Life has been very busy lately.
Not only have I organised my painting for the Exhibition , but I have been organising another exhibition.
You will remember that I am a member of a group of botanical artists who, each year, go up to the small town of Menindee in the arid outback of New South Wales. We go there to collect and paint the plants that Dr Hermann Beckler collected while he was at the supply camp of the Burke and Wills Expedition. You can read more about it here, and you might like to visit our blog becklersbotanicals.blogspot.com
(My Cullen pallidum painting, that I have been raving telling you about in recent posts, was part of that project. But this is a different exhibition.)
The project a fascinating meeting of history, art and science. We have always intended to have an exhibition of our work and this one is a smaller version, a practice run! It is being held up at Menindee. There is a little gallery in the Information Centre and our 30 works should fit in very nicely. We decided to exhibit prints of our originals, which we are donating to the community at the end of the exhibition. They will be there for people to use as they need.
I have had fun doing the work, but it has been a steep learning curve! Fortunately John, the curator up at the gallery, has been holding my hand via emails and phone calls.
For example I had to put together the plant names for the catalogue. Unfortunately it is not enough to just say “daisy” or “saltbush”. The scientific names are needed. Boy, are some of those Latin spellings tricky! Also, botanic convention means that there is a precise way of writing them, italicised in the right way, commas at the right place, capitals and non-capitals, etc.
I have also been talking to media people in Broken Hill, the biggest town in the area. I am not good at ringing up people, especially people I don’t know. Emails, texts, even blogs, no worries; phone calls make me quite anxious. But I did it, and found lovely helpful people at the other end, just like I knew I would.
So, just incase you should happen to be passing through Menindee in September and October drop into the exhibition. If you are in Broken Hill or Mildura, make a detour. And if you can’t be there in person check out our Beckler Blog or wait for me to post some photos here. The details, for those of you lucky enough to be up in that marvellous part of the world, are
I will leave you with some photos of us collecting and painting over the last few years.
Anne Lawson Art 
9 replies on “On to the next thing”
Great job Anne, this is a fascinating project and it brilliantly combines so many interesting aspects. Good luck with the expedition this year and the exhibition.
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What an interesting project, and way to exhibit your works plus contribute to the community and the Information Centre. I’m sure there will be many travellers who stopping by for tourist info will enjoy the bonus of seeing your works 🙂
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Yes, the whole experience has been fun. It is very satisfying to have a way of letting my passion spill over to other areas. And you are right about the travellers. Lots come to Menindee for the lakes and Kinchega National Park. There are always 4 wheel drives parked outside the little supermarket!
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Hello Anne. Thank you for calling into my blog, introducing yourself and subsequently pointing me in the direction of your exhibition in Menindee. I will be trying hard to get to Menindee to check this out! Also, I heard your interview on the Broken Hill ABC this morning which was great! Through my blog I am often communicating with people in faraway places…which is lovely but it is great to chat and interact on a local level.
Yes, there was rain in the background of one of my photos, but there hasn’t been any rain for weeks now!
All the best. Jane
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I do hope you can make it to the exhibition, Jane. Would you like to come to our Opening? Tuesday 22nd September at 11:00. There will be tea and cakes, and wonderful paintings, of course! It would be great to meet you. Thanks for the feedback on the interview. I didn’t realise it would be live to air, and I wondered if I was tongue tied or rambling! Cheers, Anne
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Oh thank you Anne…I would love to come to the opening. Would it be a problem if I brought my children along; aged 5 & 8?
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PS Sorry, I think the 22nd is a Monday…is the opening on Monday?
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Your children would be most welcome! It will be delightful to see you, on TUESDAY (you were right, sorry about the mix up). I will know you because of the children (!), and I think all the artists will have names tags. I would say that “I am the middle aged one with short hair and glasses” but that would describe most of us? 🙂
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You have been busy! What fun, though and how enriching involving yourself in these projects.
In hindsite, I wish I had studied Botany. It can be tricky getting the names of the plants just right. I’m confident you’ve done a superb job.
Alas, I will not be in your neighborhood, but I will be with you in spirit.
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