eI have been back in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia this year and have been saddened by the bush fires that have occurred there, and in the Upper South Island of New Zealand. What struck me, after listening and viewing media coverage, that the news covered human and agricultural losses, but very litttle attention was given to the flora fauna that had been extinguished.
I visited the Melbourne Museum to view an exhibition on the 10th anniversary of The Black Saturday series of bushfires that were unprecedented due to extreme weather conditions.  Unfortunately the Exhibition hadn't opened, but I was dismayed at seeing a Koala called Sam that was rescued from the bush fires and although treated for burns, subsequently passed away.
After a short sojourn into the country side and a visit to the animal sanctuary,Healseville, to see amazing animals that I hadnt heard of before ( Squirrel Glider, Northern Quoll, Hopping Mouse ) I returned to New Zealand with an aim to make an Artist's Book that hightlighted the plight of the forest ecosystems. 

Sam, the Koala at the Museum

The finished book and clamshell bookcase.
Artist's Staement:
The encased book is reminiscent of an artifact retrieved after a forest fire.  The book titled “Extinguish” is a response to the loss caused by forest fires both globally and recently in New Zealand.
Media coverage is often focused on human inconvenience and the economic loss of trees, while little is reported on the loss of habitats and the associated inhabitants.
A forest is more than the trees.  The trees provide the structure of a forest, but also the relationships between the flora and fauna are intrinsically linked to form an ecosystem.
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​In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world in which all women gained the right to vote in a general election.

The leading suffragist was Kate Sheppard who was a leading member in the Women's Christian Temperance Union and produced a national magazine called "The White Ribbon" where she was able to promote the ideas about women's rights. Women went round the country by horse to collect signatures and in 1891 a petition was presented to Parliament with 9000 signatures, but denied. Similarly in 1892, with 20,000 signatures. In 1893, more signatures had been collected, each page pasted to a a long roll of paper to become "the Monster Petition" and when presented to Parliament the electoral Act was passed, 18 against, 20 for giving all women the right to vote. Kate presented to Members of Parliament who supported Suffrage a white Camellia to wear in their buttonhole, and the dissidents a red Camellia. The white Camellia became a symbol for the suffrage movement.

The original petition is on public display at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington as a scroll. Each day, it is unwound to reveal a different portion of the original signatures, ink spots and all. It can be viewed, and names searched, online as well. A truly original Collage!!
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I was fascinated to be able to find my great, great grandmother's name on the petition...

​​​“125 CELBRATE 125” - 125 NZ ARTISTS’ BOXED PRINT CELEBRATION COLLECTION

THIS PROJECT IS ORGANISED BY THE FRANKLIN PRINT GROUP

We seek 125 printmakers (male or female) from throughout NZ to contribute two A4-paper prints.  These 2 prints will be made into two carefully collated boxed sets, to be displayed and archived as part of the 125 Suffrage Celebrations in NZ. 

Imagery may link to the past and/or present.  Consider how to celebrate the lives, roles, presence or influence of women, whether inspired by history, our national story, or your personal experiences or thinking.
The first box will be displayed in Pukekohe on 15 September as part of the Franklin Suffrage Celebration Day.  This boxed set will likely be toured and showed at other venues, currently being arranged.  The second boxed set will be gifted to the Auckland Museum, to be archived as part of their collection. 

Printed imagery must be generated by a hand-made print process, but may also include a digital element
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My print for the exhibition...
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The women's signatures were digitally reproduced.
​The Camellias were printed from a woodblock, and 18 red crosses signifying the dissenters to the Act of Parliament, were printed from a linocut.

Below is a sculpture in Melbourne that I always admire as the tram trundles round the corner by the Parliament buildings... It depicts a "Monster" petition. 
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Women in Victoria won the right to vote in all elections in 1908, however this did not apply to Indigenous women who did not get the right to vote until 1962. 
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​No such discrimination was made in New Zealand.

The Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand has once again organised an exhibition of Prints, no larger than A4 size, that will travel round various venues in New Zealand.  I have submitted 4 prints....​ 

These 2 prints are quite textural, the bottle surface printed as a collagraph. The name Angel's share refers to the percentage of whisky that is lost to the atmosphere during the aging process in oak barrels.

