something for Eduard's call. All works will be posted at: Alexandrov Kremlin Mail Art.  Deadline: 07/31/2013.   Thank you very much Eduard and see you in the mail!

Heebee Post #948 - Art Tower (Gunter Schwind) - Aschaffenburg - Germany

 You can almost hear the shrill whistling of the rocket before it suddenly hits it's target. Art Tower's anti-war depiction is a heartfelt lament and I am inclined to agree with him.

 The flyer supporting an artist's show last December in "A-burg". The rubber stamping near the center says: "New Timetables" and then underneath: "Stop by the riverbank" with a list of contributors that includes Gunter. I love the snowy, wintery scene with the cathedral in the background (Aschaffenburg?).  I like the way it has been adorned with a kind of numbered measles - As if a friendly game of postcard bingo! I hope the show went well.

I like being greeted by my cousin Arty's good natured waving "Mailbot".  Nice of you to drop in my old friend.  I miss Gunter. It has been more than three years since he has visited me here in the states. We sure have a blast when we are together. Ah well, someday good buddy, someday.  Meanwhile, see you in the mail!  Art Tower's Mail Art.

Heebee Post #947 - Parys St. Martin - Glenelg - South Australia - Australia

 You almost have to have sun glasses on to view this brilliant piece that Parys created inside the smoking crater of an active volcano.  Her creation seems also to bear a resemblance to a sort of modern Humpty Dumpty - capable of breaking into the many pieces he is made of.  Parys' work is always an optical Merry-Go-Round and this one is no exception. It is beautiful.

Notice anything unusual about this?
Parys enclosed her mail art in a sturdy clear plastic envelope but, there is no postage at all!   That makes this "Lucky Mail Art",  for it is charmed.  Thank you very much Parys,  I have been enamored with your "Other World" displays of light and color for a long while and they just seem to get even better as we travel through our time. See you in the Post Box. Parys St. Martin Mail Art.

Heebee Post #946 - Lisa Iverson (Skybridge Studios) - North Manchester, Indiana - USA

 The 2013 Chicago Fluxfest is this weekend folks - Thursday to Sunday. Lisa's classy Textile Mail Art call and exhibition opening will be the center of attraction for the Fluxus gang on Sunday, 12 - 5PM.  I hadn't realized that Michael Harford's popular Mail Art call "The World is a Town" will be displayed  with Lisa's "Textile" call.  What a gas!  I sure wish I could be in attendance, although my Fluxus spirit vibes sure will be!

I thought we should get a closer look at Skybridge Studios handiwork.    Lisa's creations are classic in detail.  Hanging up the Fluxus laundry, this Mail Art maiden boldly shows off her Fluxus life style.  Nice impressive touch.    

The intriguing calligraphy for my name has a sense of far, far away. I have enjoyed Lisa's splendid Mail Art for a long while now and have to report that her work is invariably top notch and sparkling with imagination.  Her show on Sunday, at the Chicago event, has got to be incredible. Also featured on the reverse side is the 5 cent, 2008 issued "Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition:" in Washingron DC.  I dig commemoratives!  Thanks Lisa, love the terrific "Textile Mail Art Fluxfest".postcard.  Good fortune on the opening and see you in the mail. Lisa's Textile Mail Art Gallery .

Heebee Post #945 - Susanna Lakner (Planet Susannia) - Stuttgart - Germany

 Feeling confined in some inexplicable way?  Susanna's "timecage" is a thought provoking piece of work. The notion of having the ability to travel in the many various contemporary modes, we nevertheless have zero ability to escape our inexorable trappings in the linear time continuum. It strikes me funny that my mind is comparing this to the Rembrandt painting of St. Peter in Prison - the keys to Heaven lay by his side,  however, he is powerless to unlock his own cell door.  Susanna, like Rembrandt,  handles the irony nicely.

And dig those crazy letters comprising "Test Tower". I love playing with lettering and appreciate alphabet weirdness of any experimental nature.  This is a fabulous card - I hope you didn't mind being compared to Rembrandt Susanna - guess I may have gotten a bit carried away with that - ah well, a nice departure!  Thanks very much and see you subsequently in the mail Ms Lakner! Planet Susannia.

Heebee Post #944 - Kiki Desvaux - Paroy-sur-Tholon - France

 I am quite delighted to find that Kiki is back in Mail Art action!  It has been awhile since I have heard from Ms. Desvaux and I have missed her free spirit.  This place, "The Wonder Vintage Market" looks like a fun place to peruse. I'll bet it is similar to "Archie McPhee's" in Seattle, one of my all time faves.  Doesn't get better than that, if you like the unusual.

Kiki also included a friendly note (your English is great!) - which, as I have often said, I don't publish personal notes and letters - no body's business except between the two artists.  If you would like to exchange art with this artist, please note her new address. She also has a new mail art site: Kiki's new Mail Art. Thank you so much my old friend - be seeing you soon in the post! Glad you have returned!
PS: Kiki, I just realized that the new site, kikifaitsonblog.fr, will not work properly - maybe I don't have it correct. Will you please enlighten ?

