Wednesday 30 October 2013

Lorraine Looney

Lorraine Looney, Councillor for Central Darling Shire Council

Introducing Lorraine, who has been a strong supporter of the Beckler Project from our first year.

Verbena africana

We bought our property in Menindee on the banks of the Darling River in 1973 and came out to live 1975. We saw the massive flood in 1976. As a child I grew up in Broken Hill and we did a lot of bush walking. I always wondered how Aboriginal people survived without a shop. I used to pick wild flows to take home to Mum, but they always wilted! That was the beginning of my interest in bush tucker food. I still walk a lot, and I love open spaces.

I went to school a couple of years back to do a night course in Aboriginal Studies. It came about because when I became a councillor an Aboriginal man approached me to have a look at their class. I was interested, so I enrolled from there. Unfortunately the course couldn't continue, but I would like to have been able to finish it.

As a councillor for the Central Darling Shire I was involved with the 150 year anniversary of the Burke and Will Expedition. We had a reinactment. When that was over I saw a piece in the school news about the open days of this project [Beckler's Botanical Bounty Project]. So I had to come and have a look! Looking at what everyone was doing was fascinating. People were looking under microscopes and identifying species.

Each year I have come back to say hello.

One year I was encouraged to draw my own flower. It was Verbena africana -- the simple one! Mali gave me the choice of the verbena or the warrigal greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides). I chose the verbena because it was less complicated. It is a medicinal plant, so it interested me as well.
Verbena africana, original art work by Lorraine Looney
I also create art works of recycled objects. I have used window frames to make little dunnies. One of my specialities is red back spiders to go in the dunnies. They are made out of gum nuts and little twigs.

I made a mosaic of the Maidens Hotel, where Burke and Wills stayed. I found objects like little stones, glass and ceramic pieces from outside the hotel to decorate the frame.

Every year I have entered an exhibition that Netwaste run, called 'Waste to Art'. Each shire has a local competition and the winner goes to a regional exhibition. One year they had the exhibition here in Menindee. I won the Curator's award for one of my art works. It was creation of fungi made from various recycled things like cotton buds, and an old ball. I put it all in the lid of an old mushroom box.

Lorraine's art work, Winner of the Curator's Award in 'Waste to Art' Exhibition.


I would like to see the full collection of Beckler's plants being painted. That would be amazing.

Thursday 24 October 2013

What a wonderful week!

Dear Beckler's Botanical Beauts and many friends,

What a wonderful week we had in Menindee this year, 2013, our 4th annual trip. The locals are getting to know us by name and regularly visit us in the hall. 

Our group this year consisted of 11 artists, one photographer and one botanist with his family. We booked the Hall for 9 days this year which turned out much better than previous years, of only 5 days. All artists chose at least one plant to illustrate and several artists collected up to three.

Results: 11 artists undergoing 17 new paintings with accompanying plant collections.

Amy, Valerie, Wal, Andrew and I arrived a couple of days early this year which turned out to be extremely helpful. ‘Gun’ Amy organised much collecting and Andrew spent long enthusiastic days identifying the plants. By the first day in the hall artists had a chosen species to illustrate!  As more artists arrived through the week they were able to choose from a list of identified Beckler plants flowering this year. As the arid species are so reliant on local weather conditions, we have come to understand it is best to be on site to see which species to choose to paint in any given year.
Sandy shore of receding Lake Menindee     (Photo copyright: Mali Moir, 2013)
We were in Menindee a little earlier this year and so it was a little cooler, the days were glorious with only a couple of very windy nights. Last to pack up the hall was Amy, Valerie, Wal and I, and so we thought it fitting to celebrate the end of another wonderful year in our fav arid zone with steak sandwiches and Cow Girl shots on the receding white sandy shores of Lake Menindee in Kinchega National Park. As you can see we got there rather late and missed the setting sun but were entranced by the lights of the Milky Way and saw 3 satellites and one majestic falling star.

Magical moonrise     (Photo copyright: Mali Moir, 2013)

This year I was invited to give a talk at the Mildura Arts Centre as part of the Art of Science Exhibition focusing on my role as expedition artist with special mention of the Beckler’s Botanical Bounty project .... great opportunity to spread the word ! Local radio is often interested in our story, this year we were interviewed by ABC Rural.

