Postal Cards and Postage Stamps

A risk was taken on my part with the concept for an exhibition entitled "Postal Cards and Postage Stamps," for the Woodrow W. Carpenter Enamel Foundation's Second Biennial Conference. The conference was held in the facility he built and uses to promote the act and art of enameling.

Sixteen participants sent in thirty pieces or 24 postcards and six stamps. While that may seem small, 22 of the postcards were double-sided. That made for 52 pieces on view with connecting content. The concept was restricting as well as economic. The results confirmed individual challenge and purpose.

This exhibition had no entry fee and no jury. The installation of the enamels was in order of reception. While the number of participants was not large, it was representative and typical cross section of the norm.

While I do believe in a jury system, I also believe it should be on site and not from photo images. The object must stand for itself without intervention. When the theme is poetic anything goes because there is no structure just generalized ground. This can put an onus on the jury rather than the self.

While most of the participants chose the painting techniques, ability prevailed and skill levels evoked many levels of style. The work of Heina Petzrod's double-sided post card, "Homer's Surprise" clearly illustrated a complex ability to puzzle together a cartoon delight that is memorable as it is direct, fresh and completely thought.

Two double-sided works by Gwendolyn McLarty, "The Girls" and "The Ascension," offered refinement on multiple skills with metal and enameling.

Both of the above had layered, sandwiched construction. "Homer's Surprise" had hanging suspensions, while McLarty's had visual free air suspension of paper collage cut from antique postcards as images for both sides. The backs of both McLarty pieces were in stoned champlevé with paper postage stamps applied. Her nut and bolt assemblage refinements were excellent. That is not to fault anything about "Homer's Surprise," which used glue.

Both Petzrod of Auckland, New Zealand and McLarty of Houston, Texas received Outstanding Concept and Excellent Awards and $500 each from Bill Helwig.

Stell Shevis of Camden, Maine, represents the art of enameling as a painter, without confinement. At 93, her serious work compels simple honest attraction and evokes memories of having seen. Of note was that she chose to work on the backside of thin, pre-enameled 28-gauge steel, which is black with outstanding effectiveness. Of the four cards submitted, "Maine Lighthouse" magnifies darkness into light.

Three postage stamps from Mary Kline of St. Pete Beach, Florida, entitled "Mary does her Brunhilde" for a stamp from Norway, "Million-Dollar Baby, Max Ryan Ofigee, First-Day Issue stamp," and "Egypt - 7000 Years of Tourism," Commemorative, documented her realities with diminutive refinement containing perfected edges and uncommon sincerity to the concept.

Casey Sharpe created a stamp, "Crimson Koi," that was an eye stopper and called one to take a closer look. Had the overglaze enamel been well prepared the excellent rendering would not have forced the eye to see that the stamp fell short.

"Safe (Save) the Rain Forest" by Edith Koeppen of Kemah, Texas may have redefined Ginbari in a new way. Deeply etched copper enameled, covered with silver foil and re-enameled with more transparent enamel. This piece provokes the mind to enquire further now that it has been seen.

On the postage stamp side, the messages gave meaning to the image side. Ingrid Regula of Sun City Center, Florida, entered a card, "Hotmail," that "Wish I was there," differed to the usual, "Wish you were here." The uniqueness was that she added stamps depicting Barack Obama.

Curiously, Stell Shevis sent all of her postcards to herself with no message. On the other hand Marilyn Seitlin Tendrich of Palmetto Bay, Florida sent her expressionistic cards to family members about a day at the beach or park, entitled "Dear Noah, Love Bube" and "Dear Daniel, Love Bube."

Mimi Walsh of Hermitage, Tennessee) one of four postcards entered entitled "Burned Postcard" thought that the recipient, a fireman, would have interest. She was the only person to have altered the external shape of the card.

Sigrid Rusch of Montreal, Quebec, Canada sent her "Tiger 1," card to Edward Winter wishing he was here, her "Tiger 2," post card of paper with an attached enameled copper washer implied that she couldn't find me, indicating irony.

Felicia Liban, a late entry, sent her card to her recently departed husband addressed to Cloud Nine. This was an accommodation rendered by Mr. Carpenter and had more to do with the exhibition theme than the insertion of what Phyllis Broom-Walker of Toronto, Canada brought for display on her arrival, a postcard-size and competently enameled item that bore no evidence being either a postcard, nor did it bear a postage stamp or address. The item commemorates Ian Matzdeliger the black inventor of the shoemaker's last.

Other paint on paper cards and mock-ups) were not displayed. However June Jasen's aplomb put a unique twist to the concept with her day late paper postcard. Her entrance of a real paper postcard of one of her enameled works had been entered into an Exhibition of Art represented in postcard size in Brooklyn, New York earlier this year qualified as a test of what she could get away with. Her push tested the limits of this exhibition as a provoking lark, but so did the concept for this exhibition.

By Bill Helwig [Volume 27, Number 5, December, 2008]

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