Official Philatelic Passports - Stamp Show 2000

I recently read Tim Clegg's interesting article in September issue of Stamp & Coin Mart (p.44-45) about his "stamps" collected en route on his charity fund-raising walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain - the Camino. I've become quite interested in postmarks and commemmorative hand stamps and have incorporated some in my Postage stamp quilt designs, detailed in previous posts.  They all have a certain story to tell and are part of the history of the place they were sent from.
Rummaging through a drawer, as I quite often do, in the search for  stamps to include in a current stamp collage picture, I came across a souvenir Passport from The Stamp Show 2000 at Earls Court in May of that year, issued by Royal Mail.  It's the Official Philatelic Passport, and contains more than 60 pages with the stand number and country exhibiting together with the stamps and postmarks collected at the show.
As a stamp collector and  part-time stamp dealer my dad would make a yearly visit to the Stamp Exhibition and on this occasion he visited the majority of stands and at each one collected a postage stamp and then had it postmarked with a unique hand stamp. Sadly this was the last  one he attended, and I haven't come across any more of these passports, but feel sure there must have been others. It's a lovely item and something to treasure as it is a record of a day in the life of  a keen philatelist.

Stamps from the stands of Malta, Moldova, Monaco and the Netherlands

Stamps from Kiribati, Mauritius, Na mibia and Nauru.
Note the use of the Millennium Dome  image 

Flower Basket Patchwork quilt stamp collage

I've finished work on this stamp collage, based on the flower basket patchwork quilts of yesteryear.  Instead of using fabrics as the traditional quilters did, I've used my own materials, stamps and envelopes to complete my paper collage design, which is approximately  20 inches square. I've used American stamps depicting roses and Spring flowers, as well as stamps featuring the many designs showing the US flag for the baskets.

I've tried to take care to have the flag the right way up as I understand there is a certain flag etiquette, although I don't really know how strictly this is adhered to in the case of  artwork, but I do like to try and be respectful!  George Washington (5c), John F Kennedy (13c)and  the Statue of Liberty also appear in this quilt, which uses as background  for some of the squares the insides of envelopes - nothing goes to waste! Instead of a fancy herringbone stitch I've used the edges of the airmail envelopes to join the patches.
The picture will be finished off with a white mount and frame. Prints and cards will also be available shortly.

Pushing the envelope - Patchwork quilt collage with envelopes and stamps

Messing around with the design for another stamp collage based on a patchwork quilt theme , I found myself cutting up some old air mail envelopes I'd recently picked up in a local charity shop to use as background for the flower basket motif which would appear in each square of the new piece. I had initially been  attracted by the postmarks from far away places with romantic sounding names such as Sacramento, Boulder City, Buffalo and Albuquerque, not really knowing what I was going to do with these old and somewhat tatty pieces of postal history, other than store them away to look at until inspiration should strike!  The stamps on the envelopes were mostly "nothing to write home about" - excuse the pun - but some were a bit more intriguing, such as the air mail envelope sent from California in 1938 which has the 6c American eagle Air mail stamp designed by President Franklin D Roosevelt himself, and which also has an interesting logo in red, showing  Placerville Calif. Pony Express Station and another logo slightly hidden by two green George Washington 1 cent stamps. It appears to be commemmorating National Air Mail week 1918-1938.
I never cut up anything I'm even slightly concerned might be "collectable" so this will end up in my own album!  However, some of the others have now been cut into squares and are being laid out for the background to the main design, complete with their red, white and blue air mail striped borders.

Rather liked this envelope so it's one to be kept!

Pushing the envelope is a phrase we often hear and I  wondered where it originated. In fact, it was first used in the 1950s when the space race began and the term, "pushing the edge of the envelope" came into being. The "envelope" referred to the atmosphere surrounding the Earth and to reach its edge was to reach space. Pushing the envelope is really about pushing boundaries or going beyond what you have been safely used to doing. In a small way, I'm pushing my own personal envelope, incorporating new, or in this case rather old or vintage,  materials into my  work, which just happen to be envelopes! Artists do this all the time really and often change their style. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but it's good to push those boundaries and experiment!

Still experimenting with a flower basket motif to add to my background of envelopes

Fronts and insides of envelopes form the basis of my latest "postal" patchwork quilt

International Beatles Week in Liverpool 21-27 August 2013

This week is International Beatles week in Liverpool! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - wish I was there!
I made this Beatles tribute Union Jack stamp collage flag which incorporates the 6 Beatles album cover stamps issued in 2007, along with other iconic British stamps to make up the flag.  In clockwise order from top left of flag are : Abbey Road 64p, Let it Be 72p, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1st Class, Help! 64p,  With the Beatles, Ist Class, and Revolver, 72p.  It's available as a giclee print on high quality paper at £35 (unframed)  plus P&P or as a canvas print mounted on a wooden frame at £60  Plus P & P. Both images are approximately 36 cms x 26 cms (approx A3).  E mail  markwickfamily@aol.com  for further details. Cards also available.