Heebee Post #943 - Otto D Sherman - New York, New York - USA

 Prolific Mail Artist and creative Artistamp engineer, Otto sets out on another Philatelic adventure. The detail in that Russian postage is incredible even if the subject is a major goofball - and I could easily go on about Syrian President Al-Assad because of the extent of his destruction and indifference to the lives of the Syrian people. It seems to me that Al-Assad will not live to be an old man. What a mess his country is in.  Meanwhile, the stamp just next to it, a Belgian Artistamp, looks to be from another world.

I love the 'Lost Continent" look of this unusual Artistamp.  Looks more like the Belgian Congo with the elaborate headdress and regalia. A great feel to this wonderful stamp.

 The other side of the card is the puzzling evidence seen above.  As if a movie star quail. Such is the whimsy of genius!

 The second postcard from Otto reveals that he may be chewing tobacco! Rather a common sight out here in the boonies but, New York City? Ugh!  Once again, incredible stamps mit Razierklinge!

I have even more Mail Art on my art desk from Otto and I shall be posting it soon. Love those great voltage meter rubber stampings.  And that 'free for all' in the center is beautiful in it's chaoticness. Thanks very much Otto - You'll be seeing me in the post box quite soon! Otto Art.

Heebee Post #942 - Sky City (Lord Fugue) - Hickory, North Carolina - USA

 "The Nine Crux of Ocean Lotion".  Fugue goes on to tell of sordid bathroom antics and the odd declaration, "Quit His Coffin"!  His confounding soliloquy ends, appropriately enough, with "There goes the neighborhood"! Looks like Big Foot as a transient - great picture!

Sky City shares his fondness for the "Jitter Juice" (Coffee) in an assembled puzzle that has the pieces squeezed into spots too small for them - gives off a sort of peculiar tension - too much coffee?  Love that white knuckled look! Thank you very much Scott - See ya in the mail!

Heebee Post #941 - Suus in Mokum - Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Like a  Jazzy black crayon and watercolor version of a 1950's Television test pattern, it feels good to just stare into Suus's eye catching and mesmerizing  postcard.  I, long ago, read a beat up pulp fiction paperback about the CIA secretly spiking drinks with LSD in the North Beach bars in San Francisco during the beatnik era.  This could have been the cover for that crazy book! Love it Suus!

The Suus in Mokum creature (Snow Man?) is fun and friendly to behold - I love that thing and it fits Suus nicely. Thank you very much my friend and see you in the mail! Check her interesting art-life blog. Suus in Mokum  Mail Art. 

Heebee Post #940 - Joey Patrickt - Oakland, California - USA

 Joey's colorfully vibrant "Pieces of Time" postcard makes his return to the 4th Dimension Territories a triumphant one.  If I am not mistaken, and it is hard to tell, these are "Photo Sketches" of Oakland and San Francisco with Joey himself as the moral compass and ruler of his domain.

 I like the interesting technique in which he adorns himself for his "Monarch" role as Cardinal Joey. This really cracked me up!

Always nice to see Joey again - he is a regular in Heebee Jeebeeland and also lives in the town I was born in so, we have a sort of odd kinship, which we enjoy.  Maybe I will look him up the next time I am in the SF Bay Area.  And I dig those crazy "T's" he used in labeling his collagical missive.  Thanks and see ya in the mail!

Heebee Post #939 - RCBz - St. Clown, Minnesota - USA

"The Moon of Forgotten Fantasies".  Roy's action party card really reminds me of a surrealistic "Going to A Go Go",  the 1965 hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. I saw this handsome print the other day over at Roy's mail art site and to my extreme delight, it appeared, not long afterward,  in my mail box. Sure looks like everybody is having fun!  The imagery in an RCBz composition is nearly always an ambiguous mix and this latest edition has lost none of it's head scratching analyzing.

Roy declares that this card is the ninth "Moon". When the twelfth one is finally made, a promised calender of the twelve together will be produced. That has to be one cool calender. That Great Northwest U.S. postage stamp is super - and, of course, those great Indian mask stamps are a treat to see again here (They remind me of Medwolf). The stamp in the lower left corner, I don't believe I have seen before. Let's get a better look.

The above is a "Letters mingle souls" 1974 10 cent U.S. postage stamp. It is one of a set of 16 different stamps stating the same credo. 32 stamps per sheet.  A beautiful thing! Thanks and see you in the mail Roy. RCBZ Mail Art.

Heebee Post #938 - Crackerjack Kid - Hancock, New Hampshire - USA

 It is somehow fitting that I should post this magnificent cosmic postal carrier from the mail art savvy Crackerjack Kid on the evening that I learn that Saturday delivery in the United States will no longer be possible after August  of this year. Ugh! I like the groping arms, yearning for mail art!. The card has an eerie MC Escher sense to it while the Postman imparts an aura of importance to the correspondence he has for you!
  I am sure enjoying the inimitable Kid's style here on the reverse side of the entertaining card. It reminds me of my Dad's High School scrapbook - that would be in the 1930's - I love that odd appeal!

