For my #FridayFollow I’m super excited to share this stunning illustration of Acacia, wattle seed and ants by one of my favourite Australian botanical artists, illustrators and down right creative super star: Edith Rewa (@edithrewa).
It fits so perfectly with my malted wattle seed cake recipe.
The traditions of botanical illustration are deeply woven into Australian history.
A lot of a my work (in both my baking and my PhD) engages with the history of Australia’s nineteenth-century forgotten female artists and creatives who’s work was maligned as “home work”; “domestic craft”; “hobby work” or “handicraft” simply because it was made by women. Many were world class artists (painters, ceramicists, needleworkers, printers etc) relegated to the margins of men’s lives in a male dominated society.
As art historians, curators and designers work to recover the names of these lost women it is inspiring to see a young Australian woman like Edith Rewa continuing to work within and against the conventions and traditions of botanical art.
I have several of Edith’s illustrations cycling through as my computer desktop and sometimes I just clear all my windows and stare at them for a break when I’m writing… nerd!
I also have one of Edith’s eucalyptus illustrations tattooed on my shoulder and it brings me joy everyday. (She has a great “Tattoo Token” page where you can support her and her work before you get it inked on you. #TattooPermission is a thing and an important thing for independent artists!)
A couple of years ago my friends gave me one of Edith’s stunning silk scarves for my birthday and it will always be one of my most treasured possessions.