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Maria Blackman Creates

@mariablackman.bsky.social
224 followers 405 following 283 posts

She/her Artist 🖌️ Writer ✍️ Reader 📖 On Noongar Whadjuk Boodjar (Perth, Western Australia)

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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 13h
Thank you! It was fun to make ☺️
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I forgot about Book Depository! I did use them for a while.
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Very popular with my 12yo and her friends, as well as my 10yo!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I prefer having a physical copy that is not tied to an evil billionaire
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I buy books from op shops/secondhand and borrow physical books from the library. If buying new, I try to buy from an indie bookshop or at an event before going to the big chain stores
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Day 9 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - home. Oh, to be a cosy witch dozing by the fire in her tidy cottage ✍️ #scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #papercuttingart #home #cozywitch
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
#scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #papercuttingart #crisp
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
8 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - crisp. The original drawing for this envelope was an ink drawing of a severe looking Victorian gentleman. I kept the offcuts after I made the envelope and turned him into a fun seeking Victorian gentleman who can jump in the newly fallen crisp autumn leaves!
A photo of a handmade envelope with a SCBWI ARTOBER "postage stamp" that has a drawing of autumn leaves and a label that says "To the gentleman who looks severe".The reverse of the envelope Inside the envelope - the man's shoes stepping in autumn leaves A photo of the offcuts from the original drawing. The section where the feet have been cut out is visible
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
SCBWI Artober day 5 (camp), day 6 (quiver) and day 7 (feline). Video of quiver below! scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #papercuttingart #inkandwatercolour #kidlit
A photo of a small pencil illustration of an adult and child looking at a starry skyFront of a handmade envelope. It has a label with the text "Will you walk into my parlour?" and a postage stamp with a drawing of a flyA silhouette of a black cat with blood dripping from an outstretched paw
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A photo of the reverse of the envelope which has pictures of plants in a greenhouse and a human skeleton's hand
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A photo of a handmade envelope with a SCBWI ARTOBER "postage stamp" that has a drawing of a ghostly woman
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Day 4 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - human ✍️ #scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #papercuttingart #skeleton
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Day 3 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - crush. Even a witch's cat says "If I fitteth, shall I sitteth". #scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #inkandwatercolourillustration #kidlit
A photo of a small watercolour illustration of a calico cat sleeping in an upside down witch's hat. Next to the hat is a pair of lace up boots
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Day 2 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - nocturnal #scbwiArtober2026 #scbwiARTOBER #nocturnal #papercuttingart
A handmade envelope with a label and postage stamp. The label says "Flames and wings a flutter" and the stamp has a drawing of a candleThe back of the envelopeInside the flap of the envelope are moths and candlesA full view of the envelope with candles and moths
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Day 1 of SCBWI Artober 2026 - pumpkin Ages ago I saw a video about making envelopes out of old artworks so I made a bunch of them which I then forgot about. For this year's Artober I'm turning them into little paper artworks. #scbwiARTOBER2026 #scbwiARTOBER #papercuttingart #inkandwatercolour
A handmade envelope with a "postage stamp" that says 1/10 SCBWI Artober and a label that says "One for sorrow, Two for joy"The reverse of the envelope. It had a label that says "By Maria Blackman"A thumb and finger open the envelope. Some colourful bits of paper are visibleA pumpkin and two ravens emerge from the envelope
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In the spirit of self-promotion, I have written and illustrated two children's picture books featuring my favourite bird as main character (the Tawny Frogmouth). I also write short fiction (not for children), with a lot of it tending towards horror and gothic-lit of late.
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Anyway, one of my aims is to use the website more and social media less (not completely, I know I'm on Bluesky right now). I hate how Meta controls so much of our communication. FB and Instagram are useful for writers and illustrators so I do use them but I wish I didn't have to!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Just spent some time updating my writer/illustrator website. Wasn't as easy as I remember things but maybe I am nostalgic for the good ol' days of blogging in the mid 00's? mariablackman.net/about/
mariablackman.net
About – Maria Blackman
We had a Tawny Frogmouth bird living in our front garden for a while. I love these birds – they have so much personality! Soon after, I turned our garden visitor into a picture book story.
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I just finished reading The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden and it's one of those books that was so good I can't think about anything else now. I'm also afraid to pick up anything else to read because it won't be as good as The Safekeep! Gosh, the problems of a reader
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you're feeling down, may I recommend looking at the fat bears of Katmai wildlife reserve? This is one of my new favourite things. Well done to all the brown bears of Katmai, I will have trouble voting but you are all fat and all winners in my eyes explore.org/fat-bear-week
explore.org
Fat Bear Week 2026 - Explore.org
Explore.org is the world's leading philanthropic live nature cam network and documentary film channel. Our mission is to champion the selfless acts of others, create a portal into the soul of humanity...
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Let me guess, he either lives in a small town where he knows all the secrets or he's returned to the small town that he grew up in that is also full of secrets
