Dewi from Ontario Canada sent this and it really is lovely. Thanks so much! Enlarge it to see the beautiful details in the window's corner.

If I could ask anything of people, it would be to buy a pack of watercolor postcards and send from from wherever you go around the world. Paintings, collages of train tickets, sketches of drunken revels with notes from a jaded waitress or that kind stranger who gave you a lift.

I didn't reall start to appreciate stencils in art until we visited Argentina. Yes, I've seen some very smart work by people like Banksy, but it's been a slow conversion. Fabio from Bologna sent this piece and we extend our warmest gratitude!

One of the things I enjoy most about mail art is the wonderful attention to detail artists can put into each part of the work. This is a prime example. I spent my lunch time just going over the wonderful details on the address side.

In theory, postal employees should never really look at the non address side of a piece of mail, so this does a wonderful job of showing us a glimpse of the beauty of mail art while we try and keep sporting several trays an hour of mail.

I am a burgeoning fan of FLUXUS and over the last 5 years that I've studied mail art actively, I've seen so many really well imagined, truly clever visual statements. I'm a fan of Keith's work, and deeply honored he chose to send a piece. We really enjoyed this piece. The stamp and postmark was fun to see, though it also rubs salt into the wound caused by our own inability to have official postage and postmarks that fun.

So it begs the question: Just what direction is mail art going in? And does it need a direction?

I'm worried that our interest in the tactile sense of art is going away. While yes, you can see these pieces here on a blog site, and yes, I may use the internet to contact people and tell them how much I enjoy their work, I'm concerned about what we in the postal service call "electronic diversion". Think about this: out of all of the people you've communicated with on facebook in the past month, how many have you actually spoken to? Or shaken hands with?

The awesome Judith Skolnick sent in this piece and I keep picking it up and looking at. It's one of those artworks that you think about, come back to, think about some more, set it down, get a cold drink, think about some more... You know the feeling. There are works of art that you look at because by god you are supposed to see something there, but you really think, what the hell? I like this. I do see something in it. And glittery stickers always improve things. Seriously.

This very cool piece arrived from Portugal. How cool is that? It's an interesting piece, and I love the look of comic book art. And it's from Portugal dammit!

Thanks Eduardo!! My clerk was very entertained and it sparked a deep philosophic discussion when I walked into the building the other morning at 6 am.

"Hey! You've got some paranormal mail!"

"What? Like Ghostbusters?"

"No, stupid. Like paranormal art!"

"Does it glow or look spooky? Cause that would be cool."

(Postal Clerk sighs in exasperation) "Look on your dang desk!"

"Oh!" I say in realization. "Hey! It's from Portugal!"

"Is that important?"

"Duh! It's only one of the coolest most laid back places on the planet!"

"I don't get it."

(Postmaster sighs in exasperation) "Get back to work!"

Modern postal systems live and die by the bar code. Addresses are read by optical code readers that can read 95% or more of all addresses on envelopes, and then a bar code is sprayed on which allows the letter to be automatically sorted into the letter carrier's walk sequence. Ever wonder how we can do it all for the price of a stamp? That's how.

Scott Blake (www.barcodeart.com)has done amazing work bringing the barcode into a different perspective. I've always been a huge fan of divorcing form from function, and his barcode art is just the ticket. It's also nice just to look at a barcode for once and not have a desire to assess a meaning to it. It can also just make a pretty picture, and I'm absolutely cool with that.

This arrived from Spain. Another revelation for my team at the Post Office, and I'm absolutely stoked. I'm really hoping to see more art that has some resonance for people who are Spanish Speaking or bi-lingual. Cornelius has that unique demographic, and I'm working hard to make everyone who comes in to my office feel welcome. Any mail artists out there in El Salvador? Honduras? Mexico?