DaveO Postcards on offer at Rural Caprine Farm, Okayama, Japan
DaveO postcards for sale / Yep, I’ve hit the big time, art available at goat farms and displayed on refrigerators around the world. Note the promotional photo with Ichiro on my back.
Haiku postbox at Rural Caprine Farm, Okayama, painted Nov 2020
The “other side of the Post box“ ~ you’ve seen this before but ya know, the other side with yes, another haiku 5-7-5 (as is the tradition established by Kobayashi Issa) at Rural Caprine (goat) Farm, in Okayama Japan run by Mac Kobayashi.
Tending to tasks >> dropping letters in a boxes at Yubara hot springs village & Edo-period town of Katsuyama, Okayama.
Such fun to amuse the postal workers with my decorations and insistence on the most interesting stamps squeezed onto the scribbled envelopes and postcards.
Classic postbox in Katsuyama (classic main street trading town)
Yes, I do get rather excited every time I send these dispatches out to you and others (but especially you, really). You can get in on the fun at DaveO Shop.
PS Keen-eyed friends have probably already noticed the Nepal flag patch ^^
Bonus: collage of postal funtried to hide, didn’t workdetails of classic post boxone more cause i love this hat, the specs sorta and the box for sure (and i’m a cornball)
While finishing up postcards series of paintings of international postboxes from Nepal, Greece, Oman and the Vatican, Dave gleefully riffs about the “finishing touches” including paper choices, inky stamps, Sri Lankan elephant dung paper, scribbly calligraphy letter, an extra card, something about art dossiers and even remembers to tell you he’s having fun and offers a couple of web addresses to get in the time travel.
Some kind of phone… possibly from a battlefield or remote office
We headed out on some errands to return the felt sheets used in the tea ceremony at assassinated Prime minster Inukai Tsuyoshi’s home to a strange little office in a corridor with the cigarette smell cemented into the cracked linoleum floors which all evoked the lost Showa times.
Along the way, a saw some shops, ate ramen, developed film, checked out cameras and whatnot.
First though, along one of these covered shopping arcades which i totally dig (how does Vancouver not have these everywhere?), continued my rather absurd documentation of phone boxes.
I would call you but haven’t figured out where to buy a phone card. Also noting these “midori denwa” (green phones) are abundant and in beautiful condition but i (not shockingly) never see one in use.
PS Did someone call a doctor? #joke My friend in Adelaide Australia made the snap into a fun cartoon-y image. I might do this with all photos in future.
made a little photo book for gift and sale featuring postboxes of the world, post offices here and there, and letter writing “still lifes” scenes with stationery and bevvies (note to self: post a link or something to purchase this book)
A few years ago (or less), each day was quite tough. Now, each day i deal with pain and confusion but enough joy and interestingness to compensate. My brain fires but i have to throttle as i get headaches and eye strain very easily, i remain very sensitive to light and sounds so use dark glasses and ear plugs when out and about.
Anyhow, there are several recent “standalone” dispatches of activities and outings (Mae Maes concerts, tea ceremony, museums, tours…) but this post simply gathers up miscellaneous whatnots which don’t really chronicle anything but normal day-to-day tasks and action with brief annotations.
coffee and cake date with the amazing Ryoko who amazes me daily with her tenacity, honesty, grace and endless interests
While dispatches and re-caps of various outings and events exist elsewhere in this archive, life is so wonderful right now i don’t want to miss a thing or fail to appreciate the glorious mundane details of just existing.
As such, what follows are bits and pieces which don’t fit elsewhere, a round-up of miscellany and odds and ends and mild annotations.
Starting with the pleasantness of stopping for a coffee and receiving a free lil sandwich plate (and seeing Ryoko’s adorableness :)).
The internets instructs food photos be posted with frequency.
Of course, the most critical part of postcards and letters are: a proper address to send it to, and a friend to write.
Also, I like to think about all the hands which touch the card as it makes the journey from my writing desk to a happy (I expect) recipient who peeks in their post box / letter slot and see something other than a utility bill or an bulk/junk mail from a real estate agent. .
I also wonder how the “hand off“ in international mail works from one country to the next.
Do the workers peek at the – almost illegible – scribble on my postcards? .
Do they wonder who wrote the missives and who the recipient is?
Do you think about these logistics & vagaries? Or is it just me?
I think the temptation must be almost irresistible. Especially when they are doing the rounds and a dispatch from some interesting place ends up in their hands.
