I visited Maleny in search of ‘Frogs’—my passion for more than a decade, in semi-retirement as a natural history publisher based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. I am planning, and ardently collecting information about ‘Frogs’ and the ‘Frog Artists’ for a book which I tentatively called “Frog Art”. Not only do I intend to showcase the wonderful world of art on frogs, but I also want to feature artists whom I consider deserve promoting. My contact in Caloundra (half an hour from Maleny), Dr Bert Orr (who wrote three books on dragonflies that I published), is a Maleny-born entomologist who knows the place very well and kindly offered to be my ‘guide’.
In Maleny I met up with Lindsay Muir whose work I have always admired. While visiting the Peace of Green Art Gallery with Bert, I noticed a range of striking Frog ceramic work by Cathy Lawley. I am impressed by the style of her works, which give one that ‘rural’ feeling of tranquillity which indeed reflects much of the country life style of Maleny. I was given her contact by the gallery manager. When contacted in the evening and told about my plans to publish a book on ‘Frog Art’, Cathy was excited about my project and suggested meeting up the following morning. She very kindly came around to my motel and took me to visit her studio; she also showed me her beautiful Victorian-style house which sits on top of a hill with panoramic scenery. Cathy and her work as an artist made a lasting impression on me and I would like to include her as one of the Frog Artists to be featured in the forthcoming book.
Chew Lun
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