O. scribula I, 2020, 110 x 110cm, Wool fleece and repurposed wool thread.
O. scribula II, 2020, 110 x 110cm, Silk, wool fleece and repurposed wool thread.
During Covid, the bush provided relief from the strain of this new world. Tiny details found in nature were calming distractions for my body and mind. The Scribbly Gum is well known for the anfractuous patterning created by a small insect - O. scribula - which makes a looping pathway under the bark of the tree. This piece responds to the insect's meandering lexicon by allowing thread to make its own way across wool and between silk.
O. scribula was part of ‘Sounds of Blue’ show at Sturt Gallery, Mittagong.
Image Credit: Emma Peters
The Sound of Blue – A reflection
Waves breaking upon rocks. The pulse of cicadas. Canopies gently part to reveal light streaming from above. The sky beckons me into the natural world.
The sound of blue is the colour I escape to, away from digital and domestic demands. I breath deeply, notice small details and listen.
Out here time slows. Emerging beginnings of understanding myself in the context of this world – my relationship with unceded land as a non-indigenous artist. Everything I see, touch, smell is here due to the thousands of years of custodianship by the traditional owners of the land.
Back home, my hand and mind turn to thinking through the making. Processing the sensations and realisations that took hold under the blue through stitch, dye, pattern, colour. The sound of blue is my needle passing through cloth, thread pulling though the fabric, a knot tied, gratitude expressed.