Letter / Card

A postcard of Francis Bacon's "Man in Blue IV" (1954) from James Acord in Seattle to the Galore family in Seattle, dated 27 April 2009.
This postcard is just a quick note about a desire to spend time together and his observation on the Spring.

A handwritten letter from James Acord in Seattle to the Galore family in Seattle, dated 24 August 2009. This is written on a page from a sketchbook, and has three coffee stain rings (a signature of his later letters).
This letter concerns: (1) a comment on a photo of an enclosed copied article noting its similarity to the "stone-age 'Venus'" [of Willendorf]; (2) his pleasure shopping at Uwajimaya with Linley [Storm] and her children; (3) about his being asked to lecture in Barcelona in February 2010, and his excitement to view Spanish architecture.

A folding postcard from James Acord in London to the Galore family in Seattle, dated 13 September 1999.
This card concerns: (1) appreciation for support; (2) a recognition of how many friends he has in London; (3) the Imperial College reactor manager being "shy" of putting the transmutation up on the Web; (4) excitement from the Arts Catalyst organization.

This is a handwritten, three-page letter from James Acord while in Nottingham, England, to Janet, Edward, and Push Button (the cat) Galore in Seattle, dated 28 October 1999. This letter is written on the versos of other printed letters and emails.
The three-page letter concerns: (1) his challenges functioning in England, comparing himself to a "Samual [sic] Beckett" character; (2) the past seven days of teaching and lecturing in Nottingham; (3) Acord modifying his return date in order to "explore every last option for reactor use," the end of his time with the Arts Catalyst, and his impression of the lack of courage the scientists at the Imperial College have; (4) his pleasure and experience in being an artist-in-residence at the Imperial College, a mention of Jim Gibb the head of Physics, and their assurances that the materials he needed to "create the last, complicating, final, transmuted, long-sought, reliquary sculpture" was within their budgets; (5) Edward [Galore] telling him not to quit, despite the bad press around nuclear work; (6) Acord's efforts with the Imperial College support on "crunching the numbers" on his "kitchen counter-top transmutation apparatus" and an AmBe [Americium-Beryllium] neutron source; (7) documentation of his transmutation efforts; (8) a concluding statement on his health, his correspondence, his economy, and his aspirations.
On the other side of the first page, upside-down, is a copied letter from Bea Tobolewska at City Arts/The Art Exchange in Nottingham to James Acord, dated 22 October 1999, thanking Acord for a lecture on 15 October, and wishing him well on his residency.
On the other side of the second page is a copied letter from James Acord to Simon Franklin, Director of Reactor Operations and Safety at Imperial College, London, dated 20 October 1999. This thanks Simon for his time at Penney Labs on 23 September [1999], asks Simon Franklin's advice on his desire to transmute Technetium to Ruthenium, his extension of his residency at Imperial College, and an ask for Simon to collaborate on a Science and Art partnership grant for the transmutation. This includes a note in Acord's hand: "First draft in London on Jim Flint's computer."
On the other side of the third page is a printed email from Nicola Triscott at Arts Catalyst to Roger Wiltshire and Roger's reply. The query from Nicola is for the availability of Technesium [sic, Technetium] 99 in powder form, and Roger's reply is a request for a phone number. Acord has written in his hand, "the message that defines the problem of the project," circling the reply.

A 2-sheet, 2-page printed letter from James Acord to Peter Bevis, copied for Janet Galore. This was written on 24 February 2000 from Wasilla, Alaska, and has handwritten notes at top ("Copy for Janet") and at the end (noting his policy of copying letters for people mentioned in his letters).
This letter concerns: (1) Time with Phil [Schuyler?] and Alex in Wasilla; (2) discussion of Charlie Kraft [sic, Krafft] and Larry Reid, NSK [Neue Slowenische Kunst], and CoCA [Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle]; (3) about his wonderful experiences in Slovenia with Eda Cufe; (4) a note about an error on a photograph of him in the "Transnacionala" book that Cufer edited; (5) attempts to get broader distribution for the book; (6) his last night in London, viewing an exhibition of Marko Peljham and Irwin artists; (7) the courage and activism of the Irwin artists; (8) the "lameness of American art," his frustrations with the "powerful capitalistic monopolies of nuclear power and the US government," and how the Irwin artists see him very positively; (9) a statement that his former wife Margaret was correct, that the DOE would block him, that the "project would cost me everything and, in the end, I would lose everything"; (10) an email from Philip Schuyler to Philip Munger about an article by Arthur Aubry and Brian Freer in "The Stranger" newspaper [Seattle, 17 February 2000 issue], which Acord says is likely good, and mentions Helen Slade; (11) how he misses having a colleague in sculpture to speak with, and how "rootless and alone" he feels since the Hanford studio was lost.

A single sheet, one-sided printed letter to Linley [Storm], Janet [Galore], and Tom [Putnam] from James Acord while in Wasilla, Alaska, signed at the bottom. This is undated but included in a card from 25 February 2000.
This letter is titled "POSSIBLE VIRTUAL LONDON INTERVIEW?" and concerns: (1) a possible short notice trip to London, and the costs of achieving it; (2) questions about the possibility of arranging a virtual, long-distance, video interview rather than having to travel; (3) his experiences with video conferencing; (4) rumination on what might be needed to achieve a teleconference.

A greeting card of a fur seal and its pup, written by James Acord while in Wasilla, Alaska, to Janet Galore (and Edward and Push Button the cat) in Seattle dated 25 February 2000. This card concerns: (1) the change in the weather and his plans to return to Seattle; (2) his plan to arrive in the first week of March, and his communication plans.
This card contains two additional folded and printed letters, one to Linley [Storm], Janet [Galore], and Tom [Putnam], and the other to Peter [Bevis, very likely].

A handwritten letter from Jim Acord to Janet Galore and her cat Push Button, as Acord's cat Sneezey. He writes "Jim has started a sculpture on my table and I don't have much room anymore. So I create folders and turn on cap-lock so his password will be in the wrong case— and I turn on the speaker-phone and sleep on the printer and chew on the paper in the loading tray. I though [sic] you would like this cartoon."
This is stained with Acord's coffee cup markings.

This brief handwritten letter, stained with Jim Acord's coffee mug, is written to Janet Galore on 4 August 2009, and concerns: (1) a great brunch with Janet, Edward, and Philip [Schuyer, at Calamity Janes' in Georgetown, Seattle]; (2) Jim Acord loaning Janet his textbook from his introductory class, and how much he likes the book.

A single sheet, two page letter on lined spiral-bound notebook paper from James Acord in Richland, WA to Janet, Edward, and Push Button (the cat) Galore, dated 13 March 1997. This letter concerns: (1) his regrets in not writing sooner; (2) the challenges of creating art and living in Richland and the "worry that it will destroy me before I can do the art"; (3) coyotes eating his cat "Little Miss Foot" outside of his studio, and him reminiscing about her qualities; (4) about his "Eddie the Cat" that was tougher and preceded "Little Miss Foot"; (5) hope that the Galores can visit, go out on his boat "Misty", and have an "over-nighter camp-out on the Columbia"; (6) his love for Push Button, the Galore's cat; (7) the many birds in the area; (8) the mice nibbling on his sketchbooks.