At Wangat Lodge in New South Wales, Australia, visitors can explore 50 acres of protected sub-tropical rainforest lands nestled along the Chichester River.
Many of these visitors are local artists taking part in the lodge’s Gumnut Artist’s Retreat, an opportunity for craftspeople to work in the tranquil forest.
Recently, Estelle, a textile artist participating in the program, was dyeing fabric for a tapestry when she noticed a tiny pair of eyes watching her from the trees.
The Dodo
In a flash, the small red visitor swooped down from his branch and stood right in front of Estelle’s workspace, eagerly anticipating the artist’s next move.
“He was just really interested in watching me paint,” Estelle said in a video for The Dodo.
The Dodo
The bird was an Australian king parrot, a species known for their bright red coloring and long tails.
Estelle continued painting her fabric swatches, trying not to startle her new friend. Eventually, another parrot arrived, then a third, then a fourth. Soon enough, Estelle was surrounded by all of the king parrot’s friends.
“I must have passed some sort of vibe test,” Estelle said.
The birds visited Estelle every day for the next week as she worked on her tapestry. Over time, Estelle began learning to differentiate between them.
“They all had really distinct personalities,” Estelle said. “Some are really outgoing, and others were really shy.”
It’s especially fitting that the artist bonded with wildlife during her residency, given that her project used a variety of eco-friendly techniques. According to an Instagram post, Estelle’s tapestry was made of secondhand fabric swatches, which she dyed using foraged materials, including mushrooms, tree bark and leaves.
“Was it a bit ambitious to take on a tapestry with my wonky sewing skills? Yeah,” Estelle wrote in the post. “But I’m so thankful I did!”
By the end of the week, Estelle had a gorgeous work of art, a newfound group of feathered friends and a renewed appreciation for the natural world.
“This experience was a really important reminder for me that we are actually more connected to our ecosystem than we think we are,” Estelle said. “It felt really grounding, like we were both here on equal grounds, just learning about each other.”
