Nico van Hoorn (7)

A joyful 'Happy Christmas and New Year' wish was sent by Nico van Hoorn to me. The photo shows the gentle friendly Jaap-Aap and friends.



Happy Holidays to all of you! Hartelijk dank, Nico!

Nico van Hoorn (6)

This atmospheric picture arrived in time for Halloween, but I just was a little late in posting. As I have not been growing up with this celebration I didn't know exactly what day it would be (now I know). 'Halloween' is introduced in our low lands since a few years, and it seems to become common. Although many (elder) Dutch, me included, consider this a commercial and americanization thing.
But I have received more pieces of Halloween mail art, also from countries where it is commonly celebrated. From Thom Courcelle I learned that 'All Hallow's Eve' is more than 'trick or treat' (see for instance this blog post and this one - I received this mail from Thom, too), and that it has a long history, also according to wikipedia, and there are even Gaelic and Welsh (so: European) roots.
And little by little I am starting to see the good, interesting things in it. For example this picture!

You might ask 'Why is this posted on an Animals blog?', but I can reassure you. There is a Human person flying on a broomstick, and perhaps you cannot see it, but there is a black cat on this broomstick, too.
In the woods you can (or cannot) see Bats fluttering, and behind the Pumpkin there's a Spider. Among the trees there are even more Spiders, with itchy spiderwebs. And in the trees the Owl howls, so do the (Were)Wolves in the back. Can you see and hear them now?!



Nico added some of his famous abstract / constructivism art.



Thank you very much, Nico!

Nico van Hoorn (5) & Jaap-Aap (3)

Some months ago I bought my very first Instax camera. I still didn't try it, and then suddenly Real Instax photos landed in my mailbox. The senders being no one less than Jaap-Aap and Nico van Hoorn!

The postage stamp was a special one, too: showing Bob Bear, one of Jaap's and Nico's friends.



Here are more great Instax pictures, showing some other friends:





And a print. I feel spoiled!



Thank you very much, hartstikke bedankt, Nico en Jaap-Aap!

Nico van Hoorn (4) & Jaap-Aap (2)

Jaap-Aap (also known as Jaap-Aapje, Jaap-little-Monkey), here pictured together with Scrat, the famous Saber-toothed Squirrel, and an unknown fellow, is a nice guy from the city of Nijmegen. I think he lives at Nico van Hoorn's place, because Nico, who is a great Nimwegian photographer, is the one who takes pictures of Jaap-Aap, and is the one who has sent me pictures of Jaap-Aap in the past, and now.



Jaap-Aap is a Mammal, similar to the Lion (you see behind Jaap on the picture above, taken at the Kronenburgerpark), and similar to the Human Beings you see below. Nico sent this picture of urban art Humans some months before, and I thought the colour of the crocuses above suit well to the colours of the shielded-men-in-uniform below.



This urban art shows a black page in the history of Nijmegen.



Thank you very much, Nico, hartelijk dank!

Nico van Hoorn (3) & Jaap-Aap (1)

Recently I drew the two famous fellows Jaap-Aap and Edmund, and sent it to Jaap-Aap and Nico van Hoorn.
And very soon after, Nico sent me Jaap-Aap's kind reply: a view inside of the Personal Photo Album of Jaap-Aap!



With a nice portrait / whole body picture.



And Jaap-Aap standing in an amazing watery landscape! Fortunately the Bear didn't notice nor ate Jaap-Aap.



Jaap-Aap watched an interesting Bird...



...And did his own laundry!



He also appeared to be an experienced operator of the mixing panel (I was not sure whether Jaap-Aap was mixing sounds or mixing lights, or both, or if he was operating the railway logistics, but after some investigation I found out that Jaap-Aap was making Radio!)



Meanwhile I could enjoy a picture of a pictogram, a person pushing the pedestrian's traffic light button.



And Jaap-Aap started to create Art.

Thank you very much, Jaap-Aap and Nico, hartelijk dank!

Nico van Hoorn (2)

I always love the Pinguin and moon stamp from Nico van Hoorn. And, similar to the Deer and Godwit on the front side of the envelope, now the pinguin is not alone anymore!

Below a picture of, er...? Beautiful colours in any case!

Thank you very much, hartelijk dank, Nico!

Nico van Hoorn

From the Netherlands this friendly Cow was sent, pictured by Nico van Hoorn.
A puzzled, or an anonymous cow?!
(Suddenly I remember Polaroid pictures / Instant film).

Besides the cow, also an other meadow resident adorns the postcard, on a rubber stamp on the back: the Black-tailed Godwit ('Grutto' in Dutch).



See more mail art by Nico van Hoorn on his Mail Art blog.



Hartelijk dank, Nico!