|
|
|
Stamp Art
One of the first new stamp series of the 39-cent era honors children's book art. Eight classic book animals are featured in all their brilliance. Two of the stamps will be jointly issued with the United Kingdom's Royal Mail: The Very Hungry Caterpillar - The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, 1969 and 1987 and Maisy - Maisy's ABC by Lucy Cousins, 1994 in the U.K. and 1995 in the U.S.
Other stamps on the page are:
 The stamps were issued in Findlay, Ohio, at the Mazza Museum of the University of Findlay, which was an incredibly busy and interesting place even before it was discovered by the Postal Service. The Mazza Museum website (http://www.findlay.edu/offices/resources/mazza/default.htm) tells us that this museum of International Art from Picture Books is the world's first and largest teaching museum devoted to literacy and the art of children's picture books. Founded in 1982, the Mazza Museum now contains more than 3,000 pieces of original artwork by distinguished and honored illustrators of children's books. The mission of the Mazza Museum is to promote literacy by utilizing its pre-eminent collection of original art from children's picture books. Guild President Maria Salvadore is on the Mazza National Advisory Board. A volunteer support group called the Mazza Enthusiasts provides volunteer and financial support for an annual Young Authors and Artists Conference for elementary school children (students share and sign books they have written or illustrated). The Mazza Enthusiasts furnish children's libraries in local residences for homeless families and sponsor the Mazza Medallion Award. This award is given every two years to an artist who has demonstrated his/her willingness to experiment with different styles of media and illustration; the 2004 winner was Robert Sabuda. There is even a TV program - "Mazza Before Bedtime" features local elementary school children and an author or artist brought to Findlay by the Mazza Museum. The Museum has also created illustrator kits that are borrowed by local schools. Each kit features a different book artist and includes books as well as puppets, games and posters and a Teacher's Guide. There is an excellent page of art-related links for children (and people who enjoy children) as well as links to artists' websites. Now back to stamps where we started. If you'd like your artwork on a stamp, you don't have to wait for the U.S. Postal Service. A website called Zazzle.com lets you create real stamps to put on real mail showing your artwork as long as it doesn't look like an advertisement. The stamps are big - 1-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch images:
Check it out at http://www.zazzle.com/products/stamps.asp. Contributor: Karen Leggett To stay up to date on new books on this topic, consider subscribing to The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. For your free trial, click here.
|
