Helen Clarke, contemporary Australian Printmaker with a passion for the environment
As a printmaker and producer of handmade, fine art, limited edition prints, Helen Clarke uses the mediums of etching and reduction linocuts to interpret the Australian landscape, flora and fauna. Her botanical interpretations are widely collected and acclaimed.
Helen spent her childhood on a farm in the wheatbelt of Western Australia and as
a child she explored the surrounding bushland which was rich in unique flora and fauna. It is not surprising that, as an artist, she is intrigued with the diversity and minutiae of the landscape in which she discovers something new on a daily basis.
Helen's current works are detailed hand-coloured etchings of fruits, seeds and pods and complicated reduction lino prints exploring the flora and landscapes of Australia. Other works include those inspired by her two year voyage around Australia on a cruising yacht.
Statement:
I am fascinated by the process of seasonal change in the Australian landscape. Careful investigation of the world around me reveals so much that is exciting
The varying mediums of printmaking
enable me to express my ideas and create images about my local and distant environment which is increasingly fragile and endangered.
Woody Pear
I chose the name Woody Pear for my website as it is one of the iconic Australian plants from the Proteaceae family. There are 5 species of this amazing plant, Xylomelum sp. which are only found in Australia. They all have woody fruits which look like a grey, wooden pear and split when ripe to expel the winged seeds. The local species in my area is Xylomelum angustifolium or Sandplain Woody Pear.
Seed pods from the
Sandplain Woody Pear
NEWS May 2009
The new studio at the former St John's Convent in Bootenal has now been completed.
Printmaking Workshops are available in a variety of printmaking techniques including etching, collographs and lino printing. Further workshops are planned in papermaking and book making.
During the wildflower season weekends can be organised to travel to local bushland to search out native flora which can be used as inspiration for artwork.
Please contact me if you are interested in any of these workshops.
Solo exhibitions this year include Kingfisher Gallery, West Perth in August and Olive Pink Botanical Gardens, Alice Springs in October.