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Everyone needs a small toy to watch over them at work! (I have a crocheted owl)
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Never too old for dinosaurs!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The anthology will be available to purchase from the centre - I will add a link when it's up! West Australian writers, if you've never been to the KSP make sure you visit sometime! It's a hidden gem for writers
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'm delighted that my entry to the KSP Writers' Centre Horror Story competition was awarded Highly Commended. Congratulations to all who were shortlisted and thank you to the KSP Writers' Centre for this exciting competition 😊 #horrorstory #shortstory #writer
A photo of a book open to a page with the title STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE By Maria Blackman Highly Commended and the first few paragraphs The front cover of GLITCH, with images of a female cyborg, a fawn, handcuffs, headphones, a grub, a spooky house and a gloved hand holding a surgeon's scalpelA photo of a certificate stuck on a fridge. The certificate from the KSP Writers' Centre is to Maria Blackman
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The first thing that's annoying about the ABC Top 100 Australian Books site is that when you sort by authors, it's alphabetical by first name, not surname?! Does no one know how to alphabetise properly anymore?
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Aug 30th sighting: Christmas stockings at grocery story. Haven't even had Halloween yet!!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Happy Wear It Purple Day! 💜🏳️‍🌈 #wearitpurpleday #ally
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
What?? No!!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Yikes, I'm on the train going to work and someone's reading Atlas Shrugged 🫣
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A Piece of Red Cloth is a wonderful novel! Well deserved short-listing!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Congratulations!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I am so thrilled to be a featured writer with this project by WritingWA and Yagan Square. Writers were asked to contribute a short prose piece or poem about winter or nature. My poem Mycelium Network is one of them! #storiesfromwa #writingwa #dragonflypublishing #poetry
A poem on a digital screen in Yagan Square (Perth city). A woman stands in front of the PERTH letters at the bottom of the digital tower.
The poem reads:
Daylight runs off, the air temperature cools
while the earth pulls up its blanket.
Beneath the soil’s surface
a threading network spreads
extending mycelium threads
whispering
Where are you?
Are you there? 
Hello, yes, I am here
while above small vertebrates slip through the undergrowth,
nocturnal birds hunt,
humans sleep in beds in rooms in buildings
unaware that a kingdom of liberated spores is
reaching out to each other, binding together 
underground building ever increasing colonies
that will burst out of the ground 
when the sun pulls off night time’s cover
to reveal soft domed cities that are neither animal nor plant.
Mycelium Network by Maria Blackman
WRITING WA 
Dragonfly Publishing
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
I saw a trailer today for the Klara and the Sun film. I love Kazuo Ishiguro's work and this is one of my favourite novels ever. I'm so scared that the film won't live up to the book!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I avoid AI tools as much as possible in my personal life. Our school's LMS has AI tools embedded in it but I've not found them very useful so I don't use them. But loads of my colleagues do
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
If you ask students to look something up, they're just reading the AI overview unless you are guiding them on how to actually use search terms, look at sources etc. Students who want to be lazy have vastly more opportunities now than before...
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I'm a high school teacher. Lots of my students interact with AI chatbots as if it's a real person giving them advice. Have had to intervene with one student who had problematic use 😟
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
My first born (aged 12) wants to go protest One Nation next week (it's on a school day, middle of the day) and I said no because that would be truanting but secretly I am so proud 🥰
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Also, do you feel compelled to wander the manor's parklands or your neighbourhood moors?
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Full view of the book nook
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I have a mini 'book nook' artwork on display at Paper Bird Books, the most beautiful children's book store ever! #papercuttingart #booknook #inkpendrawing #thetempest
A photo of a book nook depicting Act 5 scene 1 of The Tempest. It is on a shelf in between Shakespeare books A photo of the interior of the Paper Bird Books store. Mid afternoon light hits the wall
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Thanks for the mention of my outstanding 'Sinister Voice'!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
More writing good news! I have a story accepted by Night Parrot Press for their Little Journal. I am so excited for this! www.nightparrotpress.com #flashfiction #nightparrotpress #writing #littlejournal
nightparrotpress.com
Home Page - Night Parrot Press
Night Parrot Press is an independent publisher based in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia publishing works of non-traditional fiction and non-fiction in experimental forms and genres.
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Good news! I've been shortlisted in my favourite writing competition. Also! Support your local writers' centre and writing community!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Fare thee well, Neil!
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
It's so frustrating! Labor won the last election with a massive majority and so have the opportunity to get so much good work done, so why is he wasting time on stupid stuff like this? One step forwards, three steps backwards for progressive politics in Australia
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Maria Blackman Creates @mariablackman.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
The more I read about this case, the worse it gets! That poor girl and her family. I don't believe in the death penalty on principle, but if that's what gets served to him, well...
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