23 January 2008

Post Office Blue. An original edition







Yet another of the oldest TinyBuildings: the "blue" post office. Poor, pitiful thing is mildewed and rather unlovely. It is also a 'bastardized' TinyBuilding in that it is made from two packaging materials.

The sides are from the cardboard cover of machine-dispensed stamps. The top is from one of the Atlanta blue-printing companies: AAA Blueprinting. Probably an extra business card included in a roll of prints delivered to James' office.

I can almost smell the developing fluid. This was way before the gigantic 'xerox' machines that are used now...or, for that matter, the direct-from-the Cad machine plots...That fluid was a sweet-acidic taste on the back of your tongue. Goodness knows what it was doing to our brains.

At the time, it signified progress on a project: if you had a roll of prints, you were finally ready to deliver them to a client. Finally, after many days and nights of thinking and drawing and erasing and drawing and thinking....

I like the little 'blue' roof section- a little hat for the building; and, you can tell James composed this TinyBuilding so that the old-fashioned mailbox fit on one side of the structure, exactly. Then he must have sorted through the detritus on his very messy drawing board to find the AAA card for the roof. I'll bet he smiled to himself when he stuck the 'blue' on top...a little cap, and a reference to the USPS colorings.

c. 1976

13 comments:

Elizabeth said...

these are just lovely and i really enjoy visiting here. i read your first entry - what a beautiful way to remember. thank you for sharing your story.

michelle said...

What wonderful things they are. Very inspiring to see. Is there a picture of them altogether, in a little village or town, I would love to see it is there is. Thank you so much for sharing.

Julie R said...

i love your tiny buildings and would love to feature them, with a link of course, on my blog. they do inspire me to get out the exacto knife and make some tiny dwellings too!

angela liguori said...

so nice and inspiring. I'm happy i came across your blog.

With best wishes,
angela

Computerarte said...

great blog you have here. I love the ideia ofmaking litle buildings, great job!
Marília.

sara said...

love your work!

Janet said...

I absolutely adore these. This has to be my favourite, Do you sell them? What a wonderful exhibition they would make. Just perfect!

miss milki said...

These are gorgeous! I love love love the fact that they are made from business cards and packaging and contain memories of you and your families lives. They remind me a little of the first little experimental sketch models we used sometimes make when i was studying architecture in college but they have far more feeling and emotion in them because the are personal to you and not just some intellectual excercise. I love that you can interpret the place or the space with out being literal. They are all tiny little works of art. I love the way you photograph each one so carefully in isolation. A tiny little sculpture. It'd be cool to see a photo of how you or your kids display them...on bookshelves etc. It'd give them a scale and a context.

I found your blog via Aesthetic Outburst...would it be ok to feature your tiny buildings on my blog, and a link back to you?

Señorita Puri said...

Lovely idea! congratulations. Besides, I think the way the blog is made makes for a fabulous travel guide. I've posted you on my design blog.
Wavings from Spain!
Puri

cally said...

Wonderful blog, Delightful buildings!
I'd like to post some on my blog, I'll link back to you (judging by your sidebar text thats ok, let me know if it isn't).

I was searching for houses, tiny and recycled - but I was looking for life size houses (I have a mobile home that I've been eco-renovating). But google sent me here, what a happy place to have come upon.

fun_is_always_in_style said...

I've loved looking at your Tiny Buildings & reading your story! The history makes the buildings extra special. I'd like to link to your blog on my blog & show some of your images -

Tyler said...

delightful little homes indeed. so nostalgic, they remind me of elementary school dioramas. love that you find new life for these bits of reclaimed ephemera. found you via alabama chanin and would love to add you to a post of mine soon. will visit your magical little world often! thanks.

Superbadfriend said...

Beautiful work!

I came via Yip Yop's bloggity-blog. Do you have a book in the works?

:-)