Coochiemudlo Island

A handmade present will always be special, but this year, you could leave the creative work to the island's artists and makers. The Coochie Handmade Mother’s Day are on Saturday, May 13th - just in time for mum’s special day. These are our fourth local handmade pop-up markets on Coochiemudlo, held at the Red Rock Café. Sisters Trish and Elissa Miller from Bay Island Beads, will again show and sell their stunning pieces. We have met with Trish to learn more about the art of be

Situated in Southern Moreton Bay just off Victoria Point and sheltered from rougher seas by North Stradbroke Island / Minjerribah, Coochiemudlo is only a short ferry ride from the mainland. There is something about this little island that makes some people say it’s like stepping back in time. The density of trees, even throughout streets and gardens of the residents, certainly has a lot of charm. It is also an excellent habitat for birds. Rainbow Lorikeets - cheeky residents

Many times I’ve been asked why I paint, but that’s like asking a writer why he writes or a hairdresser why she styles people’s hair. I don’t really know where that desire to begin practising art came from. No-one in my family painted seriously. There were a few dabblers here and there, and of course they mainly hid their ‘talent’ because they just wanted their work to be a hobby, who knows? Occasionally I’ll read about someone who has always painted and as a child never left

The control of exotic plant species is a controversial issue throughout Moreton Bay’s island suburbs, but one Coochiemudlo Island resident has made her arts practice all about harvesting weeds and other natural and human-made materials, and transforming them into beautiful and practical items. Jacqui Cresswell has lived on Coochie for almost fourteen years, a period which has seen her passion for fibre art blossom. “I started using natural fibres when I arrived here on Coochi

In the sclerophyll forests of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, I grew up observing the dry, reddish-green hues of the eucalypt trees that eventually saw the region World Heritage listed. When people in the northern hemisphere asked me what the place was like, I’d often say: “Think the Grand Canyon, with foliage”. It’s quite true: remove the dense green blanket that covers the Blue Mountains and we’d be left with a stony, gold and pink landscape akin to Arizona, traverse