what's faux postage, you ask??

After my post yesterday, I was asked what the heck I was talking about, when I mentioned faux postage. Sorry, sometimes I feel a little like I'm having a conversation totally with myself, and of course I understand what I mean! Usually, anyway.

If you haven't heard of faux postage before, it's a fun an addictive art form. Also called artistamps, these are miniature artworks in the form of postage. They're not intended to be used in place of postage, although if you do use them on an envelope and they get canceled, that can be extracool. Artists create them to use in mail art, to trade, to give away, and to sell. I was turned onto the fun of artistamps by my dear friend arto posto, who I miss greatly. I still treasure my collection of her artwork.

My sisters even were inspired to create their own faux postage, and I remember that arto traded with them in the mail. She was such a sweetie, sending them age-appropriate art in trade for their first attempts at mail art. Hey, my sisters' first attempts were awesome, of course! But arto never had children, and I think they befuddled her a bit. Hmm. I think the sisters were maybe 9 and 11 or so...? I do have one of baby sister's sheets, still, but middle sister took hers back a few years ago.

I have other sheets that I'm finding or working on finding, and I'll get them online when I track them down. Some, though, in the spirit of mail art, were sent out into the world never to be documented by me. Yes, some of that art is ephemeral in my mind and there is no record of it; it may only be remembered by the person it was sent to.

I've become more sentimental in my old age, and keep better records now. Or I try.