Basil, Sunflowers, and some mail art.

 I picked up a big bunch of basil at the farmers' market yesterday and made pesto. I put my recipe here. It turned out really delicious, so green and fresh. I love pesto.

 There were beautiful sun flowers at the market, too, but I didn't bring any home.

 This is what I brought home, a big hydrangea blossom from a bush that grows in the alleyway around the corner.

This is one of my #211 series that I completed today. Another Baby Leo altered card. I'm going to take the cards that I made today, to my workshop tomorrow, to show the participants how a simple alteration can make a big change.
You can see the other cards by going to the MailArt365 blog and clicking on Mim4art on the right side bar.

#210, Panda news, Dove update, and my asemic book.

 This card went off to a mail artist in Chicago, who has one blog focused on fish. I found that the entry for poisson was still in my old Larousse (that I cut up) and this fish image is from an old drawing (like 1708) of a sturgeon fish that existed in Jamestown, Virginia when it was first settled. The background is an oyster farm in southeast Asia. See Adamandia here.

 Here's Ace with the second to the last Panda Pocket. The last of the 1970's era Panda Pockets was sold and sent to Michigan. That's all folks. I saved a tiny piece to make into a tiny pillow for N. It was the fabric I purchased at his request, to cover his nap mat for school. It's exciting to see people enjoying my Pockets and especially to know that the Panda fabric (made in America, now a piece of our history) is being used. I've put up a few other Pockets in my Fritzi shop.

 I'm participating in an Asemic book project. Here is what I've done for it. I made 8 collages using strips of text cut so that they can't be read, made compositions using flat color grounds on black background. I individually glued down each strip of text, which took more time than I thought it would. I couldn't create 16 books (x 8 pages.) I copied the work two per sheet double side. It's on heavy stock, which worries me as I hope it won't interfere with the binding process. I like the way the compositions turned out. Now I'm added a letter form to each and every collage, so that no two books are the same. Rather none of the books are the same. I'll have the first 8 ready to mail by the end of the week. The rest will be send by the deadline, 22 July. I know this would be a challenge when I took it on, and I felt stretched by it, but that's a good thing. 

Here's our dove, as of yesterday. See her little eye looking at me?

Now back to work on my asemic project.

Blue day

 This is an Add and Pass card I made today. I'm sending it to a young cousin to see what he'll do with it. I love when young people particpate in mail art. They have such a free feeling for it. It's refreshing. I'll post the results.  I used a cancelled stamp from Greece as I thought it looked great with the blue background. The background is a commercial card. The stars are map stickers and the car is a 404 from an old French car magazine.

 A blue sky the other day and nice clouds. I shot this from my open car window with my old school flip phone.

The aqua of the salt water in our association pool. Really beautiful on a sunny day last week. I love the patterns made by the sun and the movement of the water.
Such different blues today.

Some mail art, an eggplant and the dove.

 This adorable little eggplant was at the market last week. Such a beautiful color and I loved the shape. It reminded me of bell-skirt dresses. I didn't buy it, as I'd already chosen a couple of long Asian eggplant.

 A dove is back on our side window ledge. The same one or one of the offspring? We don't know. She is hidden from view, unless you really look. Can you see her eye, there in the center of this photo.

 I think you can see her better in this view. The little black eye. Unblinking, unmoving, she waits. The leaves sometimes are blowing around her, as our air-conditioner is on the ground below the window. She doesn't care about the sound of the machine or the leaves moving.

 I had cut out a bunch of baby heads from an advert in an old National Geographic. I took time on Saturday to find them in one of my many tins full of scraps. You'll be seeing more of Baby in Tiny Town. This one is entitled "Baby Leo was puzzled by Tiny Town's lack of interest in him." I just crack myself up with these.

Today's card, on the 209th day since I started, is an altered Fantin Latour paining of flowers done sometime in the late 1800s. I thought they looked so good in the palm of her hand, though in the painting, they're a table top arrangement. I love making the shift in perception, large & small.

Catching up with Mail Art posts, #204, through 207! Whew!

 Here's Velma in Tiny Town, waving at us. I did two Tiny Town's on Thursday. My honey thinks I should do a book about Tiny Town but the VMFA owns the painting and perhaps the rights to it, so I'll stay low key and just alter them and send them out.

 I love how this woman, whom I've named Pam, strolls through this town with her purchases. It's like she always cuts through Tiny Tiny when she heads home from the market.

 These two are part of a series of type based pieces I was working on . I'm not sure they really are "asemic" but then one person's asemic is another person whatever, if you know what I mean. I liked the way this practice piece turned out.

 I cut it into two cards and added a person to each of them. It works for me. I hope the recipients like them.

 I'm never sure how I'll deal with this card when I put it out on my work table. I have to sort through scraps and see what I come up with. This woman seems to be contemplating the letter on the door.

This woman, whom I've named Héloise, appears to be bending over to smell the flowers, which are gigantic.   I hope that people aren't getting tired of seeing these altered cards. I'm having so much of a good time with them.

In fact, I went to the museum today, the last day of the sale, and bought about one inch/2.54cm of Tiny Town cards. I think this is it. When these are gone, I'll be done with Tiny town!

A little more New York Trip

 I normally don't put people on this blog but today I have to include two special people. I don't know this woman but she was sitting in front of a Starbuck's in Park Slope, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, where we lived many years ago. We were sitting outside, taking a break, while a big street fair was going on, and there she was. Fabulous. I wish I'd spoken to her and asked her name. I hope she doesn't mind that I shared her with you.

