Stroud Open Studios November 2014 - 1st and 2nd November

 
Yes, my collages are all made of stamps and related materials such as the little signal flags taken from a Smilers sheet as shown on a previous blog from last month. I have also used some interiors of envelopes which have been sent through the post to create the seas and rivers in my pictures.
The hills in the background of this picture of the S S Great Britain,  are made from stamps issued by Guernsey post office and the crowds of people  are  cut out from stamps from all over the world, not just Great Britain.

Come along to Open Studios to see the full sized picture! Prints and cards available of this and many more stamp collages.

Commissions .. and some newly available cards

The Barbados flag was recently commissioned and is shown here as a canvas print ready to hang! You can see from my Flags page that I've made many countries' flags and am happy to attempt others if anyone has a special request. Prices vary according to availability of stamps and this one took a while to put together as I had to find suitable stamps and subjects to include from various sources. Also shown are some new cards including one with the Barbados flag - possibly not a potentially  huge seller but I have had a few printed and these will be available at my next Open Studio on 1st and 2nd November - see previous blog post for full details.   Also shown here are the flag of Germany, The Blue Lady, Flower Heart and Christmas Robin.

I saw three ships .. exhibition and Open Studio here on 1st and 2nd November

Fujisan - Japan's beautiful Mount Fuji in stamps

This may be the collage which has taken the longest to complete .. I started it in March and we are now in October! The time it's taken was partly due to other more urgent projects coming along and partly due to lack of particular stamps to complete it.

There are many paintings, woodblock prints and photographs of Mount Fuji and I've been lucky to receive a lovely selection of  postcards from Japanese members of Postcrossing, since I joined last year.  These have all helped me with inspiration for this picture. 

S S Great Britain stamp collage complete with flags

Following a recent trip to Bristol docks where we explored I K Brunel's wonderful S S Great Britain I've finally completed my latest stamp collage.  It's been such fun!  For her hull I've used  QEII black definitive stamps, most of which show our present queen, but I have also included a few  of the 20p "double head Machins" issued in 1990 commemorating the 150th anniversary of British postage stamp. Queen Victoria was on the throne at the time of the launch of the S S Great Britain, and HRH Prince Albert was present at the launch. I It would have been nice to include a stamp bearing his image, but very few were issued and sadly none are in my possession! My post of  7th September showed the Smilers sheet issued in 2010 which included 20 1st class White Ensign stamps together with ships signal flags and having used up the stamps on my postcards, I've used the little flags to decorate the masts of the S S Great Britain, as she was decked out on her launch.
 Other flags have also been taken from stamps issued worldwide, and the "Great Britain" flag miraculously came to light in a bundle of old postal covers, just when I had given up the search!  Also note the date on the Bristol postmarks - lucky to have found these!

 I found a wonderful image in my guidebook which showed the launch from Bristol as painted by the artist Joseph Walter and have based my own collage loosely on this version.

The S S Great Britain was launched from Bristol docks on 19th July 1843 and I've managed to find Bristol postmarks for 19th July .. but for a different year.  This original stamp collage will be available to see at my forthcoming Open Studio in Stroud on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd November, along with some other recently completed stamp collages.  Full details coming shortly!

S S Great Britain - a great day out!

I don't know why we've never visited the S S Great Britain until now.  However, my research for a new stamp collage proved the push I needed to go down to Bristol docks to investigate at close hand this amazing vessel. An online quiz gave me a 10% discount on my  ticket .. and a captain's hat! Needless to say I wasn't allowed to wear the hat in my daughter's company - just TOO embarrassing, but I did sneak in one crafty photograph!

 And she went dressed in a rather nautical looking navy jacket, with "Hello Sailor" logo on the sleeve, which I didn't mind about one bit!!

The tour was extensive, and it was good to find that our tickets would allow us to return any number of times for one year from date of purchase!  From the very start of our self guided tour, I was impressed by the presentation of artefacts and information about the great ship. And there were even some stamps on display.

  The ship was launched from Bristol in 1843 in the presence of Prince Albert, and spent many years at sea in various different forms. The stamps shown here depict S S Great Britain with six masts and a funnel. Later on, she was adapted as a Windjammer, a sailing ship with three masts and no funnel. She was later scuttled in Sparrow Cove on the Falkland Islands where during WW2 she was used as a store for bales of wool, and had some of her iron plating stripped to repair the naval vessel HMS Exeter.

It wasn't until 1970 that a rescue operation was commenced and she was towed back  to Bristol, to rapturous applause from the thousands of Bristolians and visitors who lined the banks of the River Avon to welcome her home.