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Matt Maldre

@spudart.bsky.social
386 followers 343 following 2.5K posts

Artist & designer Museum wanderer. Noticer of small things. Open web advocate. Chicago / Glen Ellyn, Illinois 🎨 spudart.org 🏠 mattmaldre.com 🏢 tribunecontentagency.com

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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 11h
Vertical video is like peering through a keyhole.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 20h
Maybe you need to walk up the stairs more differently than usual. Everybody, do the funky stair dance!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I am eating too much fast food today. But having fun making #fastfoodorigami
Culver’s in Wheaton, Illinois on Roosevelt Road.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Today my daughter and I tried punching shapes into leaves for the first time. I'm pretty pleased with the result. More will come. #punchedleaves
Punching a butterfly-shaped hole in a leaf on a tree. In Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Butterfly-shaped hole in a leaf on a tree. In Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
On this day in 1871 the Chicago fire started. Flying my Chicago-style hot dog flag in honor of this day. (Flag designed by Anthony Hall of @harebrained.bsky.social)
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Full blog post with fun story at www.spudart.org/blog/hot-tea...
spudart.org
Hot tea, origami, and a bicycle ride - Spudart
I went to McDonald’s for Monopoly. I ended up sitting outside, chair-dancing to INXS, folding a McDouble wrapper into an origami crane, watching the wind make the crane look alive, and biking home wit...
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Just a McDonald's origami crane eating a McDouble.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Send the Constructicons out there!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The "Power Plant Employees" on the sign really sets it up for the joke. Plus, I like thinking of all the power plants that Decepticons used to destroy. It's like they took over the power plant, and now it's time for the logistics and operations.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This made me LOL
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The art critic Clement Greenberg would be rolling over in his grave. On his view, popular approval signals kitsch.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yeah, I'm painting with a broad brush here when I say popular. I don't have a clear definition. But generally, it's the work that people see when looking at the algorithm stream. Thus, yeah, it'll lean heavily on likes/shares/follows.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I have a controversial thought that's been brewing in my head for the past few years. Today's most popular artists on Instagram should be in art museum collections. More to come on that, with explanations.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I would love to see these in the neighborhood. www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...
From the article, "My fascination with cats in windows led me to test a new, renter-friendly window catio called The Purrgola. Much like an air conditioner, it can be mounted in a window without damaging your building’s facade. The Purrgola (which is made with 10-mm-thick acrylic) has an observation bubble protruding from the front and two stainless steel wire-mesh side windows. And kind of like an old-school baby cage, the clear plastic box puts cats right in the thick of things on the other side of the window."
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Looking forward to it!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I would totally buy a tshirt with this.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I found out today that when shopping carts are parked, their handles are 11 inches apart! I thought the handles were all next to each other! #til
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Plus, I could use it to wrap other stuff. Like, what. I don’t know yet. Maybe when I wrap presents? Actually, when I loop this around the shopping card handles, I could glue the ends of the paper together. Forcing someone to rip the wrap to release the carts. Oh, this is perfect!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Oh of course as soon as I submit my order, I see this gem. amzn.to/3Vz06nK 200-count pre-cut pop-up 9" x 10.75" wraps (meant for food) $18.99. This would be perfect for these seals. It would have more of a shiny look.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I just ordered a date stamp from Amazon (the type that libraries used to use). It arrives tomorrow. The #ArtAuthentication seals will get a date. I'm excited. amzn.to/3W9haAQ
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Getting ready to place this on a few shopping carts in my Jewel parking lot. Reviving an art project from 2002. #ArtAuthentication
This seal authenticates these three shopping carts as a work of art. 

Once these carts are separated, this seal will rip, and its authentication is terminated. The act of this cart’s functionality denies its existence as art.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Adding a little spice to my Amazon orders.
Screenshot of the "Edit your address" screen for an Amazon account. The "Full name (First and Last name) field says, "Matt Funkmaster Maldre", because Matt's Amazon orders are the master of funk, y'all.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The #ArtAuthentication series started July 15, 2002, with a piece of tape over a door in Chicago's Lower Wacker Drive. Looking back at my photos, the day before was when the Pepsi Blue street marketing blitz hit Michigan Avenue. (other photos: the view from my desk at Tribune Tower)
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I just found that the Art Institute of Chicago has a photograph in their collection featuring a corner in my suburb, Glen Ellyn. A lot has changed in the photo since 1976.
"Turner and Merton Avenues, Glen Ellyn, Illinois" by Douglas R. Gilbert, 1976 from artic 1978.1133

