Thursday, April 21, 2016

Met Richard Canard and all I Got Was an Amazing Experience!! AND a T-shirt!! PART II

Part II
Meeting with Richard Canard  April 15th, 2016     (random aside:  tax deadline day)


This is the receipt from the co-op. The store was a maze and we wandered around like stunned flies. It did not seem to follow any logical order. Maybe co-ops are non-linear. I don't know. Elgin doesn't have one yet.

  A young enthusiastic employee with a name like Brandon or Braden, helped us find everything and rang us up. We got on the subject of dumpster diving because I told RC the original plan was to make a freegan meal from dumpster scraps.

The checker said Carbondale was known for dumpster diving. We were told by more than one person that students, in a hurry to leave town, threw everything out. He mentioned his project called "Curb Couches of Carbondale" (part in jest/part serious).

We  have our fair share of ugly curb couches in Elgin as well.  I told him to hashtag it so I could find it. Who knows if he will, but I love the idea #curbcouchesofcarbondale.

Maybe I'll start a #curbcouchgallery, but someone probably already did.


While we busted the myth that RC lives off of microwaveable food, we DID find this cookbook. No doubt a gift? a hint from a concerned loved one? It looked like it had never been cracked open. Not even once. It still had that bookstore smell. Our aprons were better.

This next series of photos is a touchy subject. It resulted in the biggest cat fight since, well, ever.
RC shared these with LP, or she found them herself among the millions of boxes all over his house.

These are pen and ink drawings made by RC when he was a teenager (around Mason's age he said (18). He called them "primitive" in his characteristic self-effacing manner.








So how did these amazing drawings cause a vicious fur flying cat fight?   How?????

Because RC  offered them to us and LP and I wanted the same ones. (We still need to make copies of them. These drawings should NOT be sitting in a box on Emerald Lane.)

This left RC completely befuddled  and he refused to decide who would get what. It is a wise man that knows not to get in the middle of a cat fight. All women have claws. Very very sharp claws.

We worked it out, but I still think LP might suck out my blood next time I see her. That's how she is. It is part of her charm. It got ugly and then it got pretty again.

 The boxes  all over RC's house are not full of junk. It is clear he does NOT like to throw things away, BUT every box  he opened was like a treasure chest--full of history, art supplies, years of mail art etc.

Even though we told him not to clean or  stress over our impending visit, he apparently had to move boxes so we had somewhere to sit and could use the table.  Someone asked where RC makes his mail art magic. He makes mail art at the kitchen table that you see pictured. I could be wrong, but I bet he rarely even uses it for meals (I make art AND eat while sitting on the couch).

 We could have spent days, weeks, minutes going through his stacks of books, magazines, catalogs, games (to use the gameboards), sardine cans, bones, markers, stamps, and drum roll----TRASH!! And I don't mean regular garbage.

RC picks up trash daily but it is very clean trash mainly food/candy wrappers and boxes.

I honestly didn't know this about him! He has rarely sent me trashpo.

 Jim Leftwich may be Trashpo Jesus, but RC deserves a rightful place in Trashpo royalty!  He is the Trashpope!!

Genuine RC Trash
 He gave me a bag of hand plucked trash to make trashpo with. This is all I have made so far:




And a crap attempt at an RC Fake

 There IS something in my possession that  I took without his knowledge. I was sneaky. He might reconsider having guests now. BUT, I feel ZERO remorse. I'd do it again. He has most likely discovered this missing item by now.

The best thing about this mystery item??  It is for sale!!

No, it isn't a vial of RC blood drawn by the Blood Queen LP,
or a lock of his hair--Better!

And it can be YOURS for $1,500!
(Copies are also available for $25, but it is not recommended as copy quality will suck and we will charge you shipping, handling, and tax)
Visa/Mastercard/Trash/Mail art/Love Donations Accepted!

I got this from his freezer!!!! I tore the back of this box off.  And he thought he could guard his trash and keep it from me!! bwwwaaahaha.

Steamy RC Trash

 Well, there is a length limit on blogger, so Part II is nearly at its end. I leave you with this:

RC had things for both of us in a box when we arrived. He gave me misc. things to use/or not for my art. Bones, art magazines, a pre-algebra book with handwritten homework, trash, a gauge, and more. In trash we trust.

7 comments:

JESARCHIVES said...

thanks for all of the artist history . . . . .keep it up . . . . rock and roll . . . .

Unknown said...

The amazing experience would've been plenty. But hey, who can remember anything without a T-shirt. We non-invitees envy you, Diane. I love the photos at IUOMA too. (You look completely adorable in that apron!) The non-climate-change-pc'ness of RC's hometown of Carbondale is worrisome, but hopefully Emerald Lane will save him.

Skybridge Studios said...

Reading your blog makes me feel like I was there! What an experience, and what a lovely, generous human being is that Canard guy. Many thanks for the share! And I wouldn't mind fighting you or LP for one of those drawings. Just So You Know.

Unknown said...

I did an 'interview' with RC based on questions asked by everyone online. That will be my final blog post in this series. Thanks for the nice comments guyz:)

Susan McAllister said...

How wonderful to hear about your visit with Richard. He looks just like I imagined him to look, except I thought he always wore black, white and red. I never guessed he wore pink.

Unknown said...

I LOVE that Good & Plenty box -- thanks for these fabulous stories & pics, DK!

Rebecca said...

Fabulous! Love the apron too! Love Mason in the apron the most, though.

The trash has such a wholesome American flavour. I wonder if there is a midwestern style to trash or if everything is 'standard' in America now? We could do a study. But I bet that's already been done? We have different trash in England...I welcome trashpoets and lexiconographers!