Showing posts with label world printmakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world printmakers. Show all posts

Monday, February 3, 2020

Project Update #2: 100 Acts of Human Kindness


Kickstarter

Past halfway point! I'm starting to doodle...
3404c07e288c4bfb50a6b5c5384b05b7 original.jpg?ixlib=rb 2.1
Posted by Maria Arango Diener
Feb 3, 2020
External link.png?ixlib=rb 2.1 View on Kickstarter
Thank you everyone! We now have over half of participants needed to make the project "a go"!
Please keep sharing, especially directly through email, text or direct message, if you have some fellow artists that are on the fence. Remind them of the awesome group deals and how cool the final prints are. Did I just dangle a verb?! Sigh...
Calendar of Events for everyone's info:
  • January 26 2020 - PROJECT LAUNCH WOOOOSH!
  • March 3 - Funding period ends
  • February/March 2020 - Blocks designed and cut by me
  • April 1 2020 - (at the latest) Single puzzle pieces mailed out
  • September 30 2020 - PARTICIPANT DEADLINE to return carved puzzle pieces with information filled out
  • October 2020 to January 2021 - I print assembled Kindness puzzle, photograph each image, gather info, send book to publish, send poster to printer...whew!
  • February 2021 - 100 Acts of Kindness woodcut print, books, posters and postcards mailed out
Anyhow, aside from that I am so convinced we are going to make it I started to doodle in my head about the final 4-panel work (maybe 5 if we have a rush-hour influx of artists!). This takes some thinking; the great City of the World was 5-panels side by side and it is the easiest to exhibit. On the other hand, the Peace Puzzle and the Fantastic Garden were easier to design because of their shape. 
Our Fantastic Garden was truly awesome and the most "puzzly" of our puzzles
I'm thinking along the lines of graphic whimsical butterflies let loose by a helping hand or hands, with the characteristic swirls you expect from a true Maria design. So...here we go doodling, I promise to share once I have something that actually looks presentable. 
Tell a friend! Thank you all and sharpen your chisels,
Maria

Update #1 WOW What a start!
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Monday, August 3, 2015

Peaceful Sunday

Sundays

Sunday is a gift, every Sunday is a gift. For me it is the only day I can catch my breath on this project and life in general. Right now the postal office people are plotting another bombardment of little packets upon my mailbox and its surroundings, to commence Monday afternoon. But today is Sunday, forever rest-day, day to reflect and to enjoy the precious gift of everything that is good in life.
Under the cool breezes of a new portable A/C I get to open packages, read (quickly) newspapers from all over the world (mostly look at pictures and read comics), savor candies, delight in tiny art pieces from my friends and read (slowly) the thoughtful notes from my soulmate-artist-friends. Blissful.

Lynn Gustafson
Alameda, CA www.Lynn-Gustafson.com

Peace is a sign, is a feeling, is a look and feel. Finding the curving lines of life that bring peace is what this block illustrates.


Thomas Dyer Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Peace? Peace (I could've sworn you said "pease.") Well here it is: pease in a pod, with a piece of my heart thrown in to prove that I am at peace, thinking of the love of my life and the heart we have heartily won together. Peace. With smiling pease.


Loc Cao Jonesboro, Georgia, USA

A beautiful memory by remembering childhood in Vietnam. An age that have no worried, but just acting with the herd, kite flying and playing with friends in the rice field. It was a time of serenity and ease. Today looking back on my children, yes, they are living in a wonderful state, but they contended with the technology that had manipulated their lives and they blanked out the natural beauty and lifestyle outdoor. So my drawings remind me to play with my children outside frequently, avoid downtime with electronics and cherished peace.


Mo Tingey London, UK http://motingey.com Peace Lily


My puzzle piece arrived looking like a large tear. Of sadness, maybe? That peace in this world is unachievable? No, think positive!

Instead the shape was a help as I am used to thinking in rectangular formats. Having been provided fresh boundaries what imagery to use? I looked at various symbols for peace without anything stimulating me. I considered using the word itself in different languages, however there are so many and to single out a few seemed divisive. Still considering text I researched quotes about peace and came across one by Mother Theresa. It was short and succinct: “Peace begins with a smile.” Perfect but it needed decoration. One night as I was drifting off to sleep a Peace Lily came to mind. The ‘flower’ – in reality a specialised leaf bract – was a beautiful echo of the wood block.

With the result I would like to think I have made my own contribution to world peace and understanding, if only in a minuscule way.