We plan to return to Menindee again next October to continue our project. Margot Muscat from the Darling Shire Council has asked us to contribute a photographic exhibition of our project to be displayed next year on our 5th visit. I have had brief discussions with a few curators regarding exhibition opportunities of our project including paintings, photographs, plant specimens and paraphernalia in 2015. Other opportunities for exhibition and publication continue to be discussed.

A special thanks to the National Herbarium of Victoria, whose ongoing support significantly enriches our project and secures us a place in history. An extra special thanks to our honorary botanist Andrew Denham who spends his holidays with us! Thus ensuring our project runs meltdown-free.

A great many thanks to all contributors whose happy energetic input make this project a special delight to be part of. As always, I look forward to the warmth of our fav arid zone country next October, our 5th year and our Milestone year.


Much love and many thanks to all ............. Mali
2013 -- The Year of the Flies!    (photo copyright: Mali Moir, 2013)

Saturday 12 October 2013

Menindee

Menindee is the town where we go to paint. It is situated on the Darling River  and the chain of lakes known as the Menindee Lakes. It is also right on the edge of Kinchega National Park.
Carvings near the Tourist Information Centre
(Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)


We go there because the Burke and Wills Expedition spent time there in 1860.

However, the area has a long Aboriginal history. Fossil finds show that Aborigines lived here 27,000 years ago. The Barkinji or Paakantji people still have a strong connection to their land. (There are varied spellings of the name)
Details of the fabulous carvings.
(Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)


























Major Mitchell came through the area in 1835 and  named it "Laidley's Ponds". When Burke, Wills, Beckler and the rest of the expedition arrived in 1860, Menindee was at the edge of white settlement.
The new plaque outside the Maidens Hotel (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)


Map of the journey, from the plaque (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)

It is a small country town, with about 1000 people. That number swells with visitors. They visit Kinchega or go fishing in the lakes or on the river. Some are following the Burke and Wills trail; some have come from Lake Mungo. The bird life is wonderful and, as we know, the wild flowers are fabulous.
There is an information centre and inside is a little art gallery. When we were there it had an exhibition of Annette Minchin's stunning textile art. And you have to see the 4 wheel drive wheelbarrow!
The Tourist Information Centre
(Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)

Wheelbarrow with all the options!
(Photo copyright: Anne Lawson, 2013)
It is a welcoming town, definitely worth a visit if you are wandering up that way. If you come next October (2014) drop into the Civic Centre and say "Hello". 

Becklers Botanical Bounty on the ABC

During our recent time in Menindee Mali, Margaret and Andrew were interviewed for an ABC Rural Radio programme. Follow the link to hear them talking more about the Project.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-02/rural-sach-beckler-botanical-artists-0210/4993878


Friday 4 October 2013

Painting in Menindee, September 2013

Our time in the wonderful Big Sky Country of Menindee and Kinchega National Park has come and gone.

Menindee Civic Hall
Ten botanic artists, one botanist and our fabulous support crew (of one!) gathered in the Civic Hall in Menindee.

From there we went out into the local area to find the plants that were on Hermann Beckler's original list.
(Click here for the background to our project.)

Back in the Hall we would work on our paintings. This involved getting to know the plants in detail. We used microscopes to explore the intricate worlds of seeds, reproductive parts and leaf surfaces.


Working in the Hall

Many artists drew enlargements of those dissections to include on their finished paintings. We created detailed drawings of our plants. While we were preparing this visual information we were conscious of the composition of the final painting. decisions had to be made about where to place the microscopic drawings, how to show the habit of the plant and which parts of the plant were vital for identification.

Drawing from live specimens means a race against time before the plant wilts and dies. Sometimes the angle of a leaf will change or a seed head will continue to develop. Reference photos become really important.

We investigated a number of options for keeping our specimens alive. The chip bucket was handy.....




















..... until Valerie discovered that the take away coffee container was even better!

Over the coming months there will be posts on this blog from individual artists, talking about their plants, their paintings and why they have travelled so far from home to be involved in the Project.

Also there will be a post about the town of Menindee. So thank you to the people who live here, who welcome us each year. People recognise us in the street and pub now. Some come into the Hall to see what we are doing and tell us stories about the area.

But our adventure up here would be very different without the help of Margot, Bruce and Lorraine. So an extra big thank you to them. They provide us with plants, information, assistance and resources -- invaluable support that we could not provide ourselves.