If you want to find out more about  International Beatles Week, have a look at their website:
bit.ly.LivBeat.   I can personally recommend the Magical Mystery tour, which I've been on twice.
It was such fun!

Latest stamp collage inspired by the Franklin Roosevelt Postage stamp quilt

Two weeks ago I started to sort out US stamps for my latest stamp collage, inspired by Kyra Hicks's story about Estella Weaver Nukes who created a Postage Stamp Quilt for Franklin D Roosevelt.  This excellent book, Franklin Roosevelt's Postage Stamp Quilt tells the story of an African American woman from Indiana who presented her gift to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s. Each cotton fabric piece was just the size of a postage stamp, hence its name. Having spent the last two weeks designing, sorting stamps, placing them in a pattern which at a distance would possibly resemble an American patchwork quilt, I've finally settled on the pattern and stuck down the many stamps. Just imagine how long it must have taken to make the original stamp quilt in fabric, and how many pieces it must have taken,

 sewing each tiny square by hand! I  wanted to feature the 32nd US president himself prominently in my stamp collage, also including the Liberty Bell, American eagle, yellow roses, mixed roses and four different birds, including the Eastern Bluebird which proved rather elusive and was my final stamp to be stuck in place necessitating another search  through the enormous pile!

detail showing Franklin D Roosevelt in centre

 

US Bird stamps including the Eastern Bluebird 3c

Franklin D Roosevelt's Postage Stamp Quilt (in cotton fabric and stamps!)

I recently referred to a connection between stamps, stamp collecting and quilts, all of which I'm interested in. Learning that the 32nd President of the USA, Franklin D Roosevelt was known as the Stamp collecting president, I've been reading about his love of the hobby and how he learned so much about the geography and history of the USA from stamps and went on to become involved in their design.  He was instrumental in the first stamp issued to commemmorate Mother's day in 1934. This stamp featured the painting "My Mother" by the American artist Whistler - and the president said it would be great if Americans could send a card to their mother with this 3c  stamp on the envelope on Mother's Day.  FDR was responsible for advising on the issue of approximately 200 US stamps during his presidency, including some of the first Airmail stamps, and stamps commemmorating some of the National Parks of the USA which would help to boost tourism.
The link between this and my own work, creating a "quilt" design made of stamps has been the result of another discovery relating to Franklin D Roosevelt and his stamp collection.  I've just read a very interesting book by the author and quilter Kyra Hicks, who has carried out research about a presidential gift to FDR of a "Postage Stamp Quilt".  This was a quilt made by an African American named Estella Weaver Nukes from tiny, postage stamp size, pieces of cotton fabric.  This quilt has never been found but it is thought that Estella made several quilts.

Franklin Roosevelt's Postage Stamp quilt by Kyra Hicks

 My second "Stamp Quilt" is now in the design stage and I'm hoping to incorporate more American stamps and maybe include some of the many stamps I have showing the Stamp Collecting president, FDR.

I've spent hours today sorting out a huge bag of stamps from the USA with the iconic images of the Stars and Stripes, Statue of Liberty, Presidents of the USA, and the American Eagle in many different shades. It's just a case of deciding which to choose to make up a quilt design!

You can visit my studio ...

At this time of year I often get e mails or phone calls from  visitors to the area, many from overseas,   who have come across my website and ask if it's possible to visit my studio, and it's always a pleasure to hear from you!  However, please do contact me first just to make sure I'm here! With a bit of notice you may also find that cupcakes are available as shown in the photo!

The photos show a variety of the stamp collages in different formats, including A3 canvas prints and larger size giclee prints as well as A5 and A6 greetings cards.  Take a look through my website and you will see also that originals, prints and cards of many of the designs will be available too. If there's something you'd particularly like made to order such as a flag not currently shown, let me know and I'll see if I can do this.

 We are in a very beautiful place with lovely views over countryside in Stroud. However, we only have limited parking and are along what is know as an "unmade road", which as I write is rather wet due to the heavy rainfall today so I always advise you check beforehand to see if there is a place to park by the house and if not to wear wellies and bring an umbrella!

Lilac Eagle Stamp Quilt

Detail showing postmark , envelopes and central Lilac stamp 

Following on from my previous post on 16th June, I set to work to make my own Stamp Collage quilt.
While soaking the US stamps which I felt would be suitable for this piece I couldn't help noticing the backs of the envelopes some of the stamps came from and how pretty they are! In fact, they are just like some of the cotton prints that were used to make up the original quilts which are now so prized by collectors all over the world.  To make this Nine-square patterned picture I've also incorporated postmarks, mainly from the USA to divide up the blocks of colour and placed a flower stamp in the centre of each of these.  More about the link between stamps and quilts in my next post!

Collage patchwork quilt using stamps, postmarks and envelopes