In 2000 the Olympics was held in Sydney, Australia and as part of the activities alongside the Olympics was the ‘Olympics Arts Festival’.
The NSW State Floral Emblem is the Waratah ‘Telopia speciossima’ and Rosie Nice curated an exhibition called ‘State of the Waratah’ at the S H Ervin Gallery in Observatory Hill, The Rocks in Sydney. The exhibition ran from 1 September to 8 October with the SH Gallery outlining the exhibition on their website stating: ‘Curator Rosie Nice has brought together an eclectic range of waratah-inspired art and craft on loan from major galleries, museums and libraries throughout Australia. State of the Waratah will explore the Aboriginal story, display wartime memorabilia, include paintings, drawings and photographs from artists such as Ellis Rowan, Margaret Preston and Bruce Goold, and showcase waratah-inspired fashion. From private collections there will be pieces never exhibited previously such as a bowl and jug featured in RT Baker’s famous book, Flora in Art in 1916.‘
Bruce Goold renowned artist and printmaker, produced a Waratah Torch hand coloured linocut which was used as the primary image for the State of the Waratah Exhibition. Two other artists included in th SH Ervin Gallery Exhibition were Jenny Lee and Linda Jackson, well known artists with a focus on Waratahs.
Along with the art exhibition at SH Ervin Gallery were lectures and events around the Waratah, one was a lectured on ‘Who Discovered out Plants? An horticultural history of the Waratah’ by Dr Peter Calder.
Public programs an walks involving the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Mt Annan and Mt Tomah all participated with events. Below are some of the brochures about these events.
The offical exhibition incorporating well known and renowned artists from the past and present was held at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, however alongside this exhibition the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney held an exhibition around the Waratah at their Palm House venue with current artists including Bruce Goold.
I was fortunate to have four works chosen to be exhibited in this exhibition.
‘New South Wales State Floral Emblem’ 2000
The first was the ‘New South Wales State Floral Emblem’ 2000. This design began with a small sketch idea, a detailed drawing, a design layout in black and white which became the basis to cave the linocut which was printed and hand coloured.
‘Sydney Wildflowers’ 2000
‘The second piece was based around ‘Sydney Wildflowers’, essentially some of the wildflowers I loved growing up in southern Sydney. I wrote a little about how I was developing my artistic voice from where I grew up in southern Sydney surrounded by bushland.
The process for this linocut was the same was for the NSW State Floral Emblem work and for nearly all my linocuts.
‘New South Wales Flora’ 2000
New South Wales Flora was a third piece for this exhibition.
‘Waratah’ 2000
The final print was a very small linocut just 8cm x 8cm ‘Waratah’.
A selection of the Waratah cards were also sold and continued to be sold by the RBG Sydney shop after the exhibition as well as my next set of cards produced in 2005 which sold exceptionally well.
North Coast launch of ‘Waratah’s
There was no documentation of these works on this blog as they were completed in 200O and this blog began in 2007. There was a newspaper article in the local ‘Northern Star’ newspaper in Northern NSW at that time as well as a launch at the Ballina Tourist Information Centre.
Lynette Weir’s Waratah’s at North Coast launch of artworks for the State of the Waratah Exhibition.
Local Newspaper Northern NSW July 2000 about the launch of these linocuts by NSW MP Mr Don Page an extremely supportive and active member for the local community. Alongside the four prints the small launch exhibition included a large work ‘Fragile Flights a Threatened Ecology’ developed in conjunction with at the time, a local NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service officer Bob Moffat.
Feedback of reception of my artwork
The curator of the State of the Waratah Exhibition was Rosie Nice who along with Leo Scholfield provide a book ‘State of the Waratah: The Floral Emblem of New South Wales in Legend, Art and Industry’. Rosie Nice card and note about the reception of my linocuts in the exhibition ‘I know your work was much admired’ which were lovely words for her to write and to receive.
Waratah’s in the Blue Mountains after the State of the Waratah Exhibition
The first work, New South Wales State Emblem featured on a popular magazine ‘The Blue Mountains Monthly iMag’ in 2001 when I was successfully exhibiting work at the ‘Gallery on Lurline’ a popular gallery at that time at 98 Lurline St, Katoomba.
Wildflowerings - Art Studio Diary 
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