OutGoing Mail

I am such a scatter brain sometimes.I wanted to make sure that I got my letters posted in a timely fashion, so I dashed off to the P.O. with a stack, mailed them and then realised I hadn't photographed them. Sigh... I am posting a couple that I have recently worked on and did remember to photograph. I have more that I am working on and I will post them when I'm finished.

I used one of Patty's handmade envelopes, made from Laura Ashley wallpaper for this letter.

The envelope for this letter was originally sent to me by Hester in Boston. When I saw the envelope it made me think about the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are". I happened to have an old beat up copy of the book that I got from Goodwill some time ago, so I decided to use some of the elements from the book to decorate the envelope and send it on.

This is the back of the envelope. This "Wild Thing" is one of my favorites from the book.

This postcard is made from one of my original collages. I added some 3-D elements to a print of the collage and made it into a postcard.

I thought it would be fun to add my most recent artistamp and some other "Steampunky"  elements.

There are more coming... and if you are fond of chocolate, leave me a comment and I will send you an Ode to Chocolate postcard. See you in the mail!

Thank You

  The month of August was a very good month for my mail box. I received several very nice lengthy letters, a bunch of postcrossing postcards, some surprise mailart and letters from people who read this blog...you know who you are...thanks and big hugs for the lovely letters! August was a very bad month for me to answer all of those wonderful letters. I watched the pile of letters accumulate, joyful for the gifts of correspondence, but sad that I was unable to put pen to paper.
  Finally, on Shabbat this week, I was able to grab my stack of letters to be answered, and make my way through most of the pile. I designed an envelope to send them in and have them all addressed and stamped. I feel much better now...
   The whole month of August was spent coming to grips with bad medical news for my husband and then follow up appointments and medical "procedures" to try and treat the problem. For My husband, an avid hiker and outdoorsman, having to spend most of his time under fluorescent lights, inside windowless treatment rooms was alot like caging a wild animal. Fortunately and unfortunately, what can be done for him has been done...we can now try to return to our lives, try to ignore all that we have learned and act like everything is going to be OK...pray that everything is going to be OK...
   In times of stress or heartache I have always turned to prayer and then to letterwriting and mailart to help me keep my balance. But this month, I was struck silent. I couldn't find any words to say that didn't sound hollow. I found myself sitting and staring, I didn't see anyone or talk to anyone outside of my family. I just drew up inside myself somewhere and held my emotional breath, hoping that I would soon wake up and find I'd had a bad dream.
  During that time letters came to my mailbox. Fun and colorful envelopes filled with salve for my stinging heart. Little gifts and drawings from my favorite 6 years old pen pal, a rubber cut of a steampunk bird from a friend and fellow stamp carver, stories of daily life, letters full of humor, hope and joy. The stack grew and grew, and I felt fortunate to have people in my life who will take the time out of their day to write me. With time I found my voice and my pen would write words that felt like they had some weight, but I still don't have the words to express what your letters have meant to me this month. Most of you didn't have any idea what was going on in my life, but your letters helped me to make it through. Thank you.

A Steampunk bird rubber cut from friend and fellow stamp carver

A "sweet" surprise from a new friend

                                             A lovely and cheerful letter from
                                                         A Year of Letters

Unexpected Event

My day today was going to be full of mid-week housekeeping tasks, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, garden chores. But instead I took a hard fall in the shower. Our bathtub is a 1920's vintage corner tub, porcelain over cast iron... normally I love this tub, it is deep and smooth and holds a lot of hot water for a good soak. But today, I slipped and came down hard on my tailbone; fiberglass would have made for a much softer landing.... I wrenched my back and neck and my tailbone is screaming at me, but thank God I didn't hit my head or break something! I am however, not feeling up to cleaning and such, since my head is throbbing and I feel dizzy. So instead, I am going to catch up on my letter writing and spend some time working on my blog.

I have been working on a postcard for my July mail out. Since this is blueberry season, and my bushes a hanging heavy with plump juicy berries, I went out and took some photos. One of them I have turned into an artwork for a post card, I also designed an artistamp using a painting I did in one of my art journals. I am almost ready to get the whole business printed and mailed out, I just have to get to the printer and get it set up (still in boxes in non-essential living areas of the house...) but I will post a pic of the artistamp as sneek preview. If you want to be on my July mailart mail out list, just leave your addy in the comment block or e-mail it to me at elle.mental@yahoo.com and I'll send you one. See you in the mail!

