What's in the box?

No, this wasn't what was in the box!  

I collected a sealed box today from the agent  who acted on my behalf in obtaining a commission from Japan 5 years ago.  I was excited to see what was inside and found these lovely sample items which had been sent  at the time of the launch, by Afternoon Tea, who produced them,  using my artwork, for sale in their many stores throughout Japan !

 Look carefully and you will see my stamp collage designs on mugs, packaging and labelling on tea bags, bubble bath, body wash and  bath pearls!   I was so pleased to receive this prestigious commission and it's lovely to be able to keep these pretty items now !   And Emerald was just as excited to get in the empty box! 

Mobile Post office near the canal at Brimscombe on its weekly visit

I wasn’t expecting to come across this mobile post office after  a walk along the canal tow path,  but when we reached Brimscombe we found this one  parked near The Ship Inn  on its weekly visit. Since the closure of many village post offices this service has become a vital link for many people. On Thursdays, it starts at Kingscote, 9-10, Shipton Moyne 10.30-11.30,  Chalford 12.30-1.30, Brimscombe 1.45-3.15,  Whitminster 3.45-4.45. Avening, and Duntisbourne among many others.  The post van vists other areas on four days of the week. 
Wearing my face mask, as was the counter assistant, I boarded the van and bought a few stamps! 

What's the story, Morning Glory?

I love Morning Glory, a beautiful deep blue climbing plant, which I remember seeing growing everywhere when we were in Turkey more than 20 years ago ..and had to get the photos out ...

I've tried growing it myself but without any success, but having given my green-fingered friend Beth some seeds, she has managed year after year to produce some wonderful blooms!  And last year she gathered some of the seeds and gave me a packet which I've planted and also some seedlings she has grown, which look decidedly healthier than mine. I'm eagerly awaiting a brilliant show of colour in a couple of months time!

But if not, I'll have to make do with some Morning Glories on a couple of Japanese stamps I came across today .. they're going in my 2021 diary.See previous post of 30th March on how I made a 2021 dairy to put in all those dates cancelled from 2020.  You can find it on my  website, 

www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk  - blog.   You may like to make one too.    I'll be putting one of these stamps on one of next year's pages - and hoping to do that when the first flower appears.

Stamp Rainbows and rainbows on stamps

Children everywhere have been making rainbows tohelp cheer us up during this dreadful time of Coronavirus pandemic and I was inspired to make one too, using stamps.

 Yellow stamps, as always were the most difficult to find, but I eventually found just enough  from GB, France, USA and Japan to complete the yellow band of the rainbow. On a second rainbow I cheated slightly and used gold 1st class stamps!  This was an absorbing activity for a few  hours and while making my collage, I was contemplating the sad reality of how many lives have now been lost in so many of  countries where my stamps have come from.  The iconic US stamp featuring the Statue of Liberty, a proud symbol of New York, is a poignant reminder of how tragically large cities are the worst affected by the virus.  

Teddy Bear on a stamp - Keep Smiling!

We all love Teddy bears, or Teddies for short!  Originally named after the American President Theodore Roosevelt, who on a bear hunting expedition in 1902, refused to kill a bear which had been captured. He said the huntsmen's behaviour was "unsportsmanlike".  When the story became known, an enterprising toy maker produced toy bears, and asked permission to call them "Teddy Bears".
Unsurprisingly, teddy bears also feature on postage stamps of many countries, and the delightful one shown hear is part of a set of Greetings stamps,  issued here in  2000.
Known Smilers, they all feature smiling characters, such as the Mona Lisa, Laughing Policeman, and Cheshire cat, but this is my favourite and will be going in my 2021 diary to brighten up the week.

Cuckoo .. the best ever!

Eagerly waiting to see if this year will bring the Cuckoo back to nearby woodlands. It's years since I heard one loud and clear.  In fact, I have to say that it was back in 2006 when we were in France celebrating my late mum's 80th birthday and we heard what was from then on, always known as "the best ever cuckoo". 
With the Coronavirus Pandemic, less human activity outside, less traffic and pollution, some species of wildlife are more evident in our countryside and also in towns.  We've had a deer regularly visiting our garden, wild goats have been seen roaming the streets in Wales, our cat has brought in a newt and a slowworm, which happily I managed to rescue and re-release, so hopefully the Cuckoo may soon reappear.