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts 
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener 
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts 
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Books books and other garden things...

Ordered!

Good news for everyone who pre-ordered the Growing the Fantastic Garden 2013 print version book. Last week I finished uploading files and photos and such, editing, re-editing, proofing, re-proofing and finally...

Immediately I headed to my account and ordered your books. Order will be received on or around November 15 and I will immediately send them out to you.

Participants of the Fantastic Garden who pre-ordered one or more books are listed in the Participant List page on this blog. If you do not find your name listed as having ordered a book, let me know:

Cover Peek

Check it out, like it? It is YOUR work!!!

Where to get it

The book will be available in Amazon.com and Amazon Europe in 5-7 business days. I also paid to have the book distributed to the rest of the world (well, the rest of the world serviced by Amazon) so it should be available later this year everywhere else. A Kindle version is also available, live right now. And may I add how much of a pain it is to re-format the big book on Kindle format! Yikes! But it is done.

There are also other choices. I will be listing the print and e-version (PDF) of the book in my store on Etsy.com as soon as the physical book crosses my threshold.

And another reminder that the Colophon is now available for download through my website:

Other Stuff and Sweet Deals

Also, for everyone and their art loving friends, there are Fantastic Garden quality reproductions and a few sets of original prints available, ready to begin to fund the next madness!
Follow the links from my shop portal to get your own Fantastic Garden goodies:

To sweeten the deal, here are some relevant codes:
TISTHESEASON10 (10% off until end of year)
FREESHIPPING (just that)
OFF20FANTASTIC (20% off on Fantastic Garden goodies)

 BHCXZJ 20% until end of year

That's All Folks!

This concludes this project. After suitable rest, I will begin jotting down the buzzing ideas for the next one so stay tuned to this blog or my Facebook page(s)!

The garden is history!



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Tidying up the Garden

Kickstarter Update

I just sent what may be the very last update to participants and backers of the Kickstarter Project that, well, kick-started the Fantastic Garden.
Here is the full text of the update with a yummy repro of the whole print:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/557726766/fantastic-garden-monumental-collaborative-puzzle-p/posts/630165

List Getting Shorter

Here is my list of things to do from last post, with updates:

  1. Finish colophon of information to be sent to everyone with prints - CHECK Waiting for the printed info sheets to be delivered at my doorstep in two days.
  2. Have colophon copied 92 times CHECK! same as #1
  3. Finish putting together and formatting book (will take a while longer) - WORKING...
  4. Take better photos of finished prints for poster size rewards - CHECK
  5. Send pics to POD outfit for fulfilling rewards - CHECK Waiting for posters and other rewards to be delivered in about four business days
  6. Pack and mail 92 sets of prints - Tubes ready and waiting; Mailing list cleaned up and uploaded to my mail program.
  7. Pack and mail roughly 50 books and about 18 other rewards to backers of project
  8. Start new project - Oh dear, ideas are waaaay too many and jumbled right now but soon, my preciousssss, soooooon...

The Last Print Video

And last but not least, as promised, just got done editing the very sad video entitled Fantastic Garden: THE LAST PRINT :-)


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Thursday, September 19, 2013

More Pieces

Enjoy the last few!

Amanda Gordon-Miller - Baltimore, Maryland USA
Poppies for the garden!
Sarah Hope Parmeter - Santa Cruz, California USA
Wendy Shaft - Williamston, Michigan USA
http://wendyshaft.blogspot.com
A collaborative project, like this, reminds me that I am not alone as a relief printmaker. This is second project with Maria and what a glorious experience to see the final art.
Mary Weimer Green - Avon Lake, Ohio USA


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Monday, September 9, 2013

Down to the Wire

Oh so close!

We are getting down to the last few stragglers! I was really surprised only one is a snail, the others are rather fast critters like hummingbirds and dragonflies. But sometimes it is windy and all critters have a hard time making headway.

Enjoy!

Barbara Mason - Aloha, Oregon USA
http://www.barbara-mason.com

This cherry wood was darn hard to carve...my lines are wider than I would like....it was odd carving away the lines and leaving the body of the image...more things to learn. Maybe if I live to be 150 or so I will have it down.

John Furr - Pickering, Ontario CANADA

Lynda Furr - Pickering, Ontario CANADA

Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

More puzzle pieces to enjoy!

