About This Stamp
In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service issues two new, nondenominated, nonprofit-price stamps intended for bulk mailings by authorized nonprofit organizations. The Butterfly Garden Flowers stamps will be issued in coils of 3,000 and 10,000. Each coil includes two designs, illustrations of either cosmos or scabiosas, two flowers that butterflies love to visit.
The artist used a combination of traditional and digital tools to create the stamp art. After hand-carving the images into linoleum blocks, she inked the blocks and pressed them onto paper. She then scanned the images into the computer and added color digitally. As in most traditional block printing, the color palette is limited.
Butterfly gardening plays an important role in preserving populations of these beautiful pollinators. The requirements for a successful butterfly garden are actually few: plenty of sun, the right kinds of plants, and freedom from pesticides. The garden can be as small as a few containers on a sunny patio or as large as acres of land in the country or in a city park.
Both scabiosas and cosmos bloom in summer and attract butterflies to the garden. Scabiosas are called pincushion flowers because they resemble a pincushion loaded with needles. Also known as the Mexican aster, cosmos flowers grow on a sprawling plant that produces a profusion of blossoms.
Adding these two plants to a well-planned garden with lots of color from native plants will provide a beautiful haven for butterflies and gardeners alike.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with original art by Rigel Stuhmiller.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Artist
Rigel Stuhmiller
Born and raised in San Diego, Rigel Stuhmiller is a mostly self-taught artist whose work captures the beauty and wonder that she sees in the world.
A few years after graduating from MIT with a degree in architecture in 1999, Stuhmiller embarked on a freelance design career. Her clients have included the Metropolitan Museum of Art Paper Store, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Store, Pier 1, and Williams Sonoma. Products featuring her bold, colorful, uplifting designs are sold in stores around the country.
Stuhmiller has a fascination with storytelling, science, and nature. Now living in California’s Bay Area, she can often be found in the garden or taking walks around her neighborhood to see what's growing.
Butterfly Garden Flowers (2022) is Stuhmiller’s first stamp project for the U.S. Postal Service.