And besides, we artists all deserve our fifteen minutes of fame too, don't we?
As our first featured interview, Sheba of the famed "Eyeland of Exoticia" has graciously stepped up to the microphone. As you can see from her work, Sheba's stamps are extremely interesting. So, I found, is she.
AB: TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF. WHO ARE YOU?
SHEBA: I am an "army brat" so I have lived and traveled all over the world as a child. I went to college in Olympia at The Evergreen State College. I studied many forms of art including photography and fashion design, but have settled on collage. I have developed a unique form of the medium, where I use old windows and apply the paper directly to the glass. Many of the pieces look like stained glass windows. I recently returned to school to receive my masters in education. I now teach art and drama in the middle school level. I have been creating art since my earliest days as a child. Creativity is in my blood, and I would stagnate horribly if I didn't keep art in my life. As a result, I have surrounded myself with many wonderfully gifted and artistic people.
AB: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED CREATING ARTISTAMPS? WAS THERE A PROGRESSION, OR DID YOU JUST DIVE IN?
SHEBA: I stumbled on Artistamps and Mail Art at the same time that I stumbled upon Dominique. We began a correspondence of courtship and he sent me the most wonderful things. These magical gifts inspired me to renew my passion for collage and artistic things in general.
He introduced me to all things philatelic not by teaching and explaining, but by doing and showing. He took me to several stamp conventions where collectors bought and sellers sold, real stamps from the United States and other places far, far away. We always looked for old stamps being sold at face value, so that we could use them instead of the boring going rate stamps. We also talked to people about Cinderellas (an official Philatelic name for stamps not used for postage.) I quickly became fascinated and began my own versions of these miniature works of art.
