State stamp artist gets rough ride

By Craig Wilson
USA Today

So, you're a commercial illustrator given the job of translating the spirit of a state onto a postage stamp. And you have to do it 50 times over because, well, there are 50 states.

And now that his five-year project is complete, some states, and at least one city, are a little miffed at how they're portrayed, or not portrayed.

The U.S. Postal Service will release its "Greetings from America" stamps today in ceremonies at every state capital in the nation. The Hawai'i ceremony takes place at 10:30 a.m. in the governor's chambers. Stamps will also be available at local post offices.

It's the first time in history that a commemorative stamp will be issued on the same day in every state. It's also the first issuance of a pane of 50 stamps in 10 years.

That doesn't hold true for the residents of Wyoming, however, who have filed an objection with the Postal Service. The problem? Their hat-waving cowboy on a bucking bronco — Wyoming's official symbol that's on everything from the state's license plates to roadside signs — just happens to have galloped its way onto the stamp for neighboring Montana.

"No, of course, I didn't know," says Busch about the rodeo cowboy's trademark status in Wyoming. "If I had and anyone had looked at it, there would have been a lot of consideration. My intent was not to slight anyone or misplace a logo."

He says the mini-controversy saddens him a bit, because he hoped the release of the stamps would be a happy unifying occasion, post-Sept. 11. But he defends himself by saying, "There's only so much you can do in a space that size. The idea is to get something that comes across as aesthetic and beautiful and says that state at the same time."

The most difficult? Busch is diplomatic. "Yes, there were several states that were more difficult than others — states that didn't have an arch or a Liberty Bell or a distinct land formation. Some states took a little more digging, but with each stamp and state, I didn't want one to be mundane or drab and another to be exotic and wonderful."

So? "Indiana was a little bit of a challenge," he finally admits. "I succumbed to the covered bridge. I'd like to have not done that, but when you look at Indiana, you see covered bridges."

"And I guess Wisconsin. I went with the farmland, the cows."

His choice of Cleveland to showcase surprised people on both ends of the state.

"One newspaper columnist in Cincinnati said Cincinnati should have been represented," says Smeraldi, who says the two cities' newspapers have been having a good-natured sparring over the stamp. "And the columnist in Cleveland was excited about it."

"What I wanted to have happen," Busch says, "because I knew these stamps were going to be shown as a block of 50, I wanted you to see everything, as much of America as you can. You've got the farmlands and cities and lakes and swamps. I was pretty happy with it. I represented what I could with the space I had."