Internet, Finally!

Well, I left Costa Rica more than a month ago...we have been living "pillar to post" for more than three weeks. Last Monday we were able to move into our house, and this afternoon we finally got the Internet. It feels good to be able to curl up on the bed and read my favorite blogs and e-mail. I have really felt out of touch. I have had some access when I can go and sit at our local Chick-fil-a and use their wireless, but with all the tasks involved with getting settled back in the States, there hasn't been much time for that.

Now if I can only find my art supplies and writing stuff, I will be able to start sending some mailart and postcards to those who have been following my blog. I have hopes of unearthing my stuff from the pile of boxes in the next day or so. If you are reading this blog and would like to get something in your mailbox from me, please leave me an e-mail at fr3e_bea@yahoo.com. I will look forward to hearing from you!

Fighting Flames in the Dark

I have been working on this digital post card since the night of the first fire. I am now no longer in Costa Rica but felt like I needed to finish what I started and tell a story of the surreal events of the weekend before I returned to the States.

This is dry season in Costa Rica. All the lush grass and vegetation turns to tinder. Unfortunately, this fire and the one that followed 48 hours later were not the result of dry grass, they were intentionally set. It was pitch dark and quiet on the southern slopes of our farm when we saw flames shooting high in the sky. Any other night we would never have seen the fire until it hit the rain forest, since the farmhouse sits back on the north side of the farm. We just happened to be having our beginning of Sabbath dinner out at the cabina on the farm with friends. So we were facing the southern slopes and saw the fires right after they were started. The first night there were three fires set some distance apart. High in the mountains out on the pastures there would be no way for water or other fire fighting equipment to be brought to our aid. My husband had run to the bodega to get tools like shovels and rakes to try to control the blaze. Samuel, a dear friend, grew up in these mountains, and knew exactly what to do...he ran to through the pasture, broke off a branch from a wild orange tree and began beating out the flames. The fires were out in pretty short order and we all returned to our dinner, very thankful to God for being able to control the direction of the fire and get it put out.

The next fire was also set after dark. We were at the farm house so we didn't see it. A neighbor told us our fields were on fire. Daniel and I grabbed our knee high rubber boots, shovels and rakes and jumped into the 4x4. The ride out to the south face felt like Mr. Toad's wild ride, as we bumped and jolted over the deeply cut tracks of the lane, the palm branches and ornamental ginger slapping at us through the open windows. We ran out into the waist high grass and began beating at the flames. This fire was much larger and closer to the elderly neighbors who lived at the bottom of our slopes near the river. We beat furiously at the edge of the fire closest to the tiny house. This left us with our backs turned to the body of the fire... Daniel beat the flames out with a rake and I went behind him covering the coals with dirt so they wouldn't start up again. The smoke was so thick that I couldn't breathe and I worried that the wind would shift and we would find ourselves surrounded by the fire. I was tiring and Daniel was concealed by the smoke and flames. I felt all alone. The rubber soles of my boots were melting and the heat was uncomfortable to the bottoms of my feet, but I knew, as did Daniel, that if we gave up and left the fire to itself,  our neighbors would lose their home to the fire. Possibly it would continue across the dirt road to the Pueblo of Sabalito, where the rest of the families on this mountain have their homes. So we fought to gain control, sweating and choking, our eyes stingng and tearing with the smoke. Just when I thought I could go no further, I felt someone's hand on my arm and turned to see our friends from Sabalito. Two families had come to help us, others were standing ready at the road to keep the flames from spreading to Sabalito. My tears turned to sobs... I handed Samuel my shovel and stumbled out of thick of the smoke to get some air.

I don't know who started the fires or why...we have lived very peacefully and happily up here and as far as I know we have no one who would want to do us harm (it was probably done by those who have issues with the owner of the land we are leasing) . The reasons remain a mystery, but we were comforted by the fact that the people of Sabilto were there to help us and that they were very grateful that we did what we could to keep the fires from taking the Pueblo. I return to the US with the conviction in my heart that we belonged to the Pueblo, we weren't "gringos" that lived up on top of the mountain, we were part of an extended family that lived and worked and fellowshipped in simplicity and joy. The fires just annealed and tempered the relationships that we had already forged. My heart is heavy that I had to leave the place I now think of as home, and all the precious people who have been so dear to my heart... People who in some cases, can't read, don't know the first thing about sending or receiving mail, will never see this post, since the internet is not available to them. People who unless I return to the mountain, I will never see or hear from again.

