'Silhouette Tree of Life' is a piece I pencilled on an A2 piece of paper,

 then pen and inked, in 2010. The original was about 50 x 70cm.

This Tree of Life design was initially commissioned by a lovely friend Elsa in Byron Bay who asked me to draw an image of a tree made of peoples bodies.

I researched many different takes on this universal symbol before rendering my own unique vision.  It speaks of the interconnectedness of all of life and we as family and community. Also there is actually nothing rude going on here!, believe me it's hard to draw this many bodies in close proximity and keep it cool! Ha.

 I am grateful to Elsa to this day for her request which instigated this design, but her intention to reproduce the image in some form was not clear at the time. I knew very little about copyright then and charged a minimal fee for the original with no parameters as to printing rights.  I was rushing in prep for my road trip back to FNQ.

Going through a marriage break up at the time and feeling the loss of so much, I was trying to establish my worth as an artist and a person.  I felt the need to reclaim my work, as my friends' reproductions didn't include my name and that didn't sit well. So 'Silhouette Tree of Life' was the blueprint I later expanded into the huge hand-painted banner (Approx.285 x 310 cm) called "Drawing Inspiration".

  The experience forced me to do some research relating to copyright, fees etc. So many learning curves along the way that I am grateful for.  In owning my mistake, I honoured my agreement with my friend allowing her to continue printing for a time to recoup her costs, but also informing her that I would be retaining copyright of the image to one day also print it myself.

 It took me another 10 years, but that day is finally here and I love that so many people are enjoying this piece!

'Silhouette Tree of Life'... a poem...

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