NatureArt Lab Blog

Welcome to the blog for Reflections on Nature. We’ve started it up so that those of you who want to tell a bit more of a story about the natural world and your experiences in it will have the space to do so. Whether you write prose, use a pencil and watercolours, wield a camera, compile note books full  of field notes or write poetry, are a professional artist or a complete beginner, your contribution is more than welcome. As a group, we moderators cover the spectrum of experience and focus and are keen to encourage everyone to post and share. We want to hear from as many different voices as possible. It’s that kind of space.

I have been on twelve other photo tours or workshops in the last eight years and organised a couple myself.  This one stood out not merely for the magic of the rainforest wildlife but also as socially harmonious and stimulating.The highlights for me were seeing giant flying squirrels, bearded pigs, orangutans and sun bears in Sepilok, pig tailed macaques, proboscis monkeys and  a slow loris at the Kinabatangan River and gibbons, hornbills, a clouded leopard and a tarsier in Tabin.  

For the first time in my life I observed more mammal species than reptile species (mammal diversity is often hard to observe), and encountered life-changing experiences like a clouded leopard feeding on a palm civet up on a tree, which I got to capture with my lens after waiting for almost two hours. This blog relates the experiences of Dr Damien Esquerre, co-leader and photography tutor on our twelve day nature photography trip to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo from 2 - 14 May 2019. 

It all started with a visit to Mulligans Flat as the temperature drifted gently towards 40 degrees C and the threat of bushfires simmered in the background. As a group we were a mix of both experienced artists and enthusiastic, but relative beginners. We were out there on this improbably hot day looking for botanical specimens to paint and preserve as part of one of NatureArt Lab’s many and varied workshops. The 'Collecting herbaria specimens and botanical art' workshop with Mali Moir provided students with a series of challenges which were both demanding but intensely satisfying. This blog provides one student's perspective on this experience.

In April 2019 I was lucky enough to join the second NatureArt tour to Borneo as accompanying art tutor. Not having travelled to this part of the world and knowing very little about the plants and wildlife we would encounter I was very excited to be a part of the trip. From my perspective I can think of no better way to get to know and understand unfamiliar living things than by spending the time observing and drawing them. This is when the rest of the world quietens down and it becomes possible to feel an affinity with what is in front of you.

"I realised that ... a workshop (on bettongs) was really worth doing .... Sure, it was going to be an enormous challenge for everyone, and yet the science and the culture it would embrace and promote is so critically important for the future".

NatureArt Lab's recent workshops have focused on endangered and threatened wildlife species, including the elusive Southern Bettong. Following a special twilight tour at Mulligan's Flat in Canberra, Australian illustrator Peter Trusler led a group of enthusiastic artists on a journey to better understand the bettong - using oil paints, coloured pencil and watercolour to create a series of impressive artworks.

NatureArt Lab recently hosted a two-day workshop with well-known UK botanical artist Jessica Rosemary Shepherd. With a focus on creating 'larger than life leaves', a group of 15 artists explored the possibilities of creating drama with use of light - giving the plant center stage. Jess inspired us with her ideas about where botanical art might go in the 21^st Century. Jess’ artistic projects, whether art-based, soundscapes, media or publishing ventures, explore an evolving philosophy to do with botanical artistic expression and ‘how the strategies and techniques of the visual arts can be adapted to communicate the importance of plants in the modern world’. She spoke about combating ‘plant blindness’ and using art and other mediums to focus attention on the natural world. Her work is both profoundly personal and political, environmental and cultural.

The NatureArt visit to Montague Island brought together people with shared interests in art and the synthesis between art and the natural history of the island. Explorations of bird species, marine and insect life provided much interest for the group, with artists enjoying a series of workshops with well-known artist and NatureArt Lab tutor Lesley Wallington. Chris Davey provided the scientific expertise and guided many nature walks around the island morning and evening to see the many species that make Montague home. Highlights for the visit were the thousands of crested terns and silver gulls that breed on the island at this time of the year. Observation of the birds' nesting and parental behaviours, plus the constant challenges that these species face as they raise their young is endlessly fascinating.

Why are the arts so important in education? With the current rate of environmental degradation and biodiversity decline, how can we better support environmental literacy, stewardship and sustainability in our communities? Why is nature so important for health, happiness and creativity? There is a strong and growing literature base which demonstrates clear answers to these questions. NatureArt Lab is actively promoting these approaches through our programs for children, youth and adults.