Postcard Greetings PFF #34

 This idea first came to me while looking at an image on the Tattered and Lost Ephemera blog yesterday. To paraphrase, her resolution was to get up earlier so she at least got a decent seat on public transportation in the New Year. Or perhaps a GREEN seat. Or perhaps a seat at all. I grow old and my short term memory is headed out into the bitter cold. As soon as I saw the image I remembered I had a card sort of like the one she displayed, but at least the passengers on her ride were dressed appropriately. A couple of Mine? Not so much.  Anyway, the image and message made me laugh.

My first visit this morning was to the Pieces of the Past blog, where the Funoldhag (aka, Carol) posted an image of four piglets with a tale to tell in their tails. I had to laugh again, since while looking through my meager supply of old postcards for the Hopi Unlimited transportation card, I found a Contented Family. Okay. I really don't know what struck me about this card, but there's something about the eyes on the piglets and the smile on her face that makes me wonder if her left hand isn't holding a tranquilizer gun.

And now - let's talk about health. Brian at the Paper Sponge posted an image of an old German embossed card depicting a couple of bearded gentlemen with - bags of money and packages??? One of them with feet firmly on terra firma, but the other was riding a crescent moon. Once again, I went back to my slim pile of cards because I remembered one with polar bears and the new year babe riding - a cork. Is that really healthy transportation? This message doesn't bode well for global warming, either.

So - may all of the folks who found this blog worthy of a read now and then visit again in the New Year. I have new mail art to post and some good news to announce, but for now - you get postcards from my swipe file. Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy, prosperous and blessed New Year.

Visit Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy for more of what postcards are really all about! 

Drummer Boy! PFF#33

Although I'm not keeping with the theme chosen by hostess Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, I'm putting up the First Day Cover that I did last year for my brother. Not only is he a drummer, but he just happens to collect Drummer Boys year round.

In the process of researching Drummer Boys for the art work, I discovered that there is a rich history behind the nutcrackers here in the United States. Although immigrants from Europe new them well, soldiers brought many of them back to our country after WWII.

In 2008, the USPS commissioned a fellow by the name of Glenn Crider to build four nutcrackers for the Holiday stamp issue. Although each nutcracker he builds is unique, he also builds one of each for his own collection. There's probably a lesson to be learned from that, since I've done many covers over the past twenty years, and have very few of them in my own collection.

While browsing early, I found that FunOldHag aka Carol, at  Pieces of the Past had posted a cute postcard of a young drummer under the Christmas tree, probably waking up his folks from their long Winter nap. It woke me up to my entry for today's Postcard Friendly Friday.

Hubley Indian Motocycle PFF #32

I've done a couple of posts on Indian Motocycles, including a piece of old paper that involved a lot of phone calls and a trip to the Montana Historical Society. I also included in that post the First Day Cover that I had done which depicted an Indian Scout with my brother-in-law aboard.

A site that I have been following for well over a year, Tattered and Lost Ephemera, posted a wonderful story and included a print advertisement for a Hubley Indian Motocycle yesterday. As she usually does with the ephemera that she posts, she included links to the Hubley Toy Company and the Indian Motocycle Company as well.

In 2002 when the USPS announced that they would be issuing a block of four Antique Toy stamps, I decided that I would use an antique toy motorcycle for my art work, and I knew where to go as a source for the model - my brother-in-law, Tom Benson, restores old Indian motorcycles, and his living room is a virtual museum of old Indian memorabilia. He does not have any Hubley Indian motorcycles, but he knew where to find some excellent photographs of one - and promptly sent me a couple to choose from.

The advertisement that was posted on the Tattered and Lost Ephemera site is a prime example of marketing, and you really ought to give it a read. Hubley not only knew how to make toys, but they also knew how to sell them. I've recently come across some old paper that includes the sale of Tin toys and dolls, and I'll be putting some of those pieces up as I work toward my next major show in March of next year. But for now, my memory was jogged into action (I could hear the 'realistic' motor running) when I read the advertisement for the Hubley Indian.

To get your motor running, make sure you visit Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy for more visual treats on Postcard Friendly Friday!

Nick Bantock Tribute PFF #31

While visiting Seth Apter's Studioscapes post last Sunday, I discovered a MAIL ART contest whose main theme was a tribute to the artist Nick Bantock. I should mention that Studioscapes was a project that Seth promoted in which he asked over 150 artists to let the viewers get a better idea of the creative spaces we use as artists and the way we use that space.

One of the participants named Michele Jackson, whose studio space was featured last Sunday had posted an image of a piece of mail art that she had created for a Nick Bantock tribute. I followed up the link that she had included in the post, read the rules for the contest and discovered I had very little time to create a piece of mail art with a Nick Bantock look to it (the deadline was the 1st of December).

I'd created a piece of mail art for Nick almost two years ago, and it was actually meant as a mail introduction prior to my visit to his studio on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia in early 2009. I've included that image today, along with the piece I created for the tribute.

Be sure to check out Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy for more delectable goodies in the mail art tradition for Postcard Friendship Friday.

I almost forgot to mention that one of the rules for the contest stated that a large number had to be included on the piece. I placed that element under the removable address label, so you'll have to check back with the contest site to find out just how large the number really is!