With a passion for drawing and etching local Artists Denise Scholz-Wulfing and Kirsten Griffiths have been busy creating an exhibition featuring the local vulnerable flora and fauna. The title of the exhibition refers to threatened species category compiled by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. The exhibition is part of this year’s Hilltops Off the Beaten Track Art and Cultural Trail and will be held at the Boorowa Museum Print Studio. Denise has chosen the local birdlife as her subject and has combined her drawing and etching skills to create large scale drypoint images of vulnerable birds. These works have a message printed with letterpress type Where is that bird? This is designed to provoke the viewer into considering why these birds are not commonly seen in the landscape. The text is printed using the original Boorowa News Printing Press which is housed in the Print Studio which is part of the Boorowa Museum collection and is in full working order. Kirsten has a soft spot for frogs and the smaller vulnerable plants and creatures of the Hilltops Region. Some of her delicately drawn and coloured drypoint etchings feature the technique of a la poupee. This involves the inking of a drypoint plate with more than one colour, then printing the plate using an etching press to produce a final colourful image. These and other printmaking techniques will be discussed and demonstrated on Saturday the 8th, 15th, and 22nd of March at 11am and 2pm, at the Boorowa Museum Print Studio, 35 Marsden St , Boorowa. Entry is by gold coin donation and includes access to the Museum’s collection and goes towards the upkeep of the Museum. The exhibition is open Saturdays 10am to 3pm on the 8th, 15th and 22nd of March and Thursday the 13th and 20th of March from 10am to 1pm. There is a special free event for anyone interested in birds on Sunday the 16th of March, meeting 8.30am outside the Museum, then proceeding on a birdwatching walk and talk down the Boorowa River with members of the Hilltops Bird Observers. Followed by a private viewing of the Vulnerable exhibition with a discussion of the vulnerable birds highlighted in the exhibition and the work of the Hilltops Bird Observers. Keep your eyes peeled for the many other events in Boorowa as part of the Art Trail in March, including Leonie Bell’s artwork at the Courthouse, Ang Hart’s open Studio, Ben Perryman’s open Studio and the Rotary Art Auction, for a complete list visit the very extensive Hobtrack website. https://hobtrack.hilltopsarts.org/.