On Saturday at the Pataka Gallery in  Porirua, saw the opening of the Print Council Aotearoa NZ exhibition "Boundless -  Print making beyond the frame".   22 printmakers had work selected that pushed the boundaries of the notion that printed works are 2D.  My work was displayed on a plinth, covered in an acrylic case, and the accompanying video was running on a screen nearby. It was a nice opportunity to meet other printmakers from throughout New Zealand, more photos of other works can be seen here:​ http://www.printcouncil.nz/boundless
There will be further opportunity to view the work at Aratoi, Masterton Sept - Nov.2017, and at the Waikato Museum May - July 2018.

I came across this photo I had taken several years ago in a laneway in Melbourne.... perhaps that is where the inspiration cam from for the print in  William Barnhart's workshop.... see the following blog.

A few weekends ago I was one of privileged few to be able to attend a workshop in Taupo, tutored by Willian Barnhart, an American painter, sculptor, printmaker, to name a few of his many skills.  The focus was on using collaged papers as a backround, then creating a drypoint plate to print over it. The skill was all in how much ink to remove so  that the ink remaining enhanced the final plate.  In between answering our every need, William was quietly working away on his own plates, and this was an additional bonus as you could see his working methods...methinks hes done a few!! Below are the results of the 2 days....

​Each year a small town an hour away from here, Whanganui, hosts a Fibre Arts Symposium  that attracts tutors and artists from around the world.  It is a 5 day residential event, held at a Girl’s boarding school.  It is a wonderful time, mixing with about 100 other creative people and having meals provided for us, where we can keep on nattering.
I chose to go to an American collage artist whom I had been following for sometime on PInterest…Donna Watson.  The title of the workshop was “Collage in the Spirit of Wabi Sabi”.  This was perfect for me as for some time I had been drawn to that  Japanese aesthetic.  It is a way of looking at  the world, accepting the beauty of imperfection, transience  and impermanence.  I recommend the book  “ The Japanese Art of Impermanence “ by Andrew Jupiter.
To generate material to use in the collages we used Gelli plates to print onto any ephemera that we had brought, but also beautiful handmade papers such as Tengucho, Chiri, Unryu : some were fine, some had texture.  It was interesting watching people’s personal colour palettes develop as the week went on.  Donna gave us some guiding principles as to different layouts we might adopt to construct our collages, but from then on we worked individually.  Donna came to the rescue with various possibilities for piece placement  if something wasn’t working, but in general it seemed to come together in the end.
Donna was generous in sharing her work with us, they were 10” x 10” immaculately presented collages on a firm backing.   See her work on my pinterest page:
https://www.pinterest.nz/Printmixedmedia/artist-donna-watson/
Below are some photos taken in the class, and after them is a link to my printmaking page where there aare collages that I subsequently produced at home.

An assortment of papers were prepared

Selecting papers that might go together

By shifting one small piece of paper can make all the difference

Experimenting with geometric and organic designs

Where the Eucalyptus story began.... there is a wonderfully informative section of Eucalypts at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Eucalypt walk features five gardens displaying some of the well known species.. the Ironbarks, the Box, the Peppermints, the Bloodwoods and the Stringybarks.  I can recommend a prizewinning fiction book to read...Eucalypts by Murray Ball. It is an easy fun read.

50 New Zealand  Printmakers participated in producing prints that would be exhibited here and Australia, to help celebrate the 50th year of the Australian Print Council.  We were  divided int 5 teams, to produce an edition of 12 prints. Each person received the 12 pieces of paper in turn, the only stipulation was the title"Leaving your mark"
I was fortunate to be second in line, so basically "Carte blanche".  That enabled me to print my favs... Eucalyptus leaves, these had been chewed on the edges by the Gum Emperor caterpillar, so I thought it was apt.  It was a nerve racking experience... printing over someone elses work! It was rewarding receiving photos of the print as it passed past each person. A full video of the making of the prints can be viewed at
http://www.printcouncil.nz/50-year-print/ 
Below are a few photos of the progress, and then the final 5 completed prints.