ROUND 2
PENNY BLACK PROJECT
published by little ephemera empire pennyblackproject.blogspot.com © 2012 COPYRIGHT REMAINS THE PROPERTY OF THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST graphic design by mr & mrs smith
HEATHER MATTHEW JILLIAN HODGSON JOANNA LAM MATTY C SMITH SUSAN BONACI TARA AXFORD
PENNY BLACK PROJECT the penny black project is an art project for people who want to be more creative but find themselves short on time. consisting of six projects spaced six weeks apart, participants are encouraged to follow the project brief as closely (or not) as they want. illustration, collage, crochet, embroidery, sculpture, photography, there is no limit on what participants can submit. my thanks go to the participants who completed round 2 of the penny black project for their dedication and inspiring creations. joanna smith project coordinator pennyblackproject.blogspot.com
i work in a number of mediums using the detritus of everyday life like train tickets, stamps, and letters to create collages and artist books.
HEATHER M A T THEW
i’m a budding writer, fresh out of corporate land and keen to stretch the creative muscles that have shrunk from doing too little for too long.
JILLIAN HODGSON
i was diagnosed as an unco by the australian institute of sport in 1997. despite this, i enjoy cross stitching, cooking, horse riding and chasing my delinquent border collie, baci.
J O ANNA LAM
having been formally trained in the making of architectural joinery, i am currently undertaking a ba in environmental design, majoring in furniture so that i can combine my making trade with a design trade.
M A T TY C SMITH
mostly i write. creatively and commercially. but lately i’ve been dabbling in multimedia art and zine making just because i love it.
SUSAN BONACI
i love to create. i don’t like to ask why. i have a short attention span. my day job is graphic design.
T A R A A X FORD
PENNY BLACK PROJECT
PROJECT 1 DENOMINATION 2C COLOUR RED
the penny red stamp issued in 1854 was the first officially perforated stamp. prior to this stamps were either torn or handcut. in 1853 henry archer’s perforating machine was purchased by the uk postal authorities who in 1854 started to continuously issue perforated postage stamps. the penny red was the uk’s longest circulating stamp with approximately 21 billion stamps issued between february 1841 and november 1879. the stamp was a development on the penny black, with the change in colour (from black to red) to ensure that cancellation marks could be clearly seen and stamps could no longer be reused.
PROJECT 2 DENOMINATION 6C COLOUR BLUE
the basel dove stamp, printed in black, crimson and blue was the world’s first tri-coloured stamp. it was issued in july 1845 by the swiss canton of basel with a value of 2½ rappen. the stamp was designed by architect melchior berri and featured a white embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak. the stamp was valid for use until september 1854, by which time 41,480 stamps had been printed. the stamp today is considered to be extremely rare, with the number still to be in existence unknown.
PROJECT 3 DENOMINATION 5C COLOUR YELLOW
stamp collecting is one of the world’s most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors estimated to be 200 million. the collection of the french/austrian aristocrat philipp von ferrary (1850–1917) is widely considered to be the most complete stamp collection ever formed. the collection consisted of several hundred albums and included the only unused copy of the two cent hawaii missionary, a stamp that one of its earlier owners had been murdered for by an envious fellow collector. after ferrary’s death the french government confiscated the collection as a war reparation. the massive collection was auctioned off between 1921 and 1926 and raised 30 million francs.
PROJECT 4 DENOMINATION 9C COLOUR SEPIA
gwoya jungarai, known as one pound jimmy, of the wailbri people of central australia was the first named aboriginal person to appear on an australian stamp. two stamps were issued in 1950 and 1952 with his picture, an 8½ pence stamp and a 2½ crown stamp. the stamps sold over a million copies and were rereleased as one of australia’s favourite stamps in 2009 to mark the 200 year anniversary of australia post. gwoya jungarai also inspired the design of the australian 2 dollar coin and was the father of clifford possum tjapaltjarri and tim leura tjapaltjarri.
PROJECT 5 DENOMINATION 2C COLOUR MAUVE
swiss post issued the worlds first embroidered stamp in june 2000. the limited edition 5 franc stamps were issued to celebrate the embroidery of st gallen, a canton of switzerland that established itself in the 15th century as a center for textiles and became the home of embroidery after the first automated embroidery machines were invented there in the early 1800s. the stamps were embroidered on high quality polyester and used thread that was custom-dyed in two tones specifically for the stamps. other countries to release embroidered stamps include italy, gambia, grenada, martinque, st vincent, sierra leone and austria.
PROJECT 6 DENOMINATION 7C COLOUR ROSE
in september 2004 swiss post issued the first wooden stamp. the 5 franc stamps were made of high quality fir and are 0.7mm thick. designed by swiss post graphic artist thomas rathgeb, the structure of the wood created a different picture on each stamp, making each stamp unique. in november 2007 portugal post issued the first cork stamp. the 1 euro stamps were printed on cork 0.35mm thick. designed by the portuguese engraver joao machado the stamp depicts a cork tree on a hill. portugal is the world’s biggest producer of cork, with 737,000 hectares of cork trees. due to the cellular nature of cork each stamp is also unique.
pennyblackproject.blogspot.com
josh billings be like a postage stamp. stick to one thing until you get there.