Critters and a Landscape


Today, an octopus in the garden! I swear I can't get that Beatles song out of my head when I look at this lovely creature. Appropriately, I (Photoshop) placed it in the pool so it would feel right at home. Sharron Huffman is an octopus master printer! I met her at the Nature Printing Society workshop a couple of years ago. Every relief printer should nature print some time in their lives.

And two contributions from Canada, a peaceful landscape under the clouds and a darling porcupine. Both were placed in the shade of trees; the landscape under the (very messy) Palo Verde and the porcupine under a mesquite tree, nestled by the (appropriately) spiny leaves of a young Century Plant.



Sharron Huffman - Milwaukie, Oregon USA
http://www.sharronhuffman.com

The octopus image originated as a real octopus. I made a gyotaku of the octopus and then used that original as the basis of a 8" square encaustic collage, "Octopus's Garden," with inclusions of hydrangea petals and daisy prints. A scan of the finished encaustic piece provided the outline for my block design. I must say it's easier to print an octopus than it is to carve one! But I knew it had to be ... every garden needs an octopus.
Bonnie Baker - Nova Scotia CANADA
Janel Warmington - Nova Scotia CANADA
On to the next batch! Five more came in over the weekend so I have some photographing to do...except it is RAINING!? How cool...

Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Garden growing like crazy!

Must be fall

In the fall the desert revives again, just as soon as the nightly "lows" drop below the high-eighties. Such is our life! Our winters are delightful though. Most of our desert plants will bloom now until the cool mornings set in.

First contribution shows an entire lively garden! Since there were birds in the image, I placed them safely among the branches of an acacia.
The bee belonged among the pods of the sweet Honey Locust. We inherited two huge rows of these trees when we bought the property and most of them have survived. The sweet "beans" in the pods seem to attract many creatures, whether still on the tree or after they have fallen. In the winter, the pods mulch the soil and smell sweet and thick.
Finally the bunny and playful doggie belonged on the mixed grass. We keep a meager lawn for the dogs and to refresh our sight in the green. I figured the bunny had been attracted by the dandelion flower and decided to stop by for a snack. They look happy!


Patrick Armstrong - Thunder Bay, Ontario CANADA
Charles Morgan - Victoria, British Columbia CANADA
http://www.mossworks.com

Whenever I think of a garden, I always think of the great variety of insects that we should find there. Alas, we have distributed so much poison that the number of insects has been drastically reduced, just in my lifetime. Of particular note is the catastrophic decline in honey bee populations. So, this is my modest effort to populate our garden with this much needed friend.
Bea Gold - Los Angeles, California USA
I love my garden. It is a play place for me and my dog. Go girl go!


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Waiting for me!

Refreshing!

Unbelievably as it may seem, I took my first vacation of the year just this past week. Here I am with my Mami, relaxing a bit after a hearty platter of clams on the blissfull waters of Morro Bay, California, Pacific Ocean, World, Universe.

Seriously now...

Blocks waiting for me

Upon my return, I found these beauties awaiting me! Fifteen, count them, fifteen! beautifully carved and varied blocks added to our garden. I found out that I am not quite used to being back in the heat yet, but nevertheless persevered in photographing the entire lot this morning.
Blog updates coming at you in the next days.

Reminders

Deadline is a-looming! Two more short weeks until ALL the blocks are s'posed to be here. Don't spend extra money on expedited mailing, though, but do try to get the blocks back to me in the next couple of weeks.
As of today, 54 participants have returned their blocks and I have emails from 8 more.

Finally, don't forget to send in your image information using the web form on this page, exactly as you would like it to appear on this blog and on the Growing the Garden printed book:
http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/p/2013-fantastic-garden.html

The Book

Growing the Garden will be a full color book with all the prints, all the panels, all the information from participants and an illustrated sequence of the process. I am shooting to have it published through Amazon in both printed and ebook formats. The printed book will retail for $29-34 depending on how many pages I end up with.

To pre-order a printed book at author's cost or $18, you can send check, money order, or PayPal anytime before the project ends. Once the book publishes, the early bird deal ends. Use email address 1000woodcuts at gmail dot com for PayPal. I will then put you down for a pre-ordered book and send it once it is published.

As usual, all participants get access to the PDF version after I put that together and everyone receives a summary "map" of the garden with names and locations of all participants, along with their prints.

That's it! Get those blocks in!


