The Oxford Dictionary defines triptych as: “A set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together”.

The name and exhibition is a metaphor for their lives and artworks, Bond says. For Marple, it is a word that also encapsulates her life.

The painter, who has lived in Yass since 2002, is also a school teacher and mother of four. All are different fields, yet each is associated in the grand scheme that is life.

“I’ve always been making art since I was a kid,” Marple says. She cites music and literature as strong influences on her art endeavours, which she describes as “non-traditional, mixed-media that incorporates a lot of other materials”. These include oil, watercolours, ink, charcoal and pastel.

“It’s almost always about me or my experiences. I use a lot of symbols, I’m attracted to symbolism and expressive painting,” Marple says. Abstract is also cited as an element in all her pieces.

While Marple says each painting has a story, the most important factor for her is “the process of making art … I feel like when I do it, I do lose myself in the process and that’s what I love about it,” she says.

In her role as an educator, Marple chose the field after some influence from her parents.

“My parents said ‘you’ll never a job in art or music – do something practical’. So I became a teacher,” Marple says.

She has been an educator (primary and secondary) since age 22. At Yass Public School, she’s in a specialist recovery role, as well as in intensive maths and the creative arts.

In between, she works on her art pieces and has taught private classes in her studio. The latter has slowed down in recent years mainly because of family commitments and full-time teaching.

Yet, her passion and immersion in painting never waned. For nearly the past 20 years, she has exhibited her work – solo and in groups – at least once a year.

She says ‘evolving’ is also apt in describing her mixed-media pieces. “There’s been a lot more freedom to experiment,” Marple says.

Looking ahead, she says she’s keen on making art a more embedded part of her life. “When things are hard, it’s the thing that’s kept me going and kept me sane.”