greeting card

non-denominational christmas card This year I was inspired by the lovely iridescent Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus pallidicollis) for my seasonal greeting card theme. Their appearance on the gum trees in our backyard where I grew up in Sydney were a sure sign Summer had arrived. For me their shimmery green carapace conjures endless school holidays, cicada soundtrack and excited anticipation of a visit from Santa. Sadly I haven't seen one in the garden in years, their decline apparently in proportion to population growth and associated urban sprawl… but venture into the national parks and I’m told we can still find them today…

Collected objets d'inspiration, source material (images by MsPickle http://stubbynubbins.blogspot.com.au/…/inspired-by-christma… and Max Beatson © Australian Museum http://australianmuseum.net.au/christmas-beetles), scrawled ideas, doodles and sketches leading up to the creation of this year's Christmas card.

Segmented stipule and scarab

alternate design that didn't make the cut #1

alternate design that didn't make the cut #2 – I ended up using this motif for a Facebook post after the terrorist attacks in France later in the year