Exhibiting overseas in the UK

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I am excited to have the opportunity to exhibit in Derby, Derbyshire in the UK. I am one of many printmakers in the International Print Exchange exhibition. I got my catalogue and prints in the mail yesterday. They are so beautifully presented and I am happy to say I made the first page of the catalogue. They sent some lovely prints. So very grateful to have the opportunity to own other printmakers’ work.

I have been in this exhibition before, but over 5 years ago before I got sick. So very excited to be able to do it again.

Here is a link to the online exhibition:

https://www.internationalprintexchange.org/product-category/prints/ipe-2024

The front cover of the parcel I got from the International Print Exchange.

Above is the front cover of the parcel I got from the International Print Exchange. A very well presented and developed parcel.

Prints and catalogue from the International Print Exchange 2024.

In the photo above you can see the inside of the parcel – some of the 10cm x 10cm prints, each wrapped in tissue paper and the catalogue.

Above is the first page of the catalogue. You can see my print. It is the second from the left on the bottom row.

Renewal Exhibition at the F Project in Warrnambool

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In August 2024 I exhibited in a group show with the South West Printmakers. The exhibition was themed ‘renewal’.

Renewal – an instance of resuming something after an interruption.

I focused on this meaning of renewal with my artist book, Our Blackbird Family. When I underwent chemotherapy and radiation for my Stage 4 lung cancer, I suffered badly from “chemo fog.” I could not think clearly, work out how to make things, develop ideas, or compose complex drawings. I was scared for a while that it would be permanent.

Artist books became one of the tools I used to get my brain working again; the other was embroidery. These activities helped me regain my confidence. I had to think about the story, the images, the structure of the book, and then create it. I completed bookbinding tutorials online and made dummy books to practice.

Time is also a factor. The binding method I chose for this book, the Blizzard Fold, is a technique I tried a year ago and could not figure out. This year, I completed it. Using this technique for this book is a celebration for me that my brain is getting better.

When I was told I was terminal during COVID my world became my family and home. So I looked close to home for the idea. The book’s subject matter is inspired by the blackbird family that comes back each year to rear their babies under the eaves of our outdoor room. It has given our family immense pleasure to watch the babies emerge from their shells, grow up, and leave the nest—just like my children are doing.

Artist Book: Our Blackbird Family

Illustrated Linocuts on Archers Paper with Blizzard Fold.

Our Blackbird Family – Artist Book

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I have been creating an artist book about the Blackbird Family that shares our house. They have babies every year. Watching the eggs hatch and the babies grow has been a delight for our family.

I am nearly finished. The 13 lino images have been cut and printed. Now I need to bind them. I will use the Blizzard Binding method to create 3 artists’ books. I have also created three box sets. I will show you the finished product when completed.

Warrnambool Botanical Gardens print

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I am back! After a two-year break. I have been battling stage 4 Lung Cancer and bone cancer. The treatments made my head foggy and it was hard to create anything worthwhile for a long time. I am happy to say I am back in the studio, enjoying myself greatly and creating again. Here is my first print off the press this year.

This print is of the Garden Manager House in the Warrnambool Botanical Gardens. I was renting this house when I met my husband. So it has personal significance for our family.

Trees exhibition – South West Printmakers group

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F project, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia

Here is my print in the above exhibition. It is a great exhibition with eleven South West Printmakers involved. The exhibition has a range of work, covering different printmaking techniques, and varied responses on what trees mean to the artist.

These Moreton Bay Fig trees my children played in when they were small. They had endless hours of fun in them and found some great treasures like Cicada shells. The Warrnambool Botanical Gardens, where they are situated, is a lovely, peaceful place.

Feather printing

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I have been experimenting with printing on to feathers I find on the ground when I go for walks. It is a beautiful medium to print on. I will frame them between two pieces of glass with no backing so they look like the are floating.

