Ian-Patrick's Mailart & Postcards

Documentation of my responses to mail art calls, collaborations & exchanges through the postal system. If you wish to do an exchange mail me something with a return address.

167A Campbell Avenue
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
P1A 1W2

Thursday, December 27, 2007

(A Moment) Before the Rain


This one is a personal fav. Not exactly sure what the underlying meaning is here. I simply had an image of this little devil flying about in a stormy sky, then the notion came to me that he was about 4 inches tall and painted in the wildgrass and car in the background to present scale.
Water colour and india ink on acid free card, 6"square. Date stamped '24 July 1999' on the front with my signature stamp.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Santa Claus's lesser known accomplice ...Krampus!


Santa Claus may be a wonderful symbol of the holiday spirit, but time and consumer society have warped him to the point where he makes little sense. The idea behind Santa, originally, was to carrot-and-stick little boys and girls into good behavior—he’s got a list, he’s checking it twice, and if you fall under the ‘naughty’ category it’s switches and coals for you. But what child in America is at all afraid of receiving a lump of coal under the tree? What child even knows what a ‘switch’ is? Thanks to a range of factors—Dr. Spock and Mattel are high on the list—Santa’s beneficence is a fait accompli.

Alpine Europe, on the other hand, doesn’t have this problem. This is because years ago St. Nick’s job was split—while the jolly old elf delivered the goods, an evil, goat-horned spirit called the Krampus brought switches and bad dreams to the boys and girls of Austria, southern Germany, Switzerland, and far northern Italy.

More Krampus ......

This one dates back to 1997 and is marker and metallic ink on a piece of cardboard. I made this while on down time between deliveries when bike couriering Toronto. Don't remember who received the original, but I would love to (for the record). If you have it blog me, please.

Approx: 4"x6"

Be Good! ... From Krampus


Don't remember the specific date on this one. I didn't date it as I would normally. That and the way it's painted indicates to me that I made it in the studio during the, uhm, dark days. No war stories. Those of you who know me, know what I mean. I still have it, so it's up for grabs. I've thrown down some Photoshop colourization for posting. The original is in luscious black & white, and has a sweet hand drawn postcard style back. Ready for the mail.