I looked to see if I had any cuckoos on stamps, and surprisingly there aren't so many .. other birds are common to find, such as Robins, other garden birds, birds of prey and game birds, but I did track down these two issued in Czechoslovakia in 1972.  One of these will be going into my home made diary sometime in April, hopefully in a week or so ...

Make your own 2021 diary .. and look forward to filling it next year!

Pick a note book, any notebook ... who hasn't got a spare one lying around ??

I chose the one in the centre with recycled hammock fabric!

My 2020 diary is looking very sorry for itself, with cancelled appointments no work, , family events  including a wedding no longer happening and generally a mess of crossings out , but some things are already being rescheduled  for 2021, including the wedding (Yay!!) and I found myself without a diary. Reluctant  to buy online  to save money and delivery problems, I decided it would be easy to make one myself! I wanted to make the diary pages more interesting and looked through my stamps for inspiration!

For each week, I'm choosing a stamp to head up the page and discovering more interesting stories or reviving memories through them. I felt the USA stamp issued in 1961, showing a "Nurse lighting the candle of dedication" issued in honour of Nurses was an appropriate choice in the current Coronavirus pandemic.  I wonder if countries around the world will eventually issue stamps such as this to honour so many people working to help us all.

My notebook is 21 x 16 cms and I've ruled lines across 2 pages for each week.  USA stamp issued in 1961 to honour nurses

 Making a diary could become a yearly event as there are so many stamps to choose from!  Like my collages, stamps have stories to tell  and I hope you will enjoy  reading some of them!  Why not make your own 2021 diary, choosing your own "weekly picture" to add? It could be a small photograph, a fabric swatch, magazine cutting, a drawing, inspirational quote or your own stamps... endless possibilities.   All you need is a notebook with enough pages for 52 weeks and any additional information you may want to include, some glue, a pen/pencil and a ruler.  You could even cover the notebook  if  it's a plain one.  I've used more of my recycled hammock fabric  which has already made several tote bags, and a pair of shorts!!

What are you reading? Among other things, I've been reading about stamps.

Now is a time for catching up on some reading!

This interesting little book was given to me by a friend who visited the British Library earlier this year, and I've only just got round to reading it! I was unaware that The British Library  has many important stamp collections including the entire collection  donated by Industrialist and MP Thomas Tapling (1855-91) .
Stamps have been issued to raise revenue, support disaster funds,  commemorate historic events and people, and are a great way of learning interesting facts about the world.  Included in this little book are some very old and rare examples of stamps, many of which have printing and colour errors making them extremely valuable.

Some of the stamps in this collection are the only ones in existence, but that didn't stop me looking through an old stamp album to see if I had any items which might be rare or valuable. 
No such luck - these Swan stamps issued in Western Australia are worth just a few pence, but I enjoyed perusing my own stock of beautifully designed little artworks and appreciating  the details even more.

If you have a stamp collection of your own, or have perhaps inherited one, now could be the time to  look closely at your stamps and you may  find great treasures too!

R M S Mauretania with Coquet island, Northumberland

RMS Mauretania  - Stamp Collage - by Rachel Markwick 

More time at home, due to the Coronovirus  situation requiring us to Stay Home,  means more time to complete a project which has been a long time in the making, or I should say, mullng over .Previous posts have mentioned  R M S  Mauretania, the beautiful Cunard liner, and the Puffins of Coquet island, as well as a trip to Bristol where I managed to talk my way into the now disused Mauretania pub which contains some of the fixtures and fittings of the ship. The last thing to do was to add the masts and rigging sewn into the paper. I've really enjoyed the research,  reading about the ship's various transformations over the years, in both wartime and peacetime, and have used some artist's licence with the paint colours which were the original ones when she was first launched, and of course the scale of the Puffins!

Detail : Coquet Island off the coast of Amble, Northumberland 

Hope you like it! .





