Out collecting

The first days of our time in Menindee are often spent out in the bush, searching for the plants that we want to collect and paint. Of course, as we wander our attention is captured by other specimens, so quick outing into the field can end up taking much longer!

[Remember that we collect our plant specimens according to collecting guidelines. For further information, please see our page "Herbarium Collecting Specimen Guide".

Sometimes we went further afield, car pooling with a few cars.

But wherever we went we were reminded of the beauty, diversity and fragility of this amazing area.

At work in the Hall

We set up in the Civic Hall in Menindee. Each artist has her own table -- or sometimes two! -- which becomes covered with microscopes, specimens, and all manner of artistic equipment from paint and brushes to backing boards and natty pencil holders.

Beckler's Botanical Bounty Exhibition

Another collecting and painting period in Menindee has come and gone. The highlight this year was the exhibition of our work in The Darling River Art Gallery in the Information Centre in Menindee.

We set the exhibition up on Sunday.

The exhibition was of prints of our original paintings. As you can see, we uniformly mounted them in black frames with a black matt. That helped to unify the works.

This is how they looked up on the walls.

The Opening was on Tuesday. It was wonderful to see lots of people there. Margot Muscat was our Mistress of Ceremonies. As the representative of the Shire in Menindee, she is our liaison, and without her our project would not be where it is today without her. It is Margot who helps us with all the organisational matters, and definitely our Go To Person.

We were Welcomed to Country by Evelyn, who made a very moving speech. A couple of us spoke about the project, not only its history, but also the impact the area has made on us as artists. We always feel so welcomed when we come to town for our week in the Hall.

Then it was time for a cuppa, some fruit cake, lots of chatting, and of course, a closer look at all the art work of plants that grow in this amazing area.