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54647/turner-and-merton-avenues-glen-ellyn-illinois?utm_medium=spudart-website&utm_source=spudart&utm_campaign=spudart&utm_content=spudart337 Merton Ave, Glen Ellyn, Illinois November 2018  from Google Maps
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8715771,-88.0569695,230a,75y,357.87h,82.63t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sMKd-z9Z02vUAZ4UT1y_gZQ!2e0!5s20181101T000000!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D7.3743508678676335%26panoid%3DMKd-z9Z02vUAZ4UT1y_gZQ%26yaw%3D357.87245824758116!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDkzMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Making a bridge into a work of art by a single strip of tape. I updated the photos on a 2002 post about "Art Authentication" #ArtAuthentication www.spudart.org/blog/art-aut...
spudart.org
Art Authentication: #2 - Spudart
On the tape is this hand-written message: This seal authenticates this ___(object)___ as an artwork. Once this ___(object)___ ___(action present)___, this seal will rip and its authentication is termi...
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I get it! Ghost train!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This card has seen some age. The wrinkles, sure. But that fading is an art form, too.
1976 Topps Happy Days #4 The President can’t speak to the Fonz?
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Today is "Look at the Leaves Day"! (October 3) 1. Find a leaf. 2. Write a short caption on a 5x7 envelope. 3. Slide the leaf into the envelope. 4. Put the envelope into a book for pressing. Years later, when you encounter the leaf again, you'll know the story. www.spudart.org/try/pressed-...
spudart.org
Press a leaf in an envelope with the date and story written on it - Spudart
Pick up a leaf. Write the date on an envelope, write a few sentences underneath about how you came across it, then slide the leaf inside and press the envelope in a book.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I thought it was a weed at first!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A tiny ginkgo leaf that looks like a butterfly! #pressedleafstories
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The start of a letter for #lettersonfoil. In the rest of the letter, I contemplate the existential meaning of plastic leaves on display at Trader Joe's. Longer blog post with more photos coming once I mail this.
Hand-written letter on aluminum foil, attached to clipboard. The reflections of the orange plastic leaves can be seen in the aluminum foil. 

Hi Melissa!
This letter comes to you from the parking lot of a Trader Joe's. Their bright orange autumn decorations are on full display.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
So much stuff that I make never ends up online. It sits buried in my photo archive. I'm going to try to post things on Bluesky more as they happen. My blog (spudart.org) will be the place for longer posts. Here's a leaf I picked up today for #pressedleafstories
Friday, October 2, 2026
So many leaves outside now! The purple-green sheen to this leaf caught my eye while walking home after dropping off Evelyn at second grade. Once looking at it in my hand, I realized it matches the flannel I'm wearing.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
My first time ordering as Laserbeak. I figured it would make more sense with the crane origami. Also my first time taking a single bite out of my food, and then making the #fastfoodorigami. The photo makes it look like the origami is eating the food.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Why I duct-taped a postcard to my shoe and mailed it to my alma mater for an art exhibit. www.spudart.org/blog/remembe...
spudart.org
Remember M... - Spudart
Why I duct-taped a postcard to my shoe and mailed it to my alma mater for an art exhibit.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is the month when I have to retrain myself not to type a zero before the month. I write dates like this: 20260930. Now i need to type them like this 20261001. I'm so used to typing that 0 right after the 6.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If you are curious, here's how a more modern baseball card looks backlit. 2022 Topps. You don't get the same nice pulpy texture in the 1987 Topps.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I photographed it backlit again. This one is a little better.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Seeing what it's like to fold a 1987 Topps card into an origami crane. Again, splitting the card to make it thinner before folding. I was surprised by how much gloss is on the surface of the card. The backlighting is fun to show how thin the card is. #origamibaseballcard
1987 Topps #322 Chris Bando, catcher for the Cleveland IndiansThe back of the card flipped over to reveal the inside.The origami unfoldedThe origami crane unfolded, and light underneath
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It was great to hear you on air—even with a raspy voice. You are the Alex Bregman of radio.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I love this idea. I'm going to buy some 1975 Topps baseball cards to fold and tear slightly.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm so glad you posted this. I saw your notice that you were sick yesterday, so I assumed there would be no Rockology today. I hope you are feeling better!
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Now this is how I'll store it. Unfolded. The missing bottom and peeled-back reunited in a penny sleeve. Maybe someday I might fold it into an origami crane again. #origamibaseballcard
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The way the unfolded card catches the light is a bit like a kaleidoscope. (a bit) Or maybe a diamond with facets.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The card looks kinda cool when unfolded.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If you fold a baseball card into an origami crane, this is what it looks like. #origamibaseballcard Using an X-Acto blade, I peeled a baseball card into two parts. I folded the front of the card into an origami crane.
2022 Topps (base) #170 Eli Morgan of the Cleveland IndiansThe inside part of the card. The paper was still a bit thick, next time I might sand down the card to make it thinner.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Thanks! I have to thank the original Blogger service by Pyra Labs. Their platform allowed me to have a blog on my site. They even sent me a tshirt back in the day.
Original Blogger t-shirt. Dark blue shirt with orange Blogger logo.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today, on my blog's 25th anniversary, I totally forgot. I was busy leaving a treasure chest behind the abandoned shopping carts at Jewel. www.spudart.org/blog/we-carr...
spudart.org
We carry more than we know - Spudart
Last Wednesday I celebrated 25 years of spudart.org. Today, on the actual anniversary, I totally forgot. I was busy leaving a treasure chest behind the abandoned shopping carts at Jewel.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
25 years ago on this day, I published my first blog post. www.spudart.org/blog/25th-an...
spudart.org
25th anniversary of Spudart.org blog - Spudart
My first blog post on spudart.org went up on September 28, 2001. It was called "Long Live Long Tables." I proposed that long cafeteria tables are better for conversation than little round ones. This M...
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Dropped it off in the mailbox today.
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Matt Maldre @spudart.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A classic Savage Chickens from 20 years ago on this day. @savagechickens.bsky.social www.savagechickens.com/2006/09/art-...
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