Ralph Illidge Sanctuary Art Exhibition

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My work has been exhibited from the 23rd to the 30th of January 2021 in a group wildlife show at the Ralph Illidge Sanctuary, Victoria, Australia. It is an exhibition to raise funds to keep the great work going that is happening at the sanctuary. Here is one of my prints in the show. It is a Powerful Owl. I also exhibited New Holland Honeyeaters, Rainbow Lorikeet, and a Wattlebird coloured linocut prints.

Powerful owl

Here is a 360 view of the exhibition.

This is a video of local artist Jenny Arms talking about the artwork.

Glen Watson Photography made all the videos. In this one Adam Merrick, Trust for Nature Wildlife Officer is talking about the Sanctuary.

Ralph Illidge, a photographer from Warrnambool, acquired the 40ha property, now named after him in 1958. In 1975, to make sure that the property remained in its natural state, he donated the property (Bimbimbi, which is Aboriginal for “place of many birds”) to the former Victorian Conservation Trust (now Trust for Nature).

Ralph Illidge passed away on 11 April 1975. It is the hope of the Trust that, through this Sanctuary, visitors will come to understand the foresight of the man who made it possible. Ralph Illidge Sanctuary contains, in addition to the native flora of the area, such rare wildlife species as the Long-nosed Potoroo, the Powerful Owl, the Rufous Bristlebird, and the White Goshawk. The Trust acquired a further 51 hectares (north of the Warrnambool-Cobden Road) in June 1987 which was added to the Sanctuary. The funds were raised by the Warrnambool Nature Reserves Society with contributions from foundations and the State Government.

The Illidge home was destroyed Ash Wednesday 1983. The Sanctuary was severely burnt during the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. The fire demolished the original house and outbuildings and severely damaged the native bush and vegetation. As we see now, the forest regenerated and again became a sanctuary for wildlife.

Group printmaking exhibition in Warrnambool – Water

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Currently, I am exhibiting with a group of South West Victorian printmakers at the F Project Gallery in Warrnambool. The theme is Water. Here is the online version of the exhibition.

18 September to 18 October 2020

Water : Prints by Ben Fennessy, Andrea Radley, Maree Stewart, Jodie Honan, Liza McCosh, Des Bunyan, Marion Manifold, Britt Gow, Jean Gleeson, Sue Ferrari, Delia Crabbe, Helen Fitzhardinge

The race to survive, linocut on arches paper 57cmsx 72 cms

Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook project

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I am excited to be part of the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project. I have been working on a book for the past 3 months. It is a series of coloured linocuts.

My artwork is about the environment, in particular the creatures that we share this planet with and how much they enjoy the environment as much as us. I want to keep this concept front of mind for the viewer. I travel around capturing little narratives that demonstrate their love of life.

The COVID_19 lockdown reduced my world to my house, studio and the backyard. I was uplifted by the noisy, happy sounds of the New Holland Honeyeaters flittering about in my apple tree. I then discovered there were many other birds enjoying our apples and our backyard. I decided to capture their visits and the gift the lockdown gave me of a whole community I may not have noticed otherwise.

Go to my portfolio page to see a selection of the prints from the book. There are 12 prints in the book and editions of these are all for sale.

Wattle Bird
The front cover of my sketchbook featuring a Wattle bird
A view of one of the pages on the inside featuring a warbling Magpie.
A view of one of the pages on the inside featuring a warbling Magpie.
A Rainbow Lorikeet eating the apples in my apple tree.
A Rainbow Lorikeet eating the apples in my apple tree.

Videos of my printmaking process

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A few years ago I had several videoograhpers create videos about myself, my art and printmaking processes.

This is a video that Jack Wilkins created in his Warrnambool Art Interview Collection in September, 2016.

Adam Merritt made this video of me working in my studio. He did a fabulous job. I have just uploaded it to Youtube.

The video goes through a little of my history and it shows my creative process. What interests me creatively. It shows me going through the linocutting printmaking process from the initial idea to the final print.