Maria Grujicic Studio

Growing up in Ludmilla,
trees surrounded our play.
I remember standing on
fallen trunks and branches
after the cyclone.

We played in the flooded streets
and in the rain.

I remember certain plants and trees
in our family garden
and in the nearby bushland.

My brothers fished in the nearby creek.
On occasions, we had a pot casserole
on the block with my family and talk.

I’m Maria — from the Mangos family
and the founder of Maria Grujicic Studio.
I’m an artist and educator.
I wrote the book, Mystery Plants & Trees: Adventures 
in The Ludmilla Bushblock 
from my childhood growing up
next to the Ludmilla bushland,
and from the times I explored it as an adult
with a camera.

The character in the book is independent.
She holds binoculars.
I never used them,and I walked barefoot
everywhere in those days,
but the girl is a mix of me as a child
and me as an adult.

Once, as a teenager, I ran from one side of the bushblock
to the other.
Each time I entered it, it was different.
I noticed different trees, flowers, vegetation — mostly.
Sometimes I’d visit one type again and again —
but quite often I wouldn’t find them again.

Once you’re in the bushblock, it feels like you’re far away from everything.
It’s peaceful.
The sun rays are pleasantly warm.
You feel alive with the landscape around you.
I don’t feel afraid — I feel free,
with an adventure in each step I take.

I didn’t know the names of the plants and trees —
sometimes I made them up.
For example, I remember “Dancing Tree,”waving at me as
I drove on Bagot Road.
Other times, I asked people for their names.

I didn’t want to feel “dumb” anymore, so I thought —
why don’t I just make them up?
So I did.
That’s where the title comes from:
Mystery Plants and Trees.

One mystery tree I will never forget was ginormous.
I had never seen any cycad like it — ever.

Another time, I aimed my camera at a tree,
and when I got home, I saw the paperbark flycatcher.
Every page of the book is a story I have in my memory
—an adventure I had in the Ludmilla bushblock.

I don’t know of any capital city with a bushblock next to it.
I saw how precious the bushblock was after travelling in Europe.
I saw how people drove far to be in nature.
In Ludmilla, we don’t need to catch a plane or drive far —
we have a holiday spot.
Nature on our doorstep.

On my trip back to Darwin, while I was living abroad,
I went into the bushblock with a camera to document it
and help save it from development.

I created poetry, postcards, drawings, and films.
I felt inspired to create.
I saw masses of water, a variety of vegetation,
and the wildlife interacting with it.
I saw the black kite that was perched on the highest part of the tree on the bushblock.
It felt like it was saying hello as it circled around me.
I took photos and I filmed it.
Every morning, the black kite followed me
when I was driving my car to work.
It gave me a warm, feel-good feeling
that I took with me for the day,
with the beautiful view of the bushblock.

At school, I was a shy, quiet little girl with pigtails —
but in the bushblock, I found confidence and freedom
to be myself.

My book encourages children to visit nature again and again, observe, imagine, and create.
There’s a lot more we can learn, and I do workshops so that children can reconnect with nature.
Wherever I go, I feel like I take the bushblock with me.

I invite you to join us — I have a small space where you can draw a mystery plant or tree, or creature, and share stories special to you.

For the families who want to, I will be collating the illustrations for a special digital book available on my website.
 
🌿 Explore the book and creative resources:
www.mariagrujicicstudio.com

📍 Based in Darwin, NT
🎨 Workshops for children aged 4–9
📅 Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival – Saturday 9 May

 

🌱 Submit Your Child’s “Mystery Plant or Tree”
 

Children and families are invited to take part in a special collaborative project.
 

You can submit your child’s drawing of a mystery plant, tree, or creature to be included in a free digital book created by Maria Grujicic Studio.
 

📩 How to submit:
Send your child’s artwork via email: mariagrujicicstudio@gmail.com