Busy Spring Ed. 3 of 10

This is a solar plate etching featuring Australian gravel ants collecting quartz for their nest surface.

A few years ago, a guide on an Aboriginal cultural tour explained that our local woodland ants prepare for summer by placing quartz gravel on the surface of their underground nests. This helps to reflect heat away from the ground, keeping the nest underneath cool. When the weather is due to get colder, the ants remove the light coloured quartz again so the nest better absorbs the sun’s warmth. The colour of the nest therefore changes with the seasons.

This print is inspired by the clever ants (typically gravel ants, or Iridomyrmex purpureus) and by our Indigenous peoples’ keen observations of the natural world. Thank you to the Wildbark cultural team for sharing your knowledge.

This hand printed solar plate etching is a variable edition of only 10 prints. The edition is variable in that the background colouring (particularly the treeline and foreground shadow) differs between prints. The colours are added using the viscosity inking technique, meaning that all the colours are part of a single etched plate.

The edition is printed on thick 300 gsm Hahnemühle paper, 18 x 19 cm, unframed.

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I'm a printmaker, my work focuses on the natural patterns and intricate details found amongst Australia’s unique fauna, flora and ecosystems. I use various printmaking techniques to create finely detailed studies of my subjects, often within abstracted, multi-layered settings that reflect the habitats and environments of each subject.

I started my printmaking journey more than a decade ago as a way to record my observations during fieldwork in remote areas (I have a professional background in archaeology, palaeo-ecology and science communication). My inspiration is drawn from years of travel and research across Australia’s diverse landscapes, as well as from local volunteering activities. My current focus on the Canberra region and surrounding high country, and on its threatened species in particular, invites you to stop, focus on, and appreciate elements easily overlooked within the landscape – a flowering bud, a blur of feathers, or a finely flaked stone tool hidden amongst the leaf litter.