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Bird Stamps: Intricate paper-cut artworks of birds that seem to leap off postage stamps

Diana Beltran Herrera is a Bristol-based Colombian designer and artist who loves to work with ordinary everyday materials – such as wire, cardboard, plastic, and paper – to create intricate paper sculptures, particularly of different species of birds from around the world.

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Paper-cut bird with black and white head, yellow and green wings surrounded by layered paper flowers and foliage in blue, red and yellow tones

Our feathered friends are something she's been especially fascinated with since she was a child, and that's where she tends to get most of her inspiration. For this particular series, Bird Postage Stamps, Diana decided to pay homage to birds she has discovered on her own travels. From her home turf of Colombia to Malaysia and Indonesia – each stamp depicts a bird in its own native land.

"Just as the patterns found in nature, my sculptures comprehend massive groups of elements that together compose a major complex system," she explains.

After graduating with a degree in Industrial Design at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota, Colombia in 2010, Diana established her own design practice, and has since exhibited in Europe, Asia and America. She currently lives in Bristol, where she has just graduated with a masters in Fine Arts at University of West of England.

Recent commissions include a piece for the Festival of Ideas by Bristol City Council and her first solo show in Asia, supported by the Embassy of Colombia in Indonesia and Cancilleria de Colombia en el Exterior. You can discover more at dianabeltranherrera.com.

Colombian postage stamp featuring a black and red jacana jacana bird with cream wings perched among purple flowers
Paper-cut artwork of a black bird with cream and maroon wings and purple flowers on a stamp labelled Colombia $10.00, designed by Diana Beltran Herrera
A paper-cut blue tit surrounded by layered paper flowers, leaves and red berries arranged on a white circular background against a blue surface
A three-dimensional paper-cut kingfisher with green and orange plumage perches on a branch between yellow berries on a vintage-style Panama postage stamp
Postage stamp featuring a red and white bird with blue feet perched on a curved teal branch among green ferns and white flowers on a pale yellow background, labelled Papua & New Guinea, Cicinnurus Regius, 10c
Indonesian postage stamp featuring an intricate paper-cut white bird perched among red flowers against a deep blue background, from Diana Beltran Herrera's Bird Stamps series
Brazilian postage stamp depicting a hummingbird with pink and magenta flowers by Diana Beltran Herrera
A postage stamp depicting a hummingbird with a pink flower and red berries in an intricate paper-cut design, labelled "Beija Flor de Tesoura Brasil
White postage stamp with scalloped edges displaying R$325 in dark blue text, decorated with magenta and pink paper-cut flowers and green leaves in the lower left corner
Intricate paper-cut hibiscus flower with magenta petals and red stamens on a postage stamp design by Diana Beltran Herrera
Portuguese postage stamp featuring an intricately paper-cut Eurasian blue tit perched among delicate white flowers and green foliage, valued at 30 euros, dated 2012
Paper-cut flowers and botanical leaves in white, blue and green with yellow centres, layered to create dimensional sculpture
Cream-coloured postage stamp dated 2012 with three dark circles above the date and two hanging green paper-cut fern leaves below, mounted on a scallop-edged backing card
Colombian postage stamp featuring an intricately paper-cut hummingbird with blue-black plumage and orange breast perched on a branch with pink flowers
Colombian postage stamp featuring pink and red flowers with grey foliage, part of Diana Beltran Herrera's Bird Postage Stamps series
Colombian postage stamp featuring a colourful paper-cut bird perched on a branch with pink flowers and green leaves against a white background
Colombian airmail stamp featuring an intricately paper-cut hummingbird with blue and gold plumage perched on a branch with pink flowers
Diana Beltran Herrera's paper-cut artwork showing pink flowers with blue foliage on a branch, labelled Aves de Colombia Trogon Viridis, on a spiral-bound page
Malaysian postage stamp featuring two yellow-breasted kingfishers perched on a branch with green leaves against a cream background
Vintage Malaysia postage stamp featuring a yellow and black bird perched on grey palm fronds with red berries against a red background
A paper-cut stamp design featuring a white tern in flight with black markings against a bright blue background, labelled Sterna and Singapore, valued at 15 cents
Thailand postage stamp featuring two green birds with yellow heads perched among white flowers and green leaves on a lavender background
A 1997 Laotian postage stamp featuring two yellow-and-green parrots perched on a dark branch with pale blue leaves, valued at 50k
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