The Stamp Lady of Stroud - that's me!

Torbay Stamp Centre's Tim and Basia Clegg have made a series of videos on Youtube, which you can view via their website www.torbaystampcentre.co.uk.  A wonderful new angle on the hobby of stamp collecting and hoping to promote the hobby to a wider audience.  Click on the Youtube link and you can see the latest videos including The Stamp Lady of Stroud, which was filmed last week in my studio in Stroud where I make my stamp collages.   Unfortunately it was a particularly wet day and our beautiful lane was full of muddy potholes, as you'll see from the film - it's not always like this, but I often suggest people wear their wellies if they walk down here to visit at this time of year!   The Studio is open next week-end Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November from 10-5 but can be visited at other times if you get in touch beforehand.      Pictures, prints and cards, including Christmas cards will be for sale, and a warm welcome!

Open Studio here - see poster

See previous post for further information if needed.

Open studio here on 23rd and 24th November 10 - 5 pm

It's always a pleasure to open my studio to visitors and friends and many of my visitors have become friends too both with me and with each other!! I think the subject of my work which is mainly stamp collages all made of stamps and stamp related materials, including stamp catalogues, envelopes and cards etc is a great topic for conversation and nostalgic recollections. I have been labelled the Stamp Lady of Stroud  but hope that even those who are not stamp collectors, or never have been, will find something of interest!
I've even got a visitor promising to bring along her stamp designs, which will be lovely to see!


So I look forward to Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November when my studio will be open from 10 - 5.  In case you may need further information my telephone number is 01453 757933 and please park in Bisley Road by the cemetery and walk the short distance along to my studio which will be signposted with yellow and black Open Studio signs.  It's about 200 metres along and old shoes or wellies  definitely advised if  it's wet or has been due to the "country lane" and if coming later in the afternoon you may need a torch as we have no street lights along here.  It's certainly a beautiful place to live and the views when you arrive are fantastic, but please take care to avoid the puddles or jump in them and have fun if you're inclined!

Lest we forget ... take a closer look at the poppies ..

It wasn't until fairly recently that I examined my poppy stamps up close with a magnifying glass and  saw so much more in the design than first meets the eye.  I wonder how many people have missed the fine detail.  So beautiful, but so sad too.

You can still buy these stamps to use on your letters in some post offices, including Stroud.  

Gee's Bend Quilts on Stamps of USA

A while ago a friend who is a quilter mentioned the Gee's Bend quilts to me as she knew I was making some stamp collages based on traditional quilt designs, after reading about the Franklin Roosevelt Postage stamp quilt made in the 1930s by Estella Weaver Nukes as a gift for the "stamp collecting president".

I was looking through a bag of US stamps yesterday, in my search for suitable material for my latest collage, when I found a stamp I had never seen before, and interestingly it features a Gee's Bend quilt! This one won't go in a collage, it will be added to my own collection, along with the other stamps in the set of Gee's Bend quilts issued in the USA in 2006.

    I just love the vibrancy of the colours and designs, so different from the "pretty" quilts which African American slaves traditionally made to order for their owners. Many books and films have been made about the inhabitants of Gee's Bend in Alabama and their quilts, both from the past and present have been widely exhibited.  One of the books features a contemporary quilt incorporating denim pieces, and this gives me further inspiration on colours from which to make future work.  Stamp collecting and collage together seem to be a perfect combination for yet more inspiring projects to complete, and areas to research.

Stamp Collecting is a great laugh ..

I've been a member of Stroud Businesswomen's Network, SBN, for almost two years now and I'm so glad I joined!  Each month I attend a meeting which takes place at The Old Lodge on Minchinhampton Common where members gather to network and promote our businesses, however big or small and it's always a pleasure to spend time with such a friendly  bunch of women as well as hearing inspirational  speakers who come in from time to time to help us on our way.

I had my greetings cards on display today and they were admired by a first time visitor, Kate Sharp or Vibrant Kate as she is known!  She runs Laughter workshops which must certainly be a great pick-me-up as we all know the old saying, Laughter is the best medicine. We exchanged business cards, and I was thrilled to receive hers, which she designed herself, having studied art and design at University. I love the postmark which reads:Eccentricity! She also told me that during her studies she had  designed a set of stamps featuring trees, so I'm looking forward to seeing those when we next meet up, hopefully during my forthcoming Christmas Open Studios event on the week-end of 23rd and 24th November.  Kate also possesses a stamp collection put together by her parents until she reached the age of 18, but has not continued with the hobby, although time may change all that!  I also made another new contact today among the group, and it turns out she is also a stamp collector.

Stroud Businesswomen's Network : www.stroudbusinesswomen.org.uk

Your very own art gallery .. in a stamp album

Being a stamp collector, and an art lover, the two interests frequently come together.  I've always said that one thing I love about stamps is that they are mini works of art and you don't need to be a millionaire to afford them.
I am enjoying the BBC4 series Art of Australia at the moment - the last of the series of 3 will be shown on Tuesday 22nd October at 9pm .Although I have yet to visit the exhibition , Australia, at the Royal Academy, I recognised several of the paintings featured in the programme, because I have the stamps!
It looks like a wonderful show and I can't wait to get to London to see it, and wondering how many more of my own stamps will feature in the next programme and indeed in the show itself.

A view of the Artist's House and Garden in Mills Plains, Van Diemen's Land  by John Glover