 The Kid asks if I have a sheet of the "I cannot tell a lie" stamps,  a symbolic Pinocchio nosed George Washington speaking for Enron, the Federal Reserve and other institutions, businesses and people who have been less than honest with the public. They look great next to the authentic US postage! Well, the answer is no, I do not have these in my collection! But,  I would sure like a sheet of those stamps though. I'll find something around here to trade with ya!  Nice to hear from you Kid, I enjoy your cards immensely - I just sent something to you yesterday. Hope you like it!

Heebee Post #937 - Otto D Sherman - New York, New York - USA

 I love Otto's "Big (you know what) Deal".  This is actually the back outside of two panels of poster board that were fastened together. Below is the inside of the two panels as you opened it up.  That fellow in the sombrero is perfectly strange.

 I like the new logo. I am wondering, however, what exactly is OUOMA? "Otto's Union of Mail Artists"? The bug into fish metamorphosis is a nice touch!

I have a few things here from Otto that I have not posted yet - but, fear not Otto Art fans - I shall post them all in due time - they are all great! The volume of this artists work is substantial - Otto seems as though tireless in his creative activity. Hey, if your cup is full - may it stay full my friend!


One last look at Otto's philatelic prowess.  The Egyptian artistamp is none other than the boy Pharaoh, King Tutankhamen's beyond opulent, solid gold casket. At 18, he was encased into his tomb in 1323 BC - nearly 3 1/2 thousand years ago!  I recently saw the King Tut Exhibit in it's last days in Seattle.  Now, it has gone back to Cairo; where, frankly, I worry for these antiquities because of the unstable government there. Ah well, such is life!  Thank you very much Otto and you will be hearing from me sooner than you think!  Otto Art.

Heebee Post #936 - Bruno Chiarlone - Cairo Montenotte - Italy

 The eye catching, colorful altered postcard sent in by Bruno is a gas! The young woman is slowly spinning into another Dimension - A sort of Smurf Christmas Dimension. Bruno's tongue, extended in gaga, adorns each corner.  Magnificent colors adds to the delicious feel. A great specimen of Mail Art!

The world is privileged to have artists such as Bruno.  There is something about this artist that is rather similar to magic. He is a long time creator and continues his reign of coolness in the little hamlet of Cairo Montenotte; where, I am certain, he is beloved by his neighbors and townsfolk. I have had something half done for Bruno (and several others) for weeks.  Sorry about that my friend, I shall get that finished by Sunday - Right after the Super Bowl! I'm sure that Bruno, were he in the states, would be rooting for the Red and Gold San Francisco 49ers with me!  Want to know more about Signore Chiarlone? Bruno's Page.

Heebee Post #935 - Uli Grohmann - Munster - Germany

 Uli's colorful anatomy of an M4A4 Sherman Tank - the workhorse of the American Army during WWII and beyond. They were produced in great numbers during the war. I am not quite certain about how this postcard was created. It appears to be silk screened onto a paint canvas but, it is difficult to tell - It does have a satisfyingly, heavy, bendy feel to it (love that feel). It is pretty incredible to behold the large card in person!  

 The B side of Uli's rather beautiful postcard is an interesting place to allow the eyes a little bit of free ranging.   The irony of Uli's "Let's talk about beauty", regarding the other side is a dubious notion, relative to the viewer.  What do you say?  Is the M4A4 Sherman Tank picture beautiful?

And this fine mail art adornment just had to be seen properly - I am a fan of Cowboy stuff and so, I love this.  Sometimes, especially while on vacation, I am known as Tex Tower as I roam the northwestern range in my Subaru. Thank you Uli, super card, even if it is actually some puzzling evidence. See you in the mail.

Heebee Post #934 - "E" Ambassadeur d'Utopia - Guivry - France

 Monsieur "E" returns to Heebee Jeebeeland with this handsome, striking self portrait. The ponderous Ambassador of Utopia is unique and popular in the mail art world with his fantastic, trademark red and black postal creations.  His sense of grandness is always admirably enjoyable and I am always delighted to find his wonderful  work on the Internet sites. That 'Fluxus Existentialismus" rubber stamping is an interesting notion - let me consider that for a moment. Okay. The card has a great look to it, as does everything "E" accomplishes.

"E"'s collection of rubber stamps is a curious one. I sure like the clean look he manages, even when a little more experimental and messy - like the artistamp ("Utopia Local Post") seen above. That "MINXUS GUIVRY" livestock stamping has that great super Fluxus feel that adds a strange kind of joy to the general disposition of the Fluxus viewer. Thank you very much Ambaasador - Love this card and see you in the post - already sent.                                                        "E" Ammbassade d'Utopia Mail Art.