Tuesday double feature, part one: Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan is an incredibly talented visual storyteller. I first discovered his work three years ago when I walked past the featured children's books table at the University Bookstore in Bellevue. I noticed amidst the pile of brightly gleaming kids stories, one seemingly worn sepia-colored book with a bewildered-looking man and a small white monster on the cover. Upon opening it, I was captivated by a story completely devoid of words but nonetheless impeccably told through pictures alone. This book was "The Arrival", the story of a man whose family, much like the Jews of WWII Germany, is being persecuted. He sets out alone to an outlandish new world to find work and set up a new home where he can bring his wife and child. How the monster comes in, you will have to find out for yourselves because there is little point in me putting words to a story which is told so breathtakingly well without them.

Sent: "Describe the worst room/house mate you've ever had."


Received:



He included this postcard from "The Arrival" with a nice thank you note on the back.

"The Arrival" was made into a remarkable stage presentation which featured actors, dancers and puppets. Here is a short video with some excerpts.

Audrey Kawasaki

Audrey Kawasaki, interestingly enough, contacted me first. She heard about Mailbag Art Museum via Amy Sol's Twitter and emailed me when she saw her name on the list of artists.

I originally learned about Audrey when I saw the beautiful letterpress print created by Pressure Printing (Denver, CO). Over the last few years, her work has grown increasingly well-known; her girls, with their sleepy eyes, seductive mouths, and delicate pink-tinged fingers, are easily recognized. A Pratt graduate, she has been featured in Juxtapoz and on the cover of Hi-Fructose.

You will notice the two pink splotches on the border; Audrey included in the envelope a folded piece of blue cardstock explaining how these accidental marks came to be. I like that they are there and am happy she did not decide to re-do the piece.

Sent: "What 3 albums have you been listening to lately?"


Received: " 'Brothers' by The Black Keys, 'Applause' by Balthazar, 'Broken Bells' by Broken Bells"

Tiffany Bozic and Eleanor Grosch

I arrived home today, post-Thanksgiving, to find two envelopes on my desk. The first was from fine artist Tiffany Bozic. She included in the envelope a card from her NYC Joshua Liner gallery opening two weeks ago, which included a nice thank you note with some kind words of encouragement. As for the artwork, I had to spend a minute or two thinking about which way was up and decided on the configuration below, based on the shadows under the two birds and the fact that the bow should be hanging down (at least according to the laws of gravity).

Sent:


Received:



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The other envelope was from Philly-based vector-artist Eleanor Grosch, who, in my opinion, is like the Dr. Doolittle of the mid-century style art world. Her art is so animal-focused, it's almost more accurate to call it a "menagerie" than a "portfolio". That's what I love about it. I have met her a few times at past Bumbershoot Flatstock events (she is such a sweet person) and still have the lovely hand-screenprinted Of Montreal poster with flying fish I purchased from her in 2006 for $20. It used to hang in my kitchen when I had my own apartment but I now share a house with other people and unfortunately wall space is a bit limited. Also, a few years ago, I had the incredible luck of taking a trip to Portland and just happening to walk in to Powell's books at the same time she was having an exhibit there. A very happy accident.

Sent: "And then what happened?"


Received: "I landed in some flowers!"

Allison Sommers

First off, let me just say that it's pieces like this that make dropping all my originals into the letterbox, unsure of their fate, all worth while.

Allison Sommers' paintings and sculptures generally feature suggestive and grotesque anthropomorphic scenes. However, for Mailbag Art Museum, she chose to paint something a bit more tame, although equally enjoyable. I love the humor of this piece and the fact that she used both the question as well as her answer as a basis for the subject matter. In truth, that is the real purpose of having the questions there; to provide inspiration if it's needed.

Question: What is your favorite section of the zoo?



Answer: The Break Room.

30 and counting...

Cards sent out today:


Here's a screenshot from iPhoto showing all 30 cards sent out so far.


14) Tiffany Bozic - "Sea Witch" sent 10/16/10
15) Jillian Tamaki - "Antique Photo" sent 10/16/10
16) Leah Chun - "The Viewer" sent 10/21/10
17) Moira Hahn "The Nightwalker"sent 10/25/10
18) Eric Fortune - "The Contest" sent 10/26/10
19) Gary Baseman - "Space Ghosts Enjoying Themselves" sent 10/26/10
20) Audrey Kawasaki - "English Rose" sent 10/27/10
21) Yoskay Yamamoto - "Woman with a tattoo" sent 10/29/10
22) Asaf Hanuka - "Smoke Break" sent 10/29/10
23) Tomer Hanuka - "Blind Spot" sent 10/30/10
24) James Roper - "Underwater Flora" sent 10/30/10
25) Eleanor Grosch - "Little Bird" sent 11/2/10
26) Shaun Tan - "Roommates" sent 11/2/10
27) Leif Parsons - "Unseen Forest" sent 11/8/10
28) Allison Sommers - "Victorian Portrait" sent 11/9/10
29) Resa Blatman - "The Vamp" sent 11/9/10
30) Julianna Bright - "Is it Fall Already?" sent 11/9/10

Paper-cut art from Jayme McGowan

Jayme McGowan is a wonderful paper-artist and illustrator from Sacramento, CA. I first saw her wallets for Poketo and have since been keeping track of her work. Her blog, Roadside Projects, is a fun read; full of process photos, videos and links to gems from other artists.

I was delighted to receive a fantastic piece of paper art from her a few days ago. It actually stands up on my desk!

Sent:

Received:

Robert Hardgrave

I was very fortunate to have been given a private tour of Robert Hardgrave's studio earlier this year, during which I received some solid advice about contracts and engaged in interesting discussions on metal music, techniques and brushes with death, among other things. In addition, he showed me an impressive stash of pill bottles he collected during an illness he had a few years back and told me that he was saving them for some sort of epic art project. I hope to see that come to fruition in the near future. Robert is a lovely person and a very talented artist whose work never ceases to amaze me; I'm am very proud that he has chosen participate in this project.

Sent:

Question: What's behind the mask?

Received:

Answer: Corporate pigs.