HYPERDOODLE DREAM at Mail Me Art 2

Hyperdoodle Dream

acrylic & marker on board, 12x12 inches, 2010

I'm thrilled to have a piece in the upcoming show, Mail Me Art 2. Mail Me Art is a British-based project organized by Darren Di Lieto, founder and co-editor of Hire An Illustrator and the Little Chimp Society. Mail Me Art 1, held in April 2009, "brought together a vast collection of artistic work sent in the form of mail by both professional and amateur artists of all ages from across the world. A wide variety of media was used in an equally wide variety of styles." (1)

I have always enjoyed creating (and receiving!) mail art. I really like the addition of scuffs, marks, bumps and bruises it tends to receive while traveling through the postal system. Since I was sending this piece to England, I thought it would be fun to create something more durable to see how it would fare passing though so many hands.

Hyperdoodle Dream (detail 1)

Since I wanted to create something durable, I decide to try to send a piece of wood through the mail. Measuring 12x12 inches, the board is solid birch plywood. It was interesting trying to send this piece. I ended up going to 3 different post offices here in Kansas City before someone would give me the OK to send it as-is without any packaging. As for the image itself, this hyperdoodle is unique in that I mixed enamel based markers and water based markers together on one piece.

Darren has taken the time to set up a gallery that includes images from the last exhibit as well as a preview of the new one. Here are a few of my faves from Mail Me Art 1:

by Sauerkids

by Zeptonn

I couldn't make out the name on this piece, but I love it! (If anyone knows who did any of these 3 pieces, please let me know. Thanks.)

unknown artist

unknown artist

Take a look at all the pieces from both exhibits, here. BIG thanks to Darren for coordinating this show and for the fun opportunity! Mail Me Art 2 opens this Friday, July 30, 2010 at Red Gate Gallery, London.

(1) taken from Project Details, on the Mail Me Art website.

Here We Are

Here We Are / cover art • July 2010

As some of you may know, my youngest brother, Matt, is a musician.

To say that Matt chose music as a path in life wouldn't really be accurate. Rather, I believe it chose him. Although all of my siblings and I have always enjoyed music, it affected him in a different way. As far back as I can remember, my dad's music collection always filled the house. So much so, in fact, that as kids we couldn't get to sleep unless something was blaring through the stereo or on the record player. Oh, to fall asleep to Beethoven!

After a year-and-a-half of hard work and collaboration my brother, Matt, and his friend, Chris Lee, have released their first album on iTunes and CDBaby.com. Entitled Here We Are, the album is a great mix of blues, indie, rock and folk. Right now it's only available as a digital download. In September, the physical CD will be available on CDBaby.com. I was honored to do the artwork & design for the album.

It's roughly 700 miles from Waco, Texas to Columbia, Missouri. Over the last year there has been a tidal wave of music, energy and communication flowing in the space between these two cities. “Here We Are” is a unique collaboration between two musicians who have never met.

Check it out. And, if you're so inclined, give it a listen. My favorite song is Here We Are.