Etsuko Watanabe creates collages of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and other designs with used postage stamps, through meticulous and strenuous effort. (Chieko Hara)

Photo/Illutration A collage of Marilyn Monroe created by Etsuko Watanabe using only used postage stamps (Chieko Hara)

While postage stamp artist Etsuko Watanabe has been unable to greet fans of her works in person, she looks forward to their likes delivered to her through Instagram.

The 80-year-old homemaker, who created her account late last year, has received rave comments about her collages of Marilyn Monroe, a self-portrait of Vincent Willem van Gogh and other themes produced using only used stamps.

“It makes me feel like I’m in heaven every time I see them,” said Watanabe, who opens her Instagram page when she awakens every morning. “I had never imagined I would find such happiness at this old age.”

Watanabe, who resides in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji, started collecting used stamps after she saw works created with them on TV when she was in her 40s. She thought that she wanted to make her own works one day.

She began creating collages about 10 years ago in her own style.

Her first work was a peacock spreading its wings, which was as large as a double-page newspaper spread.

Watanabe has since created more than 100 pieces of collage art featuring a variety of themes including flowers, people and famous paintings.

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Etsuko Watanabe places a sheet of carbon paper between two sketches, puts postage stamps on the surface and traces the sketch with a pencil. (Chieko Hara)

Her works are created through a lot of preparation and meticulous and strenuous effort.

When Watanabe works on a project, she soaks many used postage stamps given by her friends in water.

She removes them one by one from envelopes before drying and ironing them to make them clean and usable and classifies all the stamps by color.

Watanabe draws sketches on the base paper and also on a transparent sheet, with a sheet of carbon paper and stamps sandwiched between the two.

She then cuts the stamps into shapes fit for the design and pastes them. The process is repeated over and over.

It requires five to six hours just to cut and paste stamps for a B4-size work, she said.

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Etsuko Watanabe, who lives in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji, produces artworks using only used postage stamps. (Chieko Hara)

Watanabe has shown her works in three solo exhibitions.

One spectator was so impressed by her artworks that the person asked for the pieces. Another took a close look at her works with a magnifier and was amazed by the fact that they were created using only used stamps.

Each of their reactions has motivated her to work on her next project.

However, Watanabe was forced to cancel her fourth exhibition scheduled in 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has also made her daily life inconvenient in many ways.

But her daughter encouraged her to post her works on Instagram. The artist didn’t know about the photo-sharing website, but she decided to give it a try with the support of her daughter.

Watanabe received likes as soon as she posted her pieces online and instantly became fascinated with the social networking service.

“There are people who see and enjoy my works,” she said. “I’m happy and on cloud nine, and feel so bouncy that I feel young again.”

She also finds joy in responding to each comment she receives.

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For her first artwork using postage stamps, Etsuko Watanabe said she worked half a day for about one month to create a collage as large as a double-page newspaper spread of a peacock spreading its wings. (Provided by Etsuko Watanabe)

Watanabe is planning to hold a solo exhibition in April.

She hopes that visitors can appreciate the details and the scale of her works that can only be felt live when they see her works in frames made by her husband, Kazuyoshi, 82. She also wants to hear feedback directly from them.

But for now, she can only hope for the day when the pandemic abates to clear the way for her next exhibition to open.

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