Materials: hand-lettered words on black paper attached to spheres covered with natural-fibre papers

Technique: papermaking, paper collage, calligraphy

Size: 12 x 12 cm

Description: Humanity urgently needs to concentrate our efforts on solving the environmental problems facing our world. Rosaries and similar tools are used by people of many different cultures (both past and present) to focus the mind on prayer and meditation, and so a string of prayer beads seemed to be an obvious choice for this concept.

Each bead is covered with a different type of paper, and each features a different environmental problem. The use of a different type of natural-fibre paper on each bead symbolises the diversity of our flora (some species native to Australia and some introduced). The words on each bead highlight ten different, yet interrelated, environmental issues which now pose tremendous threats to our planet – these are black blots on our natural world. The smudging of the white ink further emphasises this continuing disintegration of our environment. 

Habitat destruction; Extinction of species; Overuse of resources; Rampant consumerism; Greed and corruption; Environmental damage; Air pollution; Global warming; Rise in sea level; Overpopulation; Food and water shortages; Ozone depletion

Selected for display in the Papermakers of Queensland “Size Matters” exhibition in Redcliffe  in 2008, and in Noosa and Toowoomba in 2009. 

Selected for the “Handmade Paper & Artist Books International” in USA in 2009, “The Future in Paper - One World, Many Papers” exhibition and catalogue in France in 2010 and “On and Of Paper” in USA in 2011.

Displayed in my “The Language of Nature I” solo exhibition at Richard Randall Studio in 2012 and “Through Emerald Eyes” in Maryborough in 2013.

Printed in the 6 page article in “Down Under Textiles” (issue 13) in 2013.

Printed in “Paper Art: 261 International Artists” edited by Helene Tschacher for IAPMA in 2013.

Selected to tour Europe in the 9th International Baltic Minitextile Triennial in 2013 and 2104 (one of only four Australian entries chosen) and printed in the catalogue.