Stateside Bound

Well, the time has come... I have had to say a fond farewell to my beloved mountain top, to my friends and to Costa Rica, the place that I have come to believe is home. I am presently in the process of moving and will not have computer access for a couple of weeks. I hope to have a P.O. Box very soon and I will post the address when I get it. I won't have time for the next little while to do much Mail Art, but hopefully before long I will be sending something to all those who have followed my blog. I really appreciate your interest in my blog and hope that we will continue to share our interest in all things letter writing and Mail Art.                See you in the Mail!

A Lifetime Love of Letters

    The art of letter writing has been all but lost to us with the advent of e-mail. The daily anticipation of  correspondence waiting for us in the mailbox has been supplanted by the instant gratification of the e-mail box.  Nothing can compare though, with the joy of opening the mailbox and seeing your name handwritten on the front of and envelope. A letter isn't just a piece of paper conveying thoughts and information, it is evidence that someone took time out of a busy day to think of you and connect with you in a tangible way.
    Letters can be held in the hands, read and re-read, saved for years and read again. They are time capsules that hold your personal history safely in their pages. It is conversation at its best, each person gets to have their say, uninterupted. Words can be thought out, editted, and read for clarity before others hear them. The process of letter writing helps to hone the skills of meaningful communication.
   I have had a life long love of letters. Being an Army brat, frequently having to say good-bye to friends and move away, letters helped to ease the loss. I could stay connected with those I left behind. Writing helped me to push back the sense of isolation and receiving a return letter helped me bear the lonliness of being the new kid in town.

    Some of my letters have traveled with me all over the world. The pages may have aged and yellowed around the edges, but every time I open one of them, I can still hear the voice of the author. The words speak to my heart as clearly today as the day they were first opened. Some of the letters represent voices that may no longer speak to me in person, family members who have passed away and friends that I have lost contact with. By opening their missives I can remember them as they were, untouched by age, loss or death.

    I wasn't really aware of how much I depended upon mail until last year. I moved from my homestead of 20 years to a farm at the edge of the rainforest in Costa Rica. Here my address is 600 meters North of the Plaza, Sabalito, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. With an address like that, I'm not too likely to have mail find me, even if there were a mail box for it to be delivered to! The closest P.O.Boxes are located at the back of a motorcylce sales and repair shop, 12 bumpy, curvey, kilometers away in Tileran. We actually have P.O.Box #7,  but for the last 10 months, nothing has been delivered there. It has either been returned undeliverable to the sender, or disappeared without a trace. So, with much reluctance I have resigned myself to e-mail communication.

    E-mail allows for impersonal, one sentence notes, where u replaces you and 2 replaces to, or even worse the forward, of a forward, of a forward. I can't touch the surface an e-mail, smell the faint scent of the cologne the writer was wearing, or relish the small artworks called stamps, that grace the upper right hand corner of the envelope. I miss the comfort of words on paper that I can carry with me from place to place, tied with a ribbon, to remind me of the people I am seperated from by miles and time. I am always happy to have an e-mail, don't get me wrong, some news is better than no news, but it just doesn't feel the same. 

    One bastion of hope for the future of letter writing is mail art. Within the mail art community are many people from diverse backgrounds and cultures who have taken hold of a common thread, the writing, decorating and sending of mail. The unselfish act of sending mail to total strangers opens up a wide world of possibilities for connecting with people and in some cases making lifelong friends. The mail artist will respond to a mail art call posted on the web, or just send a handmade postcard to a random address, with no expectation of a return letter. It is an act of benevolence, a gift, a random act of kindness, and more often than not, is rewarded by a return letter or card. As mail artists all over the world know; you have to send mail to get mail, so why don't you start today? Send a real letter to someone you haven't seen in awhile, or look up mail art calls on the web and choose one to respond to. Wade in, reach out, and enjoy finding little gems with your name handwritten on the envelope mixed in with the bills and junk mail in your mailbox!