FIRST BATCH OF BUGS HATCHED AND INTO THE MAIL

POST TO: ANGELA BEHRENDT / Hannover GERMANY


POST TO: "E" / Guivry UTOPIA FRANCE


POST TO: MICHAEL KUDELA / Niagara Falls NEW YORK, U.S.A

MICHAEL KUDELA / Niagara Falls NEW YORK, U.S.A.

Received this piece today from Michael Kudela in Niagara Falls, NY. Looks like some sort of Alien bug creature with a secret message for me... Or maybe I'm just a little paranoid. Either way, I love that Michael chose to re-use packaging for his post card. Thanks Michael!!!

BERUBE-BUGS FOLD OUT BOOK

My version of a book anyways. Probably one of my favorite parts of the BERUBE-BUG process is waiting until the print is dry, (usually the next day depending how late I was up printing), and being able to hand-stitch it into my accordion fold out "sampler" book. It started out as a way to archive the prints that I've done in accordance with when I finished them and has since become a wonderful way to present a quantity of pieces in a small sized self-contained package. Besides all of that, I find it incredibly meditative hand sewing things and turning on the auto-pilot switch.

EVOLUTION OF THE STAMP-LICKER

When I started my PORTRAIT mailart call last May I thought it would be a hell of a lot more interesting if I created a creature to essentially "hold" the stamp on the back of the post cards that I sent out. After all part of the whole mailart experience for me is seeing what kind of stamps or decoration people put on their postcards/mailart. Just knowing that some crazy looking image has passed through any number of hands across the globe gives me a bit of a thrill. With that in mind, I've created a series of BERUBE-BUGS who I call, stamp-lickers. Granted they don't all have tongues and nowadays you don't even need saliva to make the stamps stick, but there's something about the phrase, "stamp-licker" that just sounded right to me. As I get bored with seeing the same stamp-licker over a period of time, I mix it up a bit and give birth to a new one. Throughout the PORTRAIT project there were 4 different lickers ranging from one who looked more like he was eating the stamp to the last one who had a trunk-like appendage who seemingly used suction power to hold the stamp as his serpent-like tongue moistened it.







In keeping with the tradition of the stamp-licker, I've created a new one to go out with my BERUBE-BUGS postcards. I decided to mix it up even more and incorporate my return address into this guy, (less writing, more creating).

CREATURE 1 From "E" / Guivry UTOPIA FRANCE

The second postcard, received today, came from my mailart friend "E" who resides in Guivry France and has been one of the most prolific contributors to my PORTRAIT mailart call. It's pretty amazing the images he can create with just black red and white. This piece, his first of what I hope are many more to my BUG call is made from paint and linocut... 2 of my favorite mediums. Merci "E".

The "KREPEL" from ANGELA BEHRENDT / Hanover GERMANY

Wahoooo!!!! The first piece I received for this call is from Angela Behrendt in Hannover Germany. I've received a piece from Angela for my PORTRAIT mailart call and was thrilled to see a post from her in my mailbox for my new BUG call. According to Angela, "this sort of creature is "Krepel"".

FLOWER BUG WITH COLOR

I was toying around with acrylics last night, felt like I needed to give some life to my flower bug. I was thinking marigolds and zinnia's, I wish now I had gone for the reds and purples instead. I'm getting too much of a pumpkin thing going on here. Oh well, this is for my own BERUBE-BUG sampler book anyway.

BERUBE-BUGS MAILART CALL

Because I’ve had so much fun with my “PORTRAIT” mailart call which officially ends on the 22nd of May, (I will continue to send out the remaining portrait cards that are printed up until they are completely gone), having received over 200 replies from 22 countries as far away as Romania, Serbia, Japan, Hungary and Malaysia and 16 states/29 towns within the United States I’ve decided try a new project.

This new mailart call is based around my crazy ongoing linocut print edition of what I call BERUBE-BUGS. If you’ve received any of my PORTRAIT reply postcards, you’ve also received some of the bugs created over this past year. They’re linocut images usually created on a small scale, (it started out over 10 years ago as a way of creating something utilizing the scrap pieces of linoleum I found my desk becoming inundated with after working on larger pieces), and bug-like in the loosest of terms. Some of these guys, and gals have 2 legs others have 15+ legs while some have wings, multiple eyes and the occasional human-like anatomically correct addition. So, although they are officially BERUBE-BUGS, perhaps creatures would be a more appropriate moniker.

What I’m planning on doing for this mailart call is to create a new BERUBE-BUG each month. For all bug-related replies received to my mailart call in any given month, I will return a limited edition hand-printed BERUBE-BUG postcard. Each month a new bug. All of my postcards have been and will be printed on recycled packaging, I suggest and would appreciate it if all participants do the same, think about the wonderful cereal boxes, dog biscuit boxes that go to waste.

So… the details are:

Send your BUG / INSECT / CREATURE related postcards to:

DAVID BERUBE
Dberube-Art
462 West 52nd. Street #3N
New York, N.Y. 10019
U.S.A.

Please, be creative, put a little bit of yourself into it whether you’re an artist or not, NO mass-produced postcards or images please. Postcards are preferred, but all creature-related images welcome as well.

All mailart received will be shown on my new BERUBE-BUGS blog.



This BERUBE-BUG, inspired by the time of year that brings, green trees, beautiful flowers, as well as the bugs and creatures that seem to appreciate the warmth and potential that Spring weather has to offer with it’s arrival will be my BERUBE-BUG for the remaining week of May and as the reply card for all cards received to this call for the month of June.

Let’s have fun!!!