 Again, I don't usually put up photos of myself, but had to post this one of me with The Brooklyn Baby Doll, who is so glam all the time. She's one  of the Mermaids featured in the Documentary that our gal co-produced, Mermaids of New York. The last time I saw her in person, she was so busy with paparazzi that I didn't get a photo. I wanted to be sure to get one this trip and I did. I'm the short one!

 Here I am, waiting for a subway train at a very un-glam stop.

This is a view of the display of ceramics at the ippodo gallery/shop. They have the most beautiful, contemporary Japanese ceramics. We love to stop there when we're in NYC. The work of MAEDA Masahiro was on display and it was so beautiful.

Time to add some images from our NYC trip

 There's a really strange, gigantic sculpture in Madison Square Park, by a Spanish artist, Jaume Plensa. It's called Echo. From every direction, it looks flat! Or like a hologram face.

We had lunch on Monday at Eataly, where all the products are from Italy. It's huge! It's located on 23rd St. and Madison/Broadway. We ate in the verdura section, only vegetables on that section's menu. Fresh figs and goat cheese was a great combo.

 These days, there are lots of places to sit outside in NYC. And lots of bicycle paths. Vehicular traffic gets shunted around these little oasis set into various street corners. This one is by Madison Sq. Park. See that tall building in the distance? Guess which one it is.

 Our friends have an apartment across from a Greek Orthodox church, on 24th St. and 9th Ave. It made me think of my friend in Greece.

 We went to Brooklyn to see the Mermaid film screening, and stopped for some Italian Ice. The cross street was Borinquen St. That made me think about my friends from Puerto Rico. There was a mix os old buildings and new, as you can see, the neighborhoo.

We arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before 9 a.m. in order to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit in a private tour by someone our friends' know. We sat outside on a bench in front until our appointed time. It was quiet and grey. The exhibit was AMAZING. The lines were very long as we were leaving. Lucky us! Private tour.

Newark N.J. Station-6 hours umtil we arrive in RVA.

Newark N.J. Station-6 hours umtil we arrive in RVA.

Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights

Afternoon break Brooklyn

Afternoon break, Brooklyn

Father's day brunch Brooklyn NYC

Father's day brunch, Brooklyn, NYC

Brunch today NYC

Brunch today, NYC

Dumplings 4 dinner

 Sign at a cafe in Brooklyn.

 Under the elevated train tracks in Brooklyn.

 We had some ices before going to see the screening of Mermaids of New York, on Thursday night.

Szechuan restaurant 9th & 24th St. NYC

We arrived in New York City on Thursday in the late afternoon and went to our Bed & Breakfast located in Chelsea. Great location, very nice place to stay.  After dropping off our luggage, we walked two streets up to our friends place and visited until our daughter got off work and met up with us. Dinner was at a Sezhuan restaurant nearby. The food was delicious. I didn't actually partake of these lovely looking dumplings as they were meat filled. I shared a vegetarian moo shu with my daughter, delicious, but not so photogenic.  The lovely dumplings disappeared when I added these photos and I no longer have the image, as it was on my phone. Trust me, if you haven't seen it, it was lovely to look at. Imagine Chinese dumplings in a bamboo steamer. yum. 
The screening was in a small venue, which because quite toasty. I had a certain glow about me (perspiration!) The film was really terrific. After the screening, I had my photo taken with Brooklyn Baby Doll, my favorite Mermaid. Look how short I am compared to her. But then, she's a mermaid and I'm not.

Fritzi, my Etsy shop

Skull-a-Day fabric

 I've let Fritzi, my Etsy shop go bare for a bit, while I concentrated on my Mail Art.

Vintage tea towels

Today, I decided to re-stock with some of my small purses, which I call Pockets.

I started making them because most of my clothing doesn't have a pocket and I needed something to keep my phone in while I went between my studio and the kitchen or garden, voila, a pocket, aka small purse.

I am making these a bit bigger than my original pocket, so they can hold more when I go out to the grocery store, or take a walk. Check out my shop and see what's there. I'll be putting more on when I get back from my brief holiday.

#197, a, and more

 Wanted to change things up a bit for myself today. I used cardboard from a cereal box as today's card blank. A bit of colored paper, some stick on dots (hole protectors?) and eyes from a magazine,  a page full of eyes open and closed, a really good find!

 #197 made me think of counting sheep and the open eye one just seemed so green.

 Duckie was trapped in the deep end by the yellow noodle. It couldn't figure out how to get around it.  Chilly water today!

I like when the sun is strong and the shadows are so crisp. This is at the pool. We'll miss it, as we're going out of town for a few days. No more early morning swimming for awhile.   I'll be posting using my mobile phone!

#196 and Duckie and a flower

 Here's Marie, she's come into the lodge from her trip to Hawaii. She sees his hat, the letter and the dead birds on the door.  What's the rest of the story?  This altered card is a trompe l'oeil painting.

 The flowers at the pool are lovely. Douglas is in charge of the flora and does a great job of it. Someone else is taking care of bird feeders. This morning, there was a cardinal and some tiny birds there, and a small squirrel trying to figure out how to get some chow, too.

Duckie was minding his/her own business in the pool, facing away from the chattering of birds and squirrel. The water was pleasant and the air a bit chilly but after 2 days away, it felt good to get back to water exercise.