![]() Wandering through Bride L2, I noticed some additions had been made to Sue's drawing. There was a fluffy creature in the tree, several new bugs, a rodent and a turtle of some description. I set about identifying the new species as soon as possible. I consulted Gould's Mammals of Australia, regarding the squirrel-like creature. Noting the semi-prehensile tail with white tip, sharply defined paws, large eyes and delicate ears I decided it might well be a sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps (formerly Belideus notatus, Gould,1863). ![]() After some dispute as to whether the small flying insect in the middle of the drawing should be classified under the order Lepidoptera or Hymenoptera, the matter was settled with the arrival just below it of the blue banded bee, (Amegilla cingulata). I must apologise for the incorrect spelling in the illustration. I'm only Homo sapiens. The newly identified creatures are labelled in green and all appear to be native to Australia. In addition to those mentioned, they include the Murray River turtle (Emydura macquarii), the Greater stick-nest rat (formerly Hapalotis conditor) and the Giant grasshopper (Valanga irregularis). This grasshopper is sometimes confused with the Australian plague locust, however it is much larger, as can be seen from its scale relative to the domestic dog in the image at the top of this post.
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I came back to finish off the rainbow lorikeet after working on other drawings. In the interim the colours seemed to have faded a bit and started to lift off. The bursting pinboard beside it had started to encroach as well. There were notes stuck on with sticky tape and hastily scrawled messages - "keep the takeaway containers coming, thx!" The tide of information was rolling in over the dormant image. I gently shifted a few notes back so I could finish the drawing. I softened the message in red about takeaway containers in the bottom left of the whiteboard and allowed it to show through the text I laid over it. I couldn't resist slapping on a bit more colour here and there to bring the bird back to life and help him stand his ground against the rowdy clutter next door. This was certainly a much busier noticeboard than others I had work with. It is in the kitchen of a crowded open plan office where many of the librarians work. It may prove a tougher spot for such a drawing to survive. |
AuthorDominique Dunstan is a reference librarian and artist. She works at the State Library of Victoria and has recently completed the Jane Nicholas Staff Fellowship. Archives
July 2013
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