Oh, happy day! The new Love stamps are here. Now, you know that I just love stamps. See an earlier post on my love of stamps here. But (and I know I can tend towards superlatives) these might be my all-time favorite stamps. Sunny, vibrant, evocative of folk art and yet distinctly modern. I have been going to the post office for months hoping they had arrived and I even went yesterday. But I had no luck. My mom found these at the Hallmark store and gave them to me…she didn’t even know I had been waiting anxiously for them! She loves them, too.
The Garden of Love — ten different First-Class stamps depicting a colorful mosaic of flora and fauna in a garden setting — will be issued May 19. These stamps are a continuation of the Love series, begun in 1973, and are intended for use on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day cards, as well as on other occasions when love and affection are expressed.
Award-winning illustrator José Ortega of New York City and Toronto depicts an abstract garden of bright flowers, a butterfly, a strawberry, and doves, interlaced with vines that run from one stamp to another. Each prominent element of the design is in the shape of a heart. The deep blue background is reminiscent of a brilliant summer sky. The word “Love” sits atop each stamp.
Ortega says, “Garden of Love depicts the abundance of life, its generosity, whose spirit is to be shared by all its creatures. Love’s definition is broader than romantic love. Love is that colorful, full feeling you get when you enjoy being a part of and sharing in the generosity of life.”
Read more here.