Headdresses of American Indian tribes - issued 1990

Having previously mentioned memories of a postcard showing an American Indian with headdress, made of stamps,  I came across this complete set of US stamps issued in 1990 featuring headdresses of various tribes.
The Smithsonian National Postal Museum has a great website which gives details of many stamps issued by the USA and provides excellent information about the contents.

USA stamp issue from 1990: 5 designs by Lunda Hayle Gill

1. Assinboine headdress circa 1920  - felt and wool, with long strips of ermine hanging from both sides.
2. Comanche headdress mid 1880s - Golden eagle and dyed turkey feathers with rabbit skin and fur.
3. Flathead headdress circa 1905 made from felt and large golden eagle tail feathers, with ermine skin spots and white cow tail hair tied to the end of each feather.
4. Cheyenne headdress circa 1890 has brass tack decoration across the brow and golden eagle feathers, ribbons and hair tassels.
5. Shoshone headdress circa 1900 has a brow band embroidered with porcupine quills, and also uses golden eagle tail feathers.

The headdresses were often made by the warriors themselves and may have been buried with them on their death.

They are also known as war bonnets and are a sign of honour and courage.  

The US law today allows the American Indian people to use eagle feathers exclusively for cultural and religious purposes.  

There's always something interesting to discover on stamps!! 

Stamp Collage Pictures from the 1930s

During the years when my parents were stamp dealers they occasionally came across postcards with pictures composed of postage stamps.I remember a wonderful example which was of a Native American Indian Chief with his headress, or war bonnet,  made entirely of Victorian postage stamps
cut to the shape of the feathers.

I recently came across some more pictures made  from stamps, dating back to the 1930s,  by a Cornish artist named Doram Sibley.   They all show  Victorian Ladies wearing crinoline dresses, shawls and bonnets.  It's not easy to identify all the stamps used, but it looks as though the curtains in the picture bottom right are made from the Newfoundland 1c green stamp of 1923 showing the Twin Hills, Tors Cove. Japanese stamps, I think,  have been used for the chaise longue.

Half penny green George V definitives of Great Britain make up the skirts of the lady in the picture top right looking out of the window, and the oriental style postmarks on the carpet suggest either Chinese or Japanese stamps.  

The two pictures on the left are very similar poses and the beautiful gardens may be partly composed of stamps, but it's quite difficult to tell as the artist has painted part of the scene in watercolours.  I'm able to pick out a Chinese Junk stamp of 1912 in the skirt of the lady in the top left hand corner picture and parts of the words, "United states" also appear.

I haven't been able to find out anything about Doram Sibley, except that she was from St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, and according to an inscription on the back of one of the pictures, "Under the patronage of H.M. the Queen".  Various pictures have come up in auctions in the last few years and some are in private collections.

Just picked up my supply of brochures and programmes for this year's Stroud Site Festival 2013 and Open Studios events.   These will be available in many locations around Stroud and further afield in the next days and weeks leading up to the opening of the events in May.   The Open Studios week-ends are 11th-12th and 18th and 19th May 2013 and there are many interesting events listed on dates throughout May in the Festival brochure too.  
www.sitefestival.org.uk  and click on the Open Studios link to view or download the brochure where you can see pictures and full location details for all the artists taking part.  All contact details are given, so it's also possible to contact the artists if you'd like to visit their studios on dates other than those of the official openings.  Easy to follow routes group the artists in areas so you can visit several studios on one day. It's a public event and artists are very happy to welcome people into their studios and working areas.   My own studio will be open and is on Route 03:Bisley - p.14 of the brochure. As parking is limited, it's best to park in Bisley Road and walk along to my studio.

April Fool (Poisson d'Avril) cards

A few spoof posts on facebook and in the papers today, but I don't think anyone sends postcards in the mail anymore.

Our old postcard collection contains these lovely examples of French postcards sent to loved ones on 1st April.  In France April Fool's day is known as "Poisson d'Avril" (April Fish) and the cards were often sent anonymously, or with a cryptic message.

The beautiful card (top left) is a more romantic design and like the one at the bottom, contains the words, "Devinez qui vous l'envoie - 1er Avril" - Guess who sends you this - 1st April.
The humorous card (top right)also carries a very romantic message on the back from a "fair haired young man"!

Greetings Cards from my own designs

My work has been featured in various magazines and papers, most recently in our local newspaper, Stroud Life.  Stanley Gibbons Stamp Monthly and The American Philatelist, Stroud News and Journal and The Gloucester Citizen have also covered interesting stories and included some of my stamp collage pictures over the last 12 months.   I'm often asked  where people can purchase cards and the answer to this is that you can e mail me direct or visit my studio to see the complete range during the forthcoming Open Studios Festival in Stroud (Site 13)  which will be on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th and Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May from 10.30 until 6 pm.   My cards are also on sale in Made in Stroud in the centre  of Stroud itself. Torbay Stamp centre have some on show too, as does the Taunton Stamp shop on Bridge Street, Taunton.  Please check their hours of opening as these do tend to vary.  Ten designs are also currently available to purchase on ebay on UPA's pages (just google Rachel Markwick Stamp collage cards and you will find them easily!)and you can use paypal in this case.

The Leaning tower of Pisa stamp collage

On 30th January, I mentioned that I had started to make a picture os the Leaning Tower of Pisa. My theory is that if I tell someone I've started, it puts a little bit more pressure on me to complete the task! Well, six weeks later, I've finally finished this one. Quite a lot of searching around for little figures to include in the foreground and on bell tower level.  I also got rather obsessed with trying to include Galileo in the picture as he was born in Pisa and there are many stories relating to his experiments in which he is said to have dropped objects of different weights from the top of the tower to prove that they would land at the same time. There is nothing in his own writings to prove that he ever did this, but it makes a good story!

Galileo Galilei was commemmorated on an Italian stamp of 1933 - and his portrait appears on the tower.  See if you can spot him.

Another set of stamps was issued in September 1942 to commemmorate the Death Tercentenary of Galileo.  Such a beautiful set of stamps, in perfect condition in my own collection that I didn't have the heart to cut them up!
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Instead, here's a picture of the four stamps featuring different events in the life of Galileo.
The tower itself is made from carefully cut pages of an old Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue.

Colosseum stamp collage print framed

The original stamp collage picture  of the Colosseum was sold at a recent exhibition, but a limited series of 25 high quality prints is now available. The buyer of this print chose to have it framed in this lovely grey wood moulding which sets the picture off very well.  Framing is always a matter of personal choice and the original was in a gold frame, which looked equally good, but gave a totally different effect. Non reflective glass as used here  gives a wonderful finish and allows the viewer to see all the fine detail.
My local picture framer provides an excellent service, not just with the quality of her work, but with choice of framing supplies available  and advice on how to choose what will look best in your own home.
framingbylesley@hotmail.co.uk - website coming shortly, but contact her for further information.