reach out and touch someone.

over the holidaze, my good friend tara invited me into and art-in-the-mail chain letter type thing. although i usually scoff away internet chain letters (though, granted, i generally get the ones that quote ghandi and then promises curses if i don't make wishes and forward them to my friends), i jumped at this opportunity. i did a similar one once that involved unknown women buying me new panties. it was fun. and, to be honest, i like the idea of sending something i have made to a stranger for no good reason every once in a while. the idea is that you send off one piece of art and received thirty six in return. like all pyramid schemes it is eventually doomed to collapse, but i was willing to toss my work out into the void without great concern of my returns.

but man, my gambling paid off. i have been so spoiled by my postal gifts. pictured above is one of the hand knit fingerless gloves made for me by alina velieva. below are pictured a brown crested chickadee on wood from vancouver's only east-side beach (and sometimes shanty town), crab park send to me by penny bucker and a woodland linoleum print by laura jean.

stuff keeps arriving, too. like the hard-to-communicate-through-photographry postal fortune cookie sent to me by emily in halifax. it's great! my mailbox is so much more fun. this whole process reminds me of things i used to do when i was younger. right after i got the invite from tara, i got another one from christa. now i feel bad for feeling overwhelmed and turning her down. there are a bunch more friends from far afield that i would include a second time around. thanks, strangers! you've really perked up my sullen january. i feel entirely undeserving.