BotswanaPost awards stamp designers

MARTIN NYIRENDA
Correspondent | Thursday April 24, 2008 00:00

 

The three teachers - Kenneth Mtyuku, Boitshepo Lesego and Mokganedi Ditau - were awarded certificates of attendance, and P500 shopping voucher each entitling them to obtain art material from Artswana.Mtyuku, an art teacher at Iphutheng CJSS, presented stamp artworks on a traditional wedding.

This work, like most others, captured the interest of the instructors at the workshop. The well-researched works roundly revealed originality in prolific stamp designing among the participants. Mtyuku saluted BotswanaPost for availing the opportunity for local artists to excel and horn their skills, adding:

'I have learnt how a stamp is designed. I hope such workshops will be hosted in the near future to allow more artists to explore their potential in stamp designing'.

Like Lesego, Ditau could not express his gratitude. He simply said: 'I am excited to receive this award especially that it is my very first time to attend a workshop on stamp design. I have really learnt a lot of skills on stamp designing which I will share with my students and teachers at my Mariba CJSS in Mabule in the Southern region'.

The workshop facilitators, Paul Melenhorst and Ann Gollifer, who are prominent postage stamp designers in Botswana, commended the participants for their determination to excel in stamp designing.

Gollifer conceded: 'Stamp designing is not easy. If the artists like this kind of artworks, they should continue. You are welcome to approach me on any technical advice. Some of these artworks are stunning when converted into a stamp its beautiful.

'You are definitely on track'.She looked forward to a time in the near future when art teachers will be commissioned to design stamps for BotswanaPost, adding that it was a pleasure to see teachers at work and producing eye-catching products.Sheila Case, an expert in the field, said that it is the first time to work with the Ministry of Education on this particular project to impart teachers with skills on stamp designing.

She hoped that the stamp-designing concept would become part of a section or part of the school curriculum for the purpose of developing talent at early stages of learning.Case pointed out that postage stamp design is a graphical design activity as applied to postage stamps, adding: 'Many thousands of designs have been created since a profile bust of Queen Victoria was adopted for the Penny Black in 1840'.She said that a stamp design includes several elements required for it to accomplish its purpose satisfactorily. Most important is the denomination indicating its monetary value, while international agreements require a country name on almost all types of stamps. A graphic design is almost universal.

'In addition to making counterfeits harder to produce and aiding clerks in quick recognition of appropriate postage, postal customers simply expect stamps to carry a design'.

She informed the participants that the fundamental purpose of a stamp is to indicate the repayment of postage - since different kinds and sizes of mail normally pay different amounts of postage, the stamps need to carry a value.

The second required element, at least for stamps intended to be used on international mail, is the name of the country. In accordance with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) standards, the name should appear in Latin letters so that stamp collectors can easily identify them.She added that the element of graphic design in stamp falls into some categories, for example portrait, emblem and pictorial.

'By far the greatest variety of stamp design seen today is in pictorial issues. The choice of image is nearly unlimited, ranging from plants to animals, to figure from history landscapes, to original artwork. Images may represent real-world objects, or abstract designs.

Botswana stamp always reflect topics of importance relating to the history, culture, environment or flora and fauna of Botswana'.Nearly all stamps have some amount of text embedded in their design, adding that in addition to the expected denomination and country name, textual elements may include a statement of purpose, the name of a person portrayed, the occasion being commemorated, the year of stamp issue, or the national motto.She noted:

'The workshop is also meant to support National Objectives and Vision 2016 pillars'. The BotswanaPost policy is to issue four to six different sets of stamps annually.Participants were urged by the workshop organiser to ensure that enough time is allocated to activities of the event. Some Ministry of Education officials graced the opening session of the workshop and expressed happiness at the line-up activities of the workshop.

During the workshop, the facilitators made valuable presentations and participants were split into groups to kick-start the practical design work.Mmoloki Saakane, an artist, said he was delighted that BotswanaPost is promoting artists especially younger ones who need much exposure and recognition.

He said: 'This workshop is inspiring us to excel to greater levels of skills development in stamp designing'.Martin Baatshwana, an art teacher at Tsetsebje CJSS in the Bobirwa Sub-district, commended BotswanaPost for the initiative to promote stamp designing among local artists. He added:

'This workshop is well organised and we hope that a similar workshop is held at least twice a year so that more artists can benefit. It is helpful in the development of skills in stamp designing and also strives to enhance creativity of the participating teachers. It offers other methods of teaching stamp design as well'.