I will have prints available in the near future when life gets back to normal.  Please let me know if you are interested.

Puffins on Coquet Island, on stamps and at Middlesbrough's Dorman Museum .. and in a new collage

My first sight of live puffins was  on a boat trip to Coquet Island in Northumberland from Amble. last July 

Up to 22,000 pairs  were currently on the island, although by the end of July each year they migrate to other climes.  Coquet Island is protected by the RSPB  to ensure that the puffins are relatively undisturbed and able to survive and breed, so our boat, operated by Dave Gray and family was able to get within viewing distance of the numbered nest boxes but not authorised to land.  We also saw Common Terns and the rarer Roseate Terns, of which there are more than 100 pairs on the island.. Expert eyes were able to pick out the latter.  Puffins have featured on postage stamps, including a set of British birds appropriately commemorating the centenary of the RSPB in 1989 and a Post and Go series of bird stamps from Lino Prints by artist Robert Gilmor  also included a puffin.  I'm now working on a new collage, the ship R.M.S.  Mauretania which sailed by the town on Amble, and Coquet island on her last journey and Puffins will feature!  Hoping that with more time at home, this collage will soon be finished! 

As usually happens when one becomes interested in a particular subject, we  also came across a whole room of taxidermy in the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough, where I was born.

Inspiration .. Mauretania - and the Storms of life ... work in progress

The Mauretania - work in progress

The inspiration for my latest stamp collage came when we visited Amble in Northumberland last year on Mauretania day!











 Every year in July  the people of "the friendliest port" remember  this beautiful ship when she sailed  by the town on her last voyage before being broken up. (see poster on right ).

While there I attended Cafe Church where I was welcomed in with tea and cake and some lovely chat with locals and other holiday makers.
The informal service was held under a gazebo and we  shared stories on a travel theme, and sang this hymn, "Will your anchor hold in the storms of Life?"   I hadn't heard it before, but now it seems a very good message!
 

One hundred and eighty! Dart Board .. in stamps!

Hoping to still be able to go ahead with an exhibition at the Stirrup Cup, Bisley during April and May  where this will be hanging along with other stamp collage pictures.  Will confirm details as soon as possible! 

Stamp collage Toucan .. but which one?

Keel-billed Toucan - the National bird of Belize

You may have seen my previous post and will have read that there are 43 species of Toucan, but I have chosen the Keel-billed Toucan to collage using stamps from countries including Great Britain, France, India, and Germany as well as postcards for the tree branch. 

Toucans - on stamps, but sadly not so easy to see in the wild

Toucans can be seen in parts of Guatemala, Mexico  and Belize, where we were this time last year, but sadly the only ones we found  were a rather elderly looking stuffed Keel Billed Toucan  in the Cultural centre in San Ignacio, Belize, (NICH)  and others featured in murals, and one made out of tyres!   The Keel Billed Toucan is  Belize's  national bird, and I was surprised at its size.  There are 42 different species  of Toucan, but some are now endangered due to widespread deforestation, which has destroyed their habitat. The Toco toucan, the largest of all the toucans, is so far not endangered as it is more adaptable.

Keel Billed toucan at NICH - Cultural centre, San Ignacio

Keen to make a Toucan stamp collage I've gathered  photos and some stamps
 together to  provide me with inspiration!   Collage to follow soon!

Mural - San Ignacio, Belize 

Mural -Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Toucan made from tyres 

Just four of more than 40 different varieties of Toucans are featured on this sheet of Guyanan stamps : The Yellow Throated, Toco (the largest of the Toucans), Keel-Billed and White Throated toucans. 

My Stamp collage prints are in this beautiful holiday cottage in Wiltshire

The owner of this beautiful  4 bedroomed holiday cottage in  Garsdon near Malmesbury, Wiltshire chose several of my stamp collage pictures to decorate the dining room and bedrooms and  it's always great to see how pictures look on someone else's walls!

A large canvas print of The Carp stamp collage looks great against the sage green wall of the dining room, and two framed giclee  prints of garden scenes  all made from stamps decorate the twin bedroom, with the grey frames chosen here toning well with the overall colour scheme, and very much in a cottage style.

