More VQR Contributions

Some of the latest contributions to the VQR Postal Project, sent by Heleen (the Nethelands) and Micu (Hungary).

Laughing Never Stops

«I'm writing to you, and you have a good laugh if you're not bored. I'm laughing at the thought of you laughing, and that's how laughing never stops on this earth.»

Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek (1946)

Goose

Sent to Stripygoose (the UK). I could not help to send this goose inside...

(By Green Banana Cards)

(By Green Banana Cards)

Catalogue de vélos

Collage postcard sent to Uli (Germany).

Cheese Pizza

Cardboard pizza (cut from a box of pizza, of course!) sent to Gina (UK). I added some paper cheese...

Sent in a hand-made envelope (of tracing paper and washi tape). I was not sure that it could survive naked!

More Shakespearean Mail

As You Like It

Four more Shakespearean postcards sent by  Laura (the UK)! On top of this post, a Penguin Books classic cover (1959) for the play As You Like It, and  hand-made quotation from All's Well That Ends Well below:

All's Well That Ends Well

And here illustration of The Merry Wives of Windsor by Irish illustrator Hugh Thomson.

The Merry Wives of Windsor

And Macbeth by John Singer Sargent, taken from Shakespeare Illustrated.

Macbet

The Country Postman

«As I reached the mountain track, I heard a trumpet sound. The country postman was announcing his arrival in the village.
"Master!" he called to me, waving his hand.
He came over and gave me a packet of newspapers, come literary reviews and two letters: one I immediately put away in my pocket to read in the evening, when day is done and the spirit is calm. I knew who had written it and I wanted to defer my joy so that it should last longer.»

Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek (1946)

Yellow Tea Back

Sent by Alan (the UK). 

When I send mail I wait for an answer. I guess everyone does. But when when the answer is a twin mail* I'm specially happy.

Because it indicates that the receiver/sender looked at my letter carefully and took the time to think about what I might like. I don't know how to write this... Sometimes I receive mail art that could have been sent to everyone in the world. It is nice, that doesn't mean I don't like those works... But honestly, I can't see the point, as I try to make my mail special for every receiver.

*I mean: I have sent a letter inside a yellow envelope made of tea packaging... And I have received a letter inside a yellow envelope made of tea packaging. See yesterday's post.

Yellow Tea

Sent to Alan (the UK).

Envelope made of yellow tea packaging, some stickers and sticker stamps. Sorry I didn't take the picture before putting the real stamps on!

The back:

Tigers on Stamps

I have already published some stamps with tigers. But suddenly I realised that tigers is a common theme for stamps around the world...

 

India

USA

USA

Please, tiger-lovers, forgive me for showing also here these glorious panthers...

Belarus

Circus!

Thanks to this theme in Sunday Stamps Bryon (USA) was really kind and offered to send some stamps about circus. They represent early 20th century posters. I did not received some of them as promised... but the whole set on an envelope!

These stamps are amazing, look at them closely:

I started to look in the Internet about these circuses, and then I realised that I had just sent a postcard of Barnum & Bailey Circus. In fact, I bought these postcard for a friend who loves swimming pools...

Postcard sent to Laura (the UK).

From Brazil

Three Artworks received from Dórian Ribas (Brazil). 

Postcard User Guide

Maybe are you on holidays and want to send postcards? Don't know how to do that? Look at this useful postcard received from Heleen (the Netherlands):

1. Turn postcard over. You're not allowed to write on this side. It confuses your postman.

2. Write something nice to someone on the left hand panel like "Hello Deidre, I like your hat. Have you lost weight?"

3. On the right panel, write down their name and address. If they don't live anywhere, just give it to them when you see them next. It doesn't matter, it still works.

4. Pop a stamp on here. Any one will do. As long as it's got the Queen's face on it.

5. Pop it in a postbox. DONE. Make sure it is a red one though. Them other ones with holes are bins. If you put it in there then no-one will get it.

It is easy, isn't it? Well, maybe the mail boxes in your country aren't red, or you have not any queen... But these aren't valid reasons for not to send me a postcard during your holidays!

Viking Mail

Postcars sent by Eva (Norway). It shows the Oseberg Ship. I love how the sender turned this postcard in something unique by adding some interesting magazine cuttings:

And a perfectly matched stamp!

And I have recently received another postcard about Viking culture. This comes from the UK, sent by Laura who visited an exhibition in the British Museum. It represent chessmen from the late 12th centure, made of walrus ivory (height 9.2 cm). How curious!

Mail Activities Are Highly Addictive

This postcard was designed and sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) with the title Warning: mail activities are highly addictive. I consider this is absolutely right... but I am an absolutely hopeless case! And anyway... isn't it possible to enjoy addictive activities? Look at this man in another postcard also sent by Heleen:

What do you think?

Greek Summer

Envelope sent by Katerina (Greece) wishing a blue summer. the back with rubber stamps:

And one of the collages inside. I like the Spanish-Greek mix:

Bonne direction

Before

Letter sent to Katerina (Greece).

Sometimes I wonder why my letters arrive so wretched...

After

Labels

All these vintage and/or artistic labels have arrived from the UK, but they are not the official labels that you can get in the post office.