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Monday, July 8, 2013

Ruth Leaf's Contribution and a Mystery Solved

Ruth Leaf

I confess Ruth is my favorite all time printmaker. She is the author of the ageless Etching, Engraving and Other Intaglio Printmaking Techniques. I am pasting the link here. Unfortunately as I understand it, Ruth doesn't get royalties any longer! But her words are wise and the book is still the basis for many a printmaking course in Universities and Colleges.
She is also an incredible artist and relief printmaker and I am proud to own and display some of her prints. So why the plug? No reason, I just love Ruth and felt like telling the world!

Here is her contribution, nestled among the African Sumac mulched leaves and just below one of our favorite hardy "volunteers", the Mojave Globe Mallow. The Globe Mallow sprouts here and there all over the desert. Water it and it grows faster but also dies faster. Any bush, grass or tree that grows and thrives out here by itself earns my respect. The flowers are bright orange and the stems a delicate pale ash green.

Ruth Leaf - Venice California USA
http://ruthleaf.com

Mystery Solved

A while back I showed a mystery block carved by my other favorite printmaker David Bull. Dave churns away in his Seseragi Studio in Japan and now has accomplices to help him fill the world with woodblock prints. His wise words are best heard first hand through the amazing rich media book Your First Print,
http://mokuhankan.com/catalogue/0057.php

If you recall, his block was carved from a single delicate line and the critter hidden within was...well, hidden! Today I succumbed to temptation and decided to pull a print just to see what it would look like. I sure hope we can do it justice when printing the big blocks!

Here are the block to refresh your memories, and the print I pulled with an enlargement. The beastie revealed!!!

David Bull's block to refresh your memories
The printed beastie!
Larger view, look at it for a long time and you will enter
an alternate reality...ommmmmm




Important Dates and Notes

Only two months to go to the deadline! August 31st is fast approaching.
Please send your image information as soon as you know what you are doing via this page:

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Three more beauties!

Important Dates and Notes

Only two months to go to the deadline! August 31st is fast approaching.
Please send your image information as soon as you know what you are doing via this page:


New Arrivals

I received a visit today from my  buddy Dary DePry and his overgrown son! Well, overgrown because last time I saw him he was merely a babe in arms, quite literally; I guess it's been a while. In any case, a very pleasant surprise indeed and another block to photograph in the cool 96 degree morning...tomorrow about 5:00 am!

In the meantime, here are three more. If you have missed the updates, check the left column links on this blog and see all the nice additions to our Fantastic Garden. So far a very nice variety of images coming in! I thought I would place the lotus in the midst of a Century Plant, the marvelous flower girl among the flowers of the hardy Oleander, and the mouse...well, mice are always afoot! this one hiding among the fallen and low leaves of my very productive fig tree.
Stephanie Chao - Southern California USAswchao.328 at gmail.com
I have been carving on soft blocks for a number of years, but this is my first attempt at woodblock carving.  The lotus is one of my favorite flowers.  

George Jarvis - Shimokitate Akita JAPAN

Wendy Morris - Spokane Washington USA



Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Monday, July 1, 2013

19 In! 71 To Go

Numbers Game

Yesterday we broke the all time city record of 118 F degrees. At that temperature, the camera gets hot to the touch in about 5 minutes and quits working in 12; it's a safety feature, I'm told. My car-mometer (or truck-mometer to be more precise) tells me it was 124 F just off the pavement. The news reports inside-the-car temperatures hit 152 F, just so you don't leave your Chihuahua in there, not even for a minute.

Nearby Death Valley, about 170 y pico miles from Las Vegas Nevada, matched the record 129 F degrees. Some folks carrying thermometers reported unofficial temperatures of 135 F degrees. Which begs the question, what are they doing there?! "We wanted to feel what it was like" said a couple of Northern European tourists with skin the color of fully ripened pomegranates.

Anyhow these days it is tough to find a spot in the garden that has a resemblance of colorful life in it! But the oleanders don't seem to care much and the Palo Verdes, actually a native from Arizona, are now in full bloom. There are 19 blocks resting in the shade of the studio and eagerly awaiting 71 more to come. If you send them, I will venture in the heat to takes pictures of them, so long as my camera holds up! 

Important Dates and Notes

Only two months to go to the deadline! August 31st is fast approaching.
Please send your image information as soon as you know what you are doing via this page:

On to the images!

Constance Brewer - Gillette Wyoming USA
http://peripheryarts.blogspot.com
What's a garden with out a small, humanoid creature of the gnome variety in it? No mere lawn ornament, this gnome is set to protect and defend all the denizens of his garden, fantastical or mundane. Unfortunately, someone's been playing with bubbles and this gnome has gotten himself trapped in one, and is floating about the Fantastic Garden, wondering where he'll come to rest. 

