It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the signing of a Sister Wetlands Agreement between the councils of Kushiro in Japan, Newcastle and Port Stephens.

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The exhibition, featuring artists Alison Ellis, Greg Salter and Maria Hine, celebrates the combined councils agreement to protect our fragile wetland environments.

Port Stephens Sister Cities Committee, a volunteer committee of Port Stephens Council, is responsible for the planning of this anniversary project and the Artisan Collective has been working with them to organise the exhibition.

Alison Ellis is an artist living in Sydney who completed her Bachelor of Natural History Illustration with honours in 2018 at Newcastle University.

All aspects of the natural world interest the artist but in her honours year she concentrated on the epic international journeys of Australia’s migratory shorebird species, especially the birds that visit the Hunter region over the austral summer.

Heavily featured in the exhibition, the Latham’s snipe only breeds from Kushiro and some regions of Japan and flies to Australian shores, feeding and resting until it is time to return to Japan.

“The Latham’s snipe is one of the most difficult shorebirds to see, preferring to hide in thick vegetation near water,” Alison said.

“Habitat loss is the biggest but not the only threat to this species’ survival.

“The pen and ink backgrounds are to highlight habitats of the different species, and that their loss is existential for the birds.”

Greg Salter has participated in numerous exhibitions and completed many commissions spanning painting, drawing and indoor and outdoor sculpture.

His work has been included in exhibitions at the Maitland City Art Gallery and the Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery as well as various commercial galleries.

Amongst his many awards, he has won the Hunter Botanic Gardens Outdoor Sculpture Prize in 2011 and 2013, the 2011 Newcastle Region Show Sculpture Prize and the 2013 Nelson Bay Sculpture Festival Acquisitive Prize.

“One of my earliest memories of the Nelson Bay area is when I was in Cubs at the age of nine or ten,” Greg said.

“Our troupe were camping not far from the beach, and before it got dark we all went down to the shoreline as we were told the soldier crabs would come out soon.

“At the start a few came out of the sand, then all at once, thousands of them covered the beach.

“I couldn’t take a step without stepping on one, so I just stood and watched as they swarmed around me and headed to the water.

“After being asked to be part of this exhibition, I just had to make crabs, as the exoskeleton lends so well to using the reclaimed steel.

“I have enjoyed assembling each one, letting the pieces of steel that I find decide how each one will come together.”

Maria Hine has been making sculptures for many years, however driftwood is new for her.

“Living in Port Stephens with its surrounding beaches, I started to collect driftwood and became fascinated by the way it is modified by weather, the ocean and natural elements.

“I have become personally attached to these works, especially finding the perfect piece for my subject in carving those special birds from wetlands that are threatened by coastal developments and climate change.”

The Shorebirds exhibition is being displayed in the Artisan Collective, D’albora Marina in Nelson Bay, throughout November daily between 9am and 5pm.

By Simon EKINS