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JULY/AUGUST- Mexico part i
CASA GIAP, Chiapas, Mexico
I'm delighted to have taken part in a residency in Chiapas during the summer, led by GIAP (Research Group in Art and Politics) and Profesor TJ Demos, professor of History of Art and Visual Culture at UC Santa Cruz/director of the Center for Creative Ecologies.
More information here:
https://casagiap.org
https://creativeecologies.ucsc.edu/
SEPTEMBER 2019 - Mexico part ii,
AKA sweet clay heaven
OAXACA, MEXICO
In Summer 2019 I spent one month working with a thoroughly inspiring organisation, Innovando la Tradicion, a multidisciplinary non-profit and sustainable design project based in Oaxaca, dedicated to providing a platform for collaboration and the promotion of potters and pottery communities.
For further information, see:
http://www.innovandolatradicion.org/
Fairland Collective spent 11 months working with Lion Salt Works in Cheshire, engaging in all things salty and salt-related. A performative feast (FYI there were songs about salt) happened on the 28th of November, publication of co-authored Feast Journal to follow soon - with a collection of literary explorations from invited collaborators and writers.
www.feastjournal.co.uk
November 2019 - SALT
DECEMBER 2019 - The Potato Connoisseurs
Fairland Collective spent two weeks in residence on the island of Jersey, at the invitation of the Morning Boat - an arts organisation dedicated to collaborative social research and action. More info here:
www.morningboat.com
And of course more photos available via Fairland Collective..
Home
Summer's main work this year is the beginning of Small Seeds, an art, ecology and well-being project, funded by Creative Ireland through Kildare Arts, bringing together workshops, artists, educators and communities to foster creativity and collaboration between people and plants. Taking inspiration from the systems of shared resources used by fungi and plants (mycorrhizal networks), the programme includes a combination of in-person and online workshops in drawing and mindfulness, taking place from July to October.
Supported by attendance on Dr. Cathy Fitgerald's Earth Charter course , I am keen to incorporate nature as a constant collaborator and guide in my work 🌼 For updates and workshop news follow: https://www.instagram.com/small_seeds_project
I recently catered for Deirde O'Mahony's Summer Preview at Kunstverein Aughrim, which was a pleasure to contribute to! Using local organic suppliers is always a treat, and a way to respect the beautiful bounty of summer. Thanks Wicklow farmers :) Thanks to Kate Strain at KA too, for having me as cook/artist in residence for a week leading up to the Summer Preview weekend.
With Fergal Brennan, film-maker and animator, we began Wild Weeds - a project for children focusing on creativity and ecology. Through in-school workshops in drawing, plant identification and animation, Wild Weeds empowers children as creators in their community, allowing them to make choices about what to value in their environments and protect in our shared biodiverse futures. We will continue to work on this in 2023/24, with the support of the brilliant Hannah Mullan, currently producer of the RSS programme at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght.
Ceramics work is a little slow on the ground this year, but I'm getting back to it in my lovely studio at The Model, Sligo. I have plans to add an online shop sometime soon, let's see!
2020
Due to the intention to limit the endless admin tasks of freelance arts work, news sections will be now be brief and condensed! 2020 was a year of Covid - also a year of an Arts Council Bursary (woohoo!), leading to work on Tea by Post in late 2020. TbP was my first project focusing thoroughly on the intersection of environmental concerns and the prioritisation of care and restfulness. Building upon the radical act of planting a seed, TbP looks at the simplicity of small acts of care and how we can work together to make it more accessible for all. More information can be seen on the project website above.
www.teabypost.ie
Summer & Autumn 2023
2022
2022 saw Tea by Post expand to Netherton Library garden in Liverpool, exploring collaboration across distance and...by post! I also took part in a couple of local exhibitions - Cairde Visual, a selected exhibition by the brilliant Cairde Festival - now in its third year and expanding in scope and ambition each year. I also took part in a smaller selected group show, supported by the Hyde Bridge Gallery and Sligo Artists' Network.
I settled into my studio at the Model, where I've been selected for a two-year lease. Such a relief to have guaranteed work space!
I also began work on Wild Weeds with Fergal Brennan (more info in 2023's news update)
Drawing classes continued, leading to new decorative pots - all sold in person, many so quickly that I didn't have time to take photos! I worked with mentorship from the brilliant Leitrim Enterprise Office, and am endeavouring to honour my slow and ad-hoc approach to pottery :)
2021
2021 was all about Tea by Post, and slowly getting back to work after all the strange Covid stoppages. Tea by Post has a dedicated project website :) Link here:
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Autumn is speeding by :) I think now, on the 2nd November, we've landed into Winter, but that's an age-old debate...! Small Seeds is wrapping up for the season - we had our last online drawing class last week, following three months of meet-ups and lots of work shared by attendees. These were punctuated by in-person workshops, led by Lorna Watkins and Fergal Brennan.. these were beautiful sessions, focusing on free and expressive drawings of plants and the natural world, in the surroundings of Lodge Park
Walled Garden in Straffan, Kildare. The Small Seeds group also had one last online Mindfulness session with the wonderful Joan Flannelly yesterday, where she closed with thoughts on connection with others and connectedness with the earth.
Now I'm in admin season, ticking off tax returns and applying for 2024 funding. In between, I have somehow made pots for Christmas selling; you can find me at the Fumbally Christmas Market in Dublin 8, around the 9th of December. I'm also delighted to have been selected as one of a group of artists working with Kids' Own in Cranmore Gardens in Sligo, on a Creative Ireland Climate Action funded project. My time for collaborative making is set for next May and June, but I'm already cooking up ideas :)
Autumn & Winter 2023