Carp - stamp collage 

Secret Garden  Giclee print stamp collage

The property is a spacious 4 bedroom cottage on two floors, with a large garden in a quiet lane surrounded by fields and open countryside, with lovely views. It  is ideal for families of up to 8, with dogs  also welcome.  To see  more photos of the entire property, see www.sykescottages.co.uk  property reference 12186.

And for more information and pictures of my stamp collages including those shown here, www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk .
Pictures are available in various formats including canvas prints and giclee prints, framed and unframed.  Some original work is also available to purchase.

Postcrossing.com - a great way to make international friends

If, like me you enjoy communicating with people, travelling - virtually via postcards in this case - and maybe collecting stamps and postcards, postcrossing.com is a great thing to join!  You can send as many or as few cards as suits you. I have had to cut down recently due to the increased postage costs, but  you are guaranteed to receive as many as you send.  You may establish friendships through mutual interests or indeed diverse lifestyles across the world, and who knows if one day you may meet your new friends. Children and adults alike are involved, and some school groups also participate.
  The above is a selection of cards I have received over the years, from places including Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia  and Germany.  I've learned about traditions, crafts, artists and beautiful places I'll probably never visit, but can through Postcrossing.com .  Many people are keen to swap stamps, small collectable items or just stories! 

Vintage Portuguese embroidery patterns inspire new collage work ...

In  Lisbon recently, we visited  the flea market  in the Alfama district, a colourful and bustling location, and I found these attractive 1960s embroidery and tapestry patterns, which open up to large poster size and could possibly be framed as such.   

I covered some notebooks with one of them, and am now taking inspiration from an image of a pretty flower basket from the cover of another to make a series of collages using stamps from many countries.  The stamps I'm using for the borders are from Ukraine and all depict leaves and fruits. To create the basket work for two of my collages,  I've used George VI definitives which have a great pattern,  almost like wickerwork . 

Flowers and foliage are cut from stamps with floral images, or made in the shapes of leaves and flowers.  It's a work in progress,  but at least I've made a start after a period of artist's

Primary research methods - visit a pub!

I must admit to being extremely disappointed when I arrived at the Mauretania pub in Bristol recently on a mission to get in the mood for embarking on my new project of making a stamp collage version of the Mauretania, originally launched in 1907.  I had located this source of great interest after discovering the story of this beautiful ocean liner, after visiting Amble, Northumberland , "the Friendliest port in England".  See blog post dated for the story so far 6th September.


I had read that the Mauretania building in Bristol's Park Street contains fixtures and fittings salvaged when the liner was broken up in 1936, and had hoped we could go to the pub, have a drink and possibly lunch, and admire the beauty of the mirror veneer panelling, and chandeliers , but instead I was confronted with locked doors, pulled down shutters, and a general feeling of neglect, and no clue as to the demise of the business.Only the illuminated sign "MAURETANIA" which is still lit up at night  remains as an indication of the story of what lies within.
 We spent the rest of the morning visiting a couple of exhibitions before heading back down the hill for lunch but determination lead me to ring one of the bells for other businesses which now inhabit the upstairs .. my call was answered and I asked if  I could possibly speak to someone.  Door catch released, and I proceeded up a dark stairway, emerging to find two helpful ladies, who said they dealt with the Mauretania building, now empty and in need of a new occupant to bring it back to life.

I was introduced to a gentleman who was very knowledgeable about the ship and who proudly showed me the clock from the vessel, and pointed out some of the mirrors and other fittings in his office space, as well as an old framed photo of the Mauretania.

 I was then invited to go downstairs to the former nightclub, Java, which also contains some of the once beautiful polished wood panelling and decoration from the ship as well as a ceiling dome minus its glass, and currently sporting a garish glitter ball! 

It's a large space, and times are hard. The nightclub closed after a few years. It would be lovely to see it back in use, and hopefully retaining the historic features. I felt very privileged to have seen just a glimpse of what the Mauretania would have been like in her heyday. The book Mauretaina, Triumph and Resurrection by Peter Newall gives even more information about other buildings and museums which hold more relics from the liner, including Pinewood Studios!