Art Etching - Tumblr Posts
"Tasmanian Devil with her joeys". Series "For the love of Wild life". Etching, aquatint. 2019.
"Two Green Frogs". Series "For the Love of Wild life". Etching, aquatint. 2019.
"Wombat with her joey". Series "For the love of Wild life". Etching, aquatint. 2019.
“Gaiya. Building houses for the Sugar Bugs”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle,
a la poupe. 2019.
Statement for "Gaiya. Building houses for Sugar bugs" etching created for "Of Foresters, Farmers and Fish: Tales from the Wildwood of the Old and New Worlds"
From history we know too many stories of gross misuse of natural resources. However, now we learn from our mistakes. We are getting better in understanding nature and are becoming skilled in helping to our forester neighbours.
In the last couple of years, we have heard horrible stories about loss of honey bees around Europe and America. It is seems difficult to find the reason. So far, this disaster has not come to Australia. However, Australia has its own native bees as an alternative, if the disaster dose come.
There are over 1500 varieties of native stringless bees through out Australia. Indigenous people call them 'Sugarbugs' in English and many names in native languages. For instance, Gubbi Gubbi people of the Sunshine Coast area call them Gaiya. Recent research suggests that native bees play an important role in the pollination of macadamia, blueberry and mango crops. In some cases, they are better pollinators than European bees.
Native bees can be solitary, semi solitary or social. Only several native bees are social. Also, it is difficult to make them produce honey. If one hive of European bees produces about 50 kg of honey in one year, one hive of native bees will produce only 1kg of honey. Most Native bees are more fragile than the European honey bees, and greatly suffer from deforestation. However, we all could help them by growing plants attractive to native bees in our gardens: Angophora, Eucalyptus, Grevillea. We also could help solitary bees by building single houses for them in blocks of hardwood drilled with holes or Biome Bee Houses (see one on my etching).
Furthermore, we could build split boxes for bee hives of social bees. For example, the Zabel Beekeeping Australia business in 2004 went to North Queensland in Aurukun, Weipa and Mapoon to deliver basic training to Indigenous people in box building, establishing colonies and bee keeping skills. In 2009 they became an established bee keeping business.
Another example is the Star Entertainment Group partnership with, the local Aboriginal community on North Stradbroke Island to boost native honey production. With the help of a CSIRO entomologist, Aboriginal people will build 140 boxes for hives, look after them and collect honey. This honey will be sold through Star restaurants and bars.
That is what my Wildwood story etching is about. In "Gayia. Building houses for 'Sugarbugs'" I depicted an Indigenous man with a Biome house. He is looking at how native bees are pollinating flowers. In the background I depicted, saved from clearing, an old tree full of holes - homes for the bees. Also, there are gardens, growing in the city area - feeding places for the native bees. As well, there is a shed, where people build split houses for social native bees. Collecting honey from native bees is a very new business and more difficult compared to European bee businesses. This business will need to overcome many difficulties, but the reward will be real honey and bigger crops.
In addition, at front of etching is a complicated chine-colle patch, which represents the honey. On that patch I depicted the real hero: the Austroplebeiacincta worker an Aussie native bee. I created my etching with two plates, four colours, aquatint and chine-colle techniques.
“I am safe, for now”. Series “For the love of Wildlife”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. 2019.
“It is a snack”. Series “for the love of Wildlife”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. 2019
“Slip away dinner”. Series “For the love of Wildlife”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. 2020
“Petersburg’s Flowers”. Etching. 2020.
This etching is memory of my home city.
“Stripe-faced Dunnart”. Series: “For the love of Wild life”. Etching, aquatint. 2020
“Quokka with her baby”. Series: “For the love of Wild life”. Etching, aquatint. 2020
“Barn Owls”. Series: “For the love of Wild life” Etching, aquatint. 2020
“Mag Pies”. Series: “For the love of Wild life”. Etching, aquatint. 2020
“Two Crimson Rosellas”. Series “For the Love of Wild Life”. Three colour plates etching. 2021
"Golden Brush tailed Possum". Series "For the Love of Wild life".
I made series of etchings with chine-colle.
"Leaf Insect". Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. Series "For the Love of Wild life".
"Leaf insect". Etching. Series "For the Love of Wild life"
“Orchard Swallow Tail butterfly”. Etching, aquatint, china-colle. Series: “For the Love of Wild life” 2021
“Tiger moth”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. Series: “For the Love of Wild life” 2021
“Yellow Monday Cicadas”. Etching, aquatint, chine-colle. Series: “For the Love of Wild life” 2021
“Sapphire Weevil Chrysolopus spectubilis”. Etching, aquatin, chine-colle. Series: “For the Love of Wild life”. 2021