The Genius of Charles & Ray Eames

Image Source: USPS

Back in 2008 on what would have been Charles Eames' 100th birthday, the US Postal Service issued this set of commemorative stamps to honor the husband and wife design team. With 16 different panels, the set demonstrates the breadth of their influence and talents. I bought them immediately thinking I might some how work them into a miniature scene as paintings, like this.

Photograph by Doris Nathanson of Mini Modernista as
seen at A Miniature Obsession blog.

Fast forward to now, they still remain (safely protected) in the bottom of a drawer. I guess I wasn't sure how to display them without destroying the collector value of the stamps. Ugh! You can't have it all, right? Would I really want to sell or trades these stamps? Ah, no! But, they shall remain where they are---waiting to be showcased and appreciated.

 Image Source: (c) 2011 Eames Office

PBS also celebrated this creative couple with the documentary Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter as a part of the American Masters series. It debuted last December but appears not to have an expiration date for streaming on the PBS website (what a treat). I really enjoyed learning about the personal and professional lives of the Eames couple. The film explores the 40 years that their studio, Eames Office thrived with productivity. It also includes archival film footage, photographs, ephemera, and even love letters. I didn't know that Charles was such a womanizer. Perhaps he always needed a new muse?  The film spans from the period shortly after the couple met through the death of Ray Eames.  It was an excellent visual biography so if you haven't done so already, check it out.