Vicki LoSasso - Reno Nevada USA
http://vickilosasso.com 
art at vickilosasso.com   inklingv at gmail.com
Woodcarving has always intimidated me, so the decision to participate in Fantastic Garden wasn't an easy one. But I LOVE collaborative projects, remembered Maria from Geographical Divides,another collaborative project, and decided I should challenge myself and dive in.
I created several creatures I thought could live in a fantastic garden, and the little guy in my carving was my favorite. I worked the image out in soft-cut before I braved carving into the wood.

I am very grateful to Maria for making this Fantastic Garden come to life!



Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Saturday, June 22, 2013

A platypus, a flower, a fairy...

Puzzle Pieces!

Yes I am getting creative with the backgrounds now! The platypus was easy, it behaved very well and just posed on the tree bark of an old elm branch. Balancing the flower on the Mojave Yucca leaves took some doing but the leaves of the yucca are strong and took to the task well. I cheated on the fairy and held the little block up by the blooms of a Mojave Desert Willow with that Y-stick that you see in the picture. Balance block on stick with left hand, snap picture(s) with right. Piece of cake!

In case anyone wonders, I take about 5-10 pictures per block and pick and keep the best. Sometimes I have to tinker with the camera settings, manual focus, no flash, etc., but most of the time I just let it do its thing on Auto.

How cool are these, huh? huh?

Margaret Barnaby - Volcano, Hawai'i, USA
http://www.margaretbarnaby.com
"What could be more fantastic than a flippin' platypus? The block is tiny, the tools are dull, but still,it was very fun!    In Memory of a Tasmanian friend, Jane Baldry, who created a fantastic garden above the river."

Sonia Jensen - Wyoming USA
"By late April, we escape endless winter, for a week in Hawaii. We need to remember that trees are green and flowers bloom.  Just before leaving, I discovered the book, Georgia O'Keeffe's Hawaii.  Georgia visited Maui in 1939. She produced paintings, in her unique style, of the flowers we saw daily.  Thus came the inspiration for my block.   Now summer is slow to arrive , so I have had plenty of time to savor the carving of my block and participation in the Fantastic Garden Puzzle Print Project.          
   "

Sharri LaPierre - Vancouver Washington USAhttp://barebonesart.blogspot.com
http://www.barebonesart.com

The Fantastic Garden is such a great theme. The pity is: so many ideas, but only one block!  But, it is just mandatory that all gardens have fairies and other kinds of little folk.  How else could you explain the mischief that can occur amongst your plants and flowers?  My little fairy loosely resembles my youngest granddaughter when she was 3 and 4 yrs. old and considered herself a Fairy Princess.  And, she loves bugs, so this fairy is in deep conversation with a lady bug while fireflies twinkle.


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Revenge of the Fire Ants

More Arrivals and Revenge of the Fire Ant

There are a number of dangers in the desert and, although very few actually live in people's back yards, still the desert is not exactly "user friendly" sometimes.

So there I was, innocently taking photos of our beloved puzzle pieces. This year I thought I would vary the backgrounds and chose to place the little darlings in my garden, of course! Problem is, I get distracted trying to find just the perfect background, the perfect light, the perfect focus...OOOOUCH! nothing like fire ants tend to end the bliss in a hurry.

If you have ever been bitten, you know why they call them fire ants. And to top it all off, I seem to have a slight "reaction" to some insect bites so my heel today is about twice as big as it should be. My HEEL! that is some tough skin that little bast--- got through...
Sigh, no more photos under that Mojave Willow that's for sure!

Here are three more contributions.
David Bull - Tokyo JAPAN
http://woodblock.com
(Maria's note: What is it? I guess we all will have to wait to print it to find out!
I will just tell you that, up close, the carving is absolutely incredible, the entire image done in a single continuous engraved line. Amazing.)

John Center - Chicago Illinois USA

Harry French - Lincolnshire England UNITED KINGDOM
This section of the puzzle print is based upon imaginative and observational studies in the garden of the German Expressionist, Emile Nolde of Seebüll in Schleswig- Holstein, Northern Germany.
Website : http://www.harryfrenchartworks.co.uk


Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Monday, June 17, 2013

My Precioussssssssssssssssssssss!!!

Magic!

