Island life has a rhythm. Bare feet. Faded hats. Comfort first, always. So when three Macleay Island artists ask their community to dress to impress, it’s not about pretension, it’s about celebration.
Two Painters and a Potter, opening 24 April at the Macleay Island Arts Complex (MIAC), is part exhibition, part love letter to the island, and part gentle challenge - step out of the comfort zone, raise a glass, and mark the moment.
The artists; Therese King, Beth Leach and Paula Bowie; didn’t arrive on Macleay Island at the same time, but they all arrived at a turning point. Between them, they’ve spent more than a decade living here; Therese four years, Paula five, Beth buying land in 2020, when the islands quietly absorbed thousands of newcomers searching for space, safety and something slower. What they found was not just a place to live, but a place to change.
Their work reflects that shift. This is art made from gardens, mangroves, rocks, cuttings gifted by friends; the kind you wrap in damp paper and carry home like contraband treasure.
“The botany we paint is often from our own gardens, or our friends’ gardens,” Beth says.
“There’s something special about that, it’s friendship made physical.”
Therese paints abstract botanicals in acrylic, work that moves between colour and emotion. After decades teaching art, including at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus School, she finally turned the focus inward.
“Coming to the islands, I’ve just blossomed,” she says.
“People here respond emotionally to art and that’s been huge for my confidence.”
For potter Paula, that same sense of intimacy with place is embedded in clay. Her stoneware vessels pay homage to ancient forms, drawing inspiration from Macleay Island’s organic textures; eroded edges, shifting surfaces and muted, natural palettes.
“I’m always responding to the landscape here,” Paula says.
“The way the environment feels both delicate and unpredictable, that all ends up in the work.”
Beth’s paintings hold time. A nationally award winning botanical illustrator, Beth came to oil painting after illness forced a recalibration of her life. Formerly working in watercolour, she now paints large scale, realistic botanicals.
“I’ve had a lot of different careers and art came back when I needed healing,” Beth says.
Together, the three artists form a quiet triangle of support. When one of them hits a creative wall, the other two step in, offering perspective, encouragement and practical advice that helps the work move forward again. It’s the kind of creative safety net every artist needs, and one they’ve found in each other.
That mutual energy is visible in the exhibition itself. The paintings and pottery don’t compete, they converse. Nothing feels accidental.
And then there’s the opening night. The official opening at MIAC on Thursday 24 April, from 6.00pm to 8.30pm, asks guests to do something slightly radical by island standards.
“Art deserves an occasion and we want everyone to dress to impress,” Beth says.
Like the island itself, this exhibition is about connection; between materials, landscapes and three women who found each other exactly when they needed to.
Two Painters and a Potter runs from 24 April to 18 May. Entry is free.
Opening night tickets are limited and priced at $35, which includes a welcome drink and finger food. It’s a chance to celebrate local creativity, share conversation and just this once, swap the thongs for your best foot forward.
