Everything is Not Black and White

When I visited my parents, before my dad became unwell, he would pull out his stamp collection and tell stories about the history of the stamps.

After my dad died, I snagged some of his collection. Not the stamps of value, but the cancelled ones were of value to me.

Piece in Progress

The photo will be inserted to the inside of the lid. The coco fiber blanket to line interior box bottom.

My Parents’ Wedding Photo and a Map of Marion Ohio where they lived for over 50 years.

Coils of Stamps

Coil 1

I used three different stamps, two colors of flowers, one butterfly.
The two colors of flower stamps were used for the code. The butterfly stamps were used for spacer between words.

The gold lines and stitching separated the letters in the words.

Coil 2

Used red thread to stitch each stamp with a single letter. All of the stamps used were flowers and birds.

The exception is the stamps used for the word part. I used four stamps that dealt with freedom and democracy.

Coil 3
All of the stamps were for air mail post.

There is a strip of an aeronautical chart on the back of the stamps, because it fits contextually but also for stability.

Beads for Closure
Tying the lid on didn’t quite work, so I made three beads to string onto the tie.

Two of the beads have stamps with images of endangered plants. The center bead has two stamps–one that states freedom of speech, the other a stamp cancelled with Marion, Ohio.

Completed Piece

The code is–A few memories of my dad.

Box Interior and Contents

Completed Piece
7.25″ x 3.75″ 4.25″

Materials–cancelled postage stamps, aeronautical chart, paper, found box, paint, wax, cocoa fiber, linen, red thread, cardboard tube, tree wrap, printed images, PVA.

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