When blocks start rolling in I feel like a wizard with a magic precious secret...shall I share right away or shall I wait? Oh, the magic!!! The magic begins, my dear friends!

But first! (is the suspense killing you?) three IMPORTANT notes...er, of note:

  1. Please fill out image information as soon as you know what you are doing, K? If you choose NOT to do that, your block will be published both online and in the book Growing the Garden with your name and location only, not that there's anything wrong with that.
    http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/p/2013-fantastic-garden.html
  2. If you would like a printed book Growing the Garden at pre-publication price, just send $18 along with your block, via PayPal, in gold nuggets, fine wine or dark chocolate.
  3. At any time during the exciting quest for completion of the Fantastic Garden, you can check the Participant's Page on this blog to see who has returned their block, who is getting a book, etc. I try to update the list every week and will faithfully do so from now until the bitter end.
    http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/p/participant-list.html


Without further ado, here are the first arrivals in no particular order.

Helen Aland - Katherine AUSTRALIA
This has been a fabulous opportunity to collaborate with Artists from all over the globe.  I have tried to project a little piece of my garden in the woodblock  - a flock of Red Tail Cockatoos flying off into the sunset, a scene I often am privileged to see!

Andrew Borloz - Northeast USA
The flowers & leaves in the image that I created for this project do not really exist in the natural world. They were created from my imagination to reflect the theme: fantastic garden - it may have been inspired or influenced by the dogwood flowers & leaves in my backyard. The shape of the wooden block that I got looked like a pear, but I decided to ignore the shape and just carve the flower, leaves and twigs. 



Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Blocks arriving at destinations!

Mailing done!

Today I mailed the last of the stragglers and now all the blocks are either en route or already arriving at participant's homes and studios. Please continue to let me know when your block arrives by blog comment, email, ping or however. This helps later with tracing any missing blocks.

Blocks, mailer, tape gun, instructions, newspapers

As usual when confronting a long repetitive task,
remember that one and one and one is three!
As I had mentioned, the mailing process is nothing worthy of making an interesting video (who wants to see me scream with frustration or crying with boredom?!). But for those of you who will follow in the puzzle footsteps and organize one of these mad-feats, I will outline how I approach the task.

First the necessary tools of the mailing room, for maximizing efficiency.

  • 92 tiny blocks all clean and sanded and ready for their long trips.
  • Cardboard mailers from http://Uline.com, I picked the size that was both appropriate and on sale at the time of purchasing!
  • Instructions printed for each participant just in case anyone misplaced the webpage that clearly outlines the instructions that everyone will read...twice, right?
  • Tape gun, doesn't every girl own one? Well, everyone that does any type of bulk mailing should own one. I believe I may have acquired this particular one from my days working as a box handler at UPS way back when.
  • Newspaper or other suitable padding to protect the tiny blocks.
  • Scale for weighing each package.
  • Box to haul the loot to the Postal Office.
  • Not pictured, MUSIC! to make the task of wrapping 92 blocks and taping 92 boxes somewhat bearable.
Basically, each block gets wrapped in newspaper and stuck in a box with a set of instructions. 
The name of the block (that funny code on the back) is written on the outside of the box, this way I know later what block goes to whom.
Each box is weighed and weight recorded on the outside of the box, then I tape the box. I keep all the 8 ouncers and 9 ouncers separate so I can batch labels a bit later.

Once all blocks are in boxes (read: two days later) I go to the computer, fire up my mailing program (http://www.endicia.com) and import the addresses about 10-12 at a time to prevent goof-ups and label jams. 
By this time, I have no idea what the blocks look like so the process of assigning blocks is completely blind. As I slap a printed label on each box, I write the block code by the participant's name on my spreadsheet and the date of mailing.
Repeat 92 times, another two days go by, and, all done! A trip or five to the postal office and the dirty deed is completed. 
What a fun time I had!!! Ugh. I spent the next day outside in the garden caressing all the new blooms from my desert hardy plants, all awakening and bursting with pollen in the first few warm days.


Accounting updated

With the mailing costs in the books, I updated the hours and money spreadsheet and subsequently the web pages. The Amazon Payments came through in a few days and now we're in the black! As costs come up I will keep updating the finances so everyone sees where each precious penny goes.

Is everyone carving yet?

As I write this, I am looking at a strange little package that looks suspiciously just like the ones I just mailed out, how could this be? Could it be the first block returned!??? I haven't opened the box yet, but Robert Simola definitely gets the early bird grand prize. Thanks Robert!