"Want to do something together?" mother says to daughter (11 y.o.). "Sure" says daughter, "can we do some painting?" mum says "I'd love to learn watercolours, let's maybe try by painting a bird".
Together mother and daughter look at a photograph of the Swift Parrot from Google Images. Both are excited by its colourful plumage. Mother mentions seeing an online image of an artwork by First Fleet artist John Hunter, painted more than 200 years ago. They look at that artwork and others by George Raper together from the National Library of Australia's online archives. Juliette is inspired by Hunter's interpretation and decides to replicate his style. "What does First Fleet artist mean?" she asks, beginning a conversation about the First Fleet as she picks up her brush and starts painting.
After a little while mum says "Do you know the Swift Parrot is endangered?". "How come?" Juliette asks as she finds the most brilliant shade of green to colour the body of the parrot. The ensuing conversation touches on endangered species and habitat loss, forestry management and sustainability.
Drawing upon information from the Dept of Environment website, mother and daughter discover that the Swift Parrot is endangered because of the loss of its breeding habitat, old hollows in Tasmanian blue gums (Eucalyptus Globulus) along Tasmania's east coast. This leads to talk about forestry management and the need to consider the wildlife. Juliette says "I wish they didn't have to cut down trees" and the discussion moves to the need for timber for many uses "...the house we're in, the chairs and table we're sitting at, even the paper we're painting on all use timber", points out mum. This example of the complexity of sustainability is touched on as Juliette paints in the branch her Swift Parrot clutches to.
Was that a learning exercise in watercolours? From an experiential point of view, Juliette explored the qualities of the medium on her own, without assistance from the mother who has no technical skill.
Was that a learning exercise in sustainability? The session lasted for over 30 minutes. It was stimulated by the child's request to paint together with her mother. The conversation ebbed and flowed during the session. No rights, wrongs or definite conclusions were arrived at. Rather, it was time spent sitting with an embodiment of an 'artefact' of sustainability. The bird is an artefact. Its plight is a byproduct of land clearing. In the half hour that Juliette renders a replication of an image of the Swift Parrot from when the land first was 'colonised', she considers many perspectives of this singular example of an issue relating to sustainability.
How does the painting process help her make meaning of the concept of sustainability?
*******
The swift parrot is endangered....
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-54GVV8?open
A historic watercolour of the swift parrot (National Library of Australia)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an3149793
This has some historic information about John Hunter's journey to Australia with the First Fleet.
http://nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au/%3E/Treasures/item/nla.pic-an3149631/nla.pic-an3149793
Information from the Australian National Botanic Gardens about the Tasmanian Blue Gum, the swift parrot's habitat
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/tas.emblem.html
And a botanical illustration of the Tasmanian Blue Gum.
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/eucalyptus-globulus-line.html
Together mother and daughter look at a photograph of the Swift Parrot from Google Images. Both are excited by its colourful plumage. Mother mentions seeing an online image of an artwork by First Fleet artist John Hunter, painted more than 200 years ago. They look at that artwork and others by George Raper together from the National Library of Australia's online archives. Juliette is inspired by Hunter's interpretation and decides to replicate his style. "What does First Fleet artist mean?" she asks, beginning a conversation about the First Fleet as she picks up her brush and starts painting.
After a little while mum says "Do you know the Swift Parrot is endangered?". "How come?" Juliette asks as she finds the most brilliant shade of green to colour the body of the parrot. The ensuing conversation touches on endangered species and habitat loss, forestry management and sustainability.
Drawing upon information from the Dept of Environment website, mother and daughter discover that the Swift Parrot is endangered because of the loss of its breeding habitat, old hollows in Tasmanian blue gums (Eucalyptus Globulus) along Tasmania's east coast. This leads to talk about forestry management and the need to consider the wildlife. Juliette says "I wish they didn't have to cut down trees" and the discussion moves to the need for timber for many uses "...the house we're in, the chairs and table we're sitting at, even the paper we're painting on all use timber", points out mum. This example of the complexity of sustainability is touched on as Juliette paints in the branch her Swift Parrot clutches to.
Was that a learning exercise in watercolours? From an experiential point of view, Juliette explored the qualities of the medium on her own, without assistance from the mother who has no technical skill.
Was that a learning exercise in sustainability? The session lasted for over 30 minutes. It was stimulated by the child's request to paint together with her mother. The conversation ebbed and flowed during the session. No rights, wrongs or definite conclusions were arrived at. Rather, it was time spent sitting with an embodiment of an 'artefact' of sustainability. The bird is an artefact. Its plight is a byproduct of land clearing. In the half hour that Juliette renders a replication of an image of the Swift Parrot from when the land first was 'colonised', she considers many perspectives of this singular example of an issue relating to sustainability.
How does the painting process help her make meaning of the concept of sustainability?
*******
The swift parrot is endangered....
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-54GVV8?open
A historic watercolour of the swift parrot (National Library of Australia)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an3149793
This has some historic information about John Hunter's journey to Australia with the First Fleet.
http://nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au/%3E/Treasures/item/nla.pic-an3149631/nla.pic-an3149793
Information from the Australian National Botanic Gardens about the Tasmanian Blue Gum, the swift parrot's habitat
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/tas.emblem.html
And a botanical illustration of the Tasmanian Blue Gum.
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/eucalyptus-globulus-line.html
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