I think this is the fifth year of the Maleny Printmakers ‘Collectables’ exhibition. Each year the printmakers all make around five or so different original, handprinted prints in editions of 10. They are only small – 13.5cms x 11.5cms – and at $30 each they sell well. They have found their followers, and of course, we the printmakers buy each others too.

Collectables 2019 opens tomorrow, Saturday 23rd November, in the Verandah Room at the rear of the Maleny Community Centre – right in the centre of town. I’ll miss the first day – and the opening party as well – as I’m attending a workshop on eco-dying, but will be on duty Sunday morning. It is my third Collectables and I very much enjoy being part of it, however there is also a lot of work involved. Most of the logistics and practical aspects have been worked out by Cholena Drew Hughes and Neville Field. Kim Herringe is behind our flyers and other promotions. So a big thanks to them all.

The rest of us have got on with our prints. We have thought of what to do; how to do it; what to call it; checked supplies of paper and ink and then set to work. Then there are the behind the scenes aspects – writing up a list of the works, writing our bio’s, getting the work to and from the venue.

I started off well – I thought I knew what I was doing and planned to do five etchings on endangered species. The Burramys parvus (aka Mountain Pygmy Possum) was first off the rank. I did an applied science degree in Canberra years ago – not too long before I enrolled this little possum changed from extinct (and only known as a fossil) to alive and well in a mountain hut. This event was momentous for ecology students – and led to John and I calling our first cruising boat Burramys parvus, and the second one (more sensibly) just Burramys.

Both the possum and the quoll remain on endangered lists. My third choice was the Black Throated Finch – and this stemmed from my involvement with the Bimblebox 153 Birds project. I also found out I wasn’t quite as good at drawing feathers as fur – so have left this for another day.

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I changed tack and moved more towards our controversial environment, rather than endangered species. I’d had a gelatine plate sitting unused in my cupboard so had a happy day in the studio doing gelli prints for ‘Fly Free’ – and finished it off with a problematic linocut and some hand sewing.

In ‘Drought’ the dust flies around two misformed leaves – although I don’t think anyone in Australia needs a reminder with the current bushfires fuelled by drought conditions. ‘Blue Moon’ takes conditions off Earth – a lovely image originally taken with a new camera with a long lens, but also hinting at the space junk orbiting around.

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I’m looking forward to seeing the exhibition and everyone else’s work.