Hasta La Ideas

Hooray! The Sign Painter project on Kickstarter has reached its goal and still has a few days left. I couldn’t resist the $200 pledge level:

Your name, logo or design hand painted AND CUSTOM-DESIGNED BY CHES PERRY on an 18″x24″ show-card plus a professional photo and video taken of your sign being lettered for however you wish to use it: website, print or to show your friends how awesome it is that you had your logo or design hand painted by a old time sign artist. Also includes the sign painting instructional DVD to learn how to sign paint, techniques and tricks (fall delivery date on DVD).

I had a cold and was feeling run down, so I hadn’t been downtown to my studio for a few days. When I opened my mailbox, it was overflowing with an amazing assortment of envelopes and small parcels. I instantly felt better!

Inside this beautifully addressed envelope with Australian postage was an actual love letter from Lee of bluebirdmill.blogspot.com. In addition to a gushing letter, Lee included some ephemera, an old map, and a photo of herself. I’m blushing!

Laura Schwammann decorated her envelope which contained a Valentine (which made me think of issue 11 with its themes of linocut/sharp and labour-intensive art-making and owl motif).

Christina Crook, one of our writers (most recently she wrote the feature about Angela Ritchie Ace Camps and Creative Retreats in the current issue #12) sent one of her simple and lovely greeting cards. Each contains a vintage embroidered patch. (They’re available on her Etsy shop here. Please visit her shop to see better quality images—it’s a great concept for a unique card.)

Mister Edwards sent a fun bag of candy and stickers. (Check out this Crap Book – that’s right, no S on scrap!)

Janae Easton of Platypusfile sent a soft owl paperweight/beanbag and some prints of her artwork. Finley is enjoying playing with the little owl, but our dog Percy is awfully tempted, too!

And that’s not all that was in this incredible mailbox haul! There’s a new book by Gemma Correll, an activity journal to document What I Wore Today, a postcard from Eight Hour Day, and a letter from Carolee Wheeler with some tiny stamps and beautiful handwriting that needs further investigation. A publication from Grow Books entitled Pushie, Jr. And a postcard from Stephanie Levy.

Really, you’ve all spoiled me. I don’t remember a February 14th when I had better Valentines than these. Thank you!!!

photos by Melissa Mongiat“A giant aquarium were you could swim and also see the swimmers from outside.”“A forest of multicoloured balloons all year round, winter and summer.”

Montréal, 30 May 2010: On a Sunday morning, the Museum of Possibilities (Musée des possibles) was created as an invitation for the public to take ownership of a new public space in the city’s Quartier des spectacles. People were asked to share what they would like to see, do, or who they would like to meet in this space—and together explore all possibilities. 

Read more incredibly interesting projects by the project conceptualizers and collaborators “Living in Our Time” here.

{discovered via Happiness Is…} (thanks, Erin, for the link that got me there)

image by Paperfinger

If you’re looking for a grand gesture on paper, this is it! Calligrapher extraordinaire Brynn Chernoff will transcribe your letter onto elegant Italian paper with a deckled edge.