Durham College art instructor illustrates Olympic stamp
Aug 27, 2008 - 10:27 AM
By Moya Dillon
OSHAWA -- Portraying Canada's Olympic pride in a format as tiny as a postage stamp isn't easy, but that's what illustrator Laurie Lafrance loves about it.
"Going from illustrations for a newspaper or billboard to a postage stamp is pretty extreme," said Ms. Lafrance, a freelance illustrator based in Clarington who also teaches part-time in Durham College's art department. "That's what I love about my job -- I get to do challenging stuff for all different mediums."
Ms. Lafrance provides illustrations for everything from book covers to T-shirts, and has already illustrated one stamp. She enjoyed working on a 1991 Canada Day stamp so much that she jumped at the chance to illustrate this year's Beijing 2008 stamp, which went into circulation in July.
"Illustrating a stamp is so thrilling because it's this little chunk of Canadian history," Ms. Lafrance said. "It's this tiny piece of art that anyone can see without having to go to an art gallery or anything. It's just so accessible and precious."
The theme of the stamp also attracted Ms. Lafrance, who is an athlete herself and has always watched the Olympics. In the past she's competed in in-line skating races and is also an avid cyclist.
"I definitely channelled my love of sports into the stamp," Ms. Lafrance said of the design, which portrays a stylized athlete holding a waving Canadian flag. "We wanted to portray victory, patriotism and energy with the simple lines of a Chinese brush stroke."
Ms. Lafrance was chosen to illustrate the stamp by q30 Design Inc., whose design for the Olympic-themed stamp was chosen from several submissions during Canada Post's selection process. The overall process, from choosing a theme for the stamp to its completion, can take up to three years.
"It's a long process," Canada Post spokeswoman Nicole Lemire said. "A lot of thought and effort go into every stamp."
The Beijing stamp is the first in a series that will celebrate upcoming Olympic Games, in honour of a recent sponsorship deal between Canada Post and the organizing committee of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.
"We wanted to show our pride by holding the Canadian flag and showing it to the world," Ms. Lemire said of the Beijing stamp design. "A stamp travels the country and the world, so it's a really nice way to show our honour and our pride in the Olympic athletes."
Beijing 2008 stamps can be purchased at any Canada Post outlet. Vancouver 2010 stamps will be released beginning December 2008.
For more information on Ms. Lafrance, visit www.laurielafrance.com.
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