New Art: a Komatsuna Stamp

 

 

 

We’ve continued our tradition of commissioning artwork for the covers of our unique seed packs again this year. Last March, close to 300 creative artists applied to be Pack Artists. It's taken 8 months to choose the artists, give them time to create their pieces, and turn their works into seed packs. Now, 24 beautiful new art packs have been added to our growing collection and our traveling exhibition of original art (Art of the Heirloom) has begun its journey around the country.  You can browse our entire art pack collection by clicking here, and get to know the new pack artists here on our blog.

 

A Stamp of Rainy Garden Friendship

Asian greens of all shapes and sizes march through the Seed Library office from the earliest spring days until the latest fall. We keep growing more new varieties, like the mild and sweet Tendergreen Komatsuna because we just can’t help ourselves. Not only do Asian greens have a diverse and delicious flavor palette and are versatile in the kitchen, they are also perfectly suited for our finicky climate. They like cold days, can stand the heat, and feel just fine under all the rain that we sometimes find ourselves living under here in the Northeast.

When it came time to design a package for this special green, artist Molly Rausch immediately chose Komatsuna. “I've had this stamp set aside for some time as a particularly beautiful one I wanted to paint.  When I saw Komatsuna on this year's list of possibilities, it seemed like the right time.  The stamp is so gorgeous.  And I loved the idea of placing two friends in a garden, taking a walk in the rain.”

Molly writes, paints, and builds treehouses in New Paltz, New York.  Her stamp paintings began 15 years ago with an envelope of foreign stamps from her dad and a small, empty bookbinding project she didn't know what else to do with. Molly received her MFA in Painting from SUNY New Paltz in 2003, created a Lost & Found Drawing Booth in 2009, dug a tunnel to an abandoned Fotomat in 2010, published a children's book with Penguin in 2011, created a Short Sale for the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2012, and traded drawings for hand-drawn currency at the World Financial Center in 2013.

In both art and gardening, Molly loves the satisfaction of creating something that was not there before and watching it change and grow through the years. “My paintings certainly don’t look the same as they did 8 years ago.  And neither does my yard.  Some years it all goes crazy wild.  Other years I keep very tidy corners.”

To see more of Molly's work, visit her website: Postage Stamp Paintings.