Spiral Ginger (Costus comosus), from Central American and Venezuela (yummy colors, yes?)
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Spiral Ginger (Costus comosus), from Central American and Venezuela (yummy colors, yes?)
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
A cluster of Epidendrum ‘Miura Valley’ orchid blooms against a backdrop of palms; the dappled afternoon light was so lovely in the conservatory at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Euphorbia milii (crown of thorns, Christ plant, Christ thorn), from Madagascar
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I got this shot of a Common Morpho (at the Franklin Conservatory in Columbus, OH this past weekend) from almost the same vantage point as my friend, neighbor and fellow photographer Michael Powell got his shot. He was able to get more of the other wing because he has the added advantage of being several inches taller! It is so rare to be able to get a shot of the beautiful blue side of this elusive, quick-moving butterfly. We were thrilled that it stayed on the leaf long enough for both of us to get some shots.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Odontonia Papageno ‘Mi Amour’, from the orchid family; US Botanic Garden
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Last week my water lily FOREVER stamps were unveiled at the Garfield-Perry March Stamp Show in Cleveland, Ohio. First photo: digital postmark first day covers and booklet of stamps; second photo: autographed program and cancelled stamps from First Day Ceremony: autographed by Jay Bigalke, American Philatelic Society, Editor of The American Philatelist; Paul Davis from U.S. Postal Service, who sang the National Anthem; Harold Chapman, President of the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club, who gave the welcome; remarks by Cynthia Druckenbord, Vice President of the Cleveland Botanical Garden; (then me!); and then Melvin J. Anderson, U.S. Postal Service Northern Ohio District Manager, and I got to unveil a giant poster with the water lily stamps (Third photo, shot by my dear friend Michael Powell).
The water lily stamps are available in booklet form at post offices across the U.S. You can also order them online.
Stamps in Booklet Form: LINK
First Day Covers (set of four): LINK
First Day Digital Color Postmark (set of four): LINK
Water Lilies DCP Keepsake (four digital color envelopes and stamp book): LINK
Water Lilies Press Sheet (with and without die cuts): LINK
Water Lilies Stamped Envelopes with Seals: LINK
Water Lilies Framed Stamps: LINK
One project I assisted on while working in Texas over the holidays was this large tree mural (you’ve seen them on Pinterest with framed photos hanging over the branches like a “family tree.”). Last fall, my friend William painted a mural for Color Clay Studio in Schertz, TX. A customer saw it and William got a gig painting this larger one in a house outside San Antonio. I played assistant artist and it was a lot of fun to create. This mural was considerably bigger than the Color Clay one (the wall was 20 ft. wide x 12 ft. high!), but since it was one solid color (and no birds on the branches, etc.), the task was a little bit easier.
When drawing out the initial sketch with conté chalk, we only had a small printout of a family tree for reference. William went left and I went right and within what seemed about 20 minutes or less, we had the tree roughly drawn in! The little leaves sketched out in the center of the trunk were practice sketches to determine shape and size of the leaves. The remainder of the day was spent going up and down the ladder to paint in branches and leaves. The homeowner was thrilled with the results and said she didn’t even want to put frames over it. Yes, he’s available for murals in the San Antonio area and I’m for hire on the east coast, too. Inquire within! 😉
Photos © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Okay, ONE more post about the waterlily stamps. I just discovered they’re doing a framed version with the photos enlarged and the stamps underneath for $39.95! I didn’t see that when I ordered my first day covers. It’s really pretty, too. Check it out in the link below.
Here’s a cool statistic that I just learned from the USPS PR man—normally they print stamps in quantities of 40-50 million.
They’re printing my waterlily stamps in a quantity of HALF A BILLION—500 million stamps, which usually only happens with their holiday stamps. He said flowers tend to sell particularly well so they’re hoping this is the case with these.
So, on that note, go out and buy a book of 20 on March 20 (when the stamps make their official debut across the US)! You’ll make the USPS (and me) very happy indeed. (And no, I don’t get a cut of sales, in case you’re wondering!)
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2015/pb22409/html/info_004.htm
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