My Friend 'KALO'

circa 1982

When I was an art major in college, back in the '70's, I made a life-long friend, Paul 'Kalo'. He is a wonderfully talented artist, with a way of looking at the world that is so happily peverse, so obsessive about the details of his work. Every day with him was fun, and I will always consider him one of my closest friends, although I never get to see him.

The photo strip on the left is 'KALO' as he appeared (sort of) in 1982 - on the back he calls himself 'Stan Koolski - Polish hipster'

For the last 25 years or so, my family has been lucky enough to receive his Holiday greetings. We get together on Christmas day, and it's always the first thing my sisters and I say to each other...'Merry Christmas! Did you get Paul's card?'

And the Halloween cards, some very special Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, the list goes on.

He recently designed a wonderful coloring book. As soon as I saw it, I thought of using the images as decals on cups, and we now have a great collaboration. I tried to keep the cups as simple as possible, because his artwork is the star of this production.

I am now selling these on etsy, and really encourage you to check them out, even just for the entertainment factor. I have a wonderful postcard that Paul sent me in 1981 that I modified to be a signature decal - me as Humpty Dumpty, from an antique German postcard, I think. Look for it on the back of the cups.

-from my iPad