Encino Boy Honored for Stamp Design

Nine-year-old Aaron Yamagata moved a step closer Wednesday to his goal of becoming a famous artist.

Aaron, surrounded by clicking cameras and scribbling reporters, was honored at the Van Nuys Post Office for a stamp design he submitted to a U.S. Postal Service contest.

Called “Moon City,” the piece features a rocket, a colorful space station and a freeway enclosed in a bubble on the moon’s surface. It is his vision of accommodating a growing population in the 21st century.

“The Earth is in the back because it’s nice to see the Earth from the space station,” said Aaron, an eighth-grader at Professional Children’s School in Studio City.

Aaron, who lives in Encino, said it took him two weeks to come up with the design. He looked through magazines for inspiration and used science books to make sure he drew the Earth’s land formations correctly.

“I was elated because he labored over that thing,” said Aaron’s beaming mother, Didi Yamagata. “When children are rewarded for something they love to do, nothing could be better.”

Aaron is one of two California finalists in the national Stamping the Future stamp contest, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Terri Bouffiou. One hundred finalists--two from each state--were chosen from the 120,000 children ages 8 to 12 who entered the competition, which is meant to reinvigorate stamp collecting among children, she said.

Four winners have already been chosen and their designs will be issued as 33-cent stamps during the World Stamp Expo in July in Anaheim, Bouffiou said.

Aaron, dressed in a suit and tie, was presented a framed copy of his design, a first-issue James Dean stamp and a software program. Although his two front teeth are missing, Aaron was all smiles.

This was not the first time the young artist has received an award. Aaron, son of Los Angeles artist Hiro Yamagata, had his artwork printed on a Hallmark greeting card last year.

“My dream is to become a very famous artist,” he said.