I would like to thank everyone in the mailart community for the overwhelming support given to my family and I after my father?s passing. It has been almost a year and a half since my Dad?s death and not a day goes by that I am able to over-look the void that his passing has left in my life. Lon was not only my father, he was my best friend.
I am proud of my Dad for the inspiration that he passed on to me, as well as to so many others in the international mailart community. With a click on to google, and a search using my Father?s name, it becomes evident how Lon affected and inspired so many people, in so many ways, in so many places around the world. I loved my dad very much and after reading what so many of you have wrote about him, I know that he was loved my many.
The only thing in life my father loved more than mailart was my mother. Prior to her death in 1987, my father was very active in the mailart network. It was his passion. With the death of my mother also came the death of my father. Lon quickly faded from mailart as he became wrapped up in a downward spiral of drugs and depression. I remember so clearly how the mail would pile up in his office and the sound of silence that overtook the ritual rhythm of my dad banging out another correspondence letter on his royal typewriter. In an instant, the fire burning in my father?s heart, known as mailart was suddenly smothered by a loss that many felt he would never overcome.
Eight years later, in the fall of 1995, my father was able to overcome his addiction and his depression. He moved to San Pedro where he lived, clean and sober until his death in 2002. During his recovery, he re-discovered his passion for art. Lon would spend his days at Pt. Fermin Park where he would draw, sculpt and meditate on the serenity that he had finally found. I cannot express how proud I am of my Dad for overcoming his demons and finding joy once again during his final years. It is impossible to describe the grace in which my father worked. Like so many other artists, for Lon it was about the means and the expression, the process as opposed to the final outcome. My father would always talk to me about his quest for serenity. In the memories I have of him, sitting on a park bench, sanding away on some obscure clay-piece, I know that through art my dad found what he had sought after. I take comfort in knowing that although my father?s life was cut short, he died peaceful at heart.
In the spirit of keeping Lon alive in the hearts of everyone that he touched, I would like to offer anyone that is interested one more chance to correspond with Lon. Along with several hundred dollars in unused postage, my father left behind a collection of drawings, sculptures and pieces which I would like to share with those who have so generously shared with him. If you are interested in a piece of my fathers work, please email me at
leespiegelman@hotmail.com. At this time I cannot promise what or when I will get something out to you, but I can promise that in keeping with the phrase coined by my Dad that ?Money and Mail art don?t mix? the postage will be paid by Lon. Thank you all so much once again for your support.
Sincerely,
Lee Spiegelman
