October saw a flood of new work

October was fun! I started teaching felt making workshops again titled 'The magic of felt', everyone that came rally enjoyed them and were so impressed that they made a piece of fabric out of fleece. It inspired me to make some new felt also. This one is for stitching...

I also picked up these adorable little cups in a local charity shop. The rose motif is so sweet and the green colour still so vivid on this eighty year old hand painted crockery. More photos and information about these cups here.

Of course it was great to work with Wexford County Councils Enterprise and Community Department on my 'creativity for boosting morale and self esteem project' otherwise known as 'the postcard project' on the 16th of October. You can read about it over at the CreativeDynamix blogspot by following both links. The follow up writing thank you and great quotes on the postcards was fun to do and also gave me time to think about the project and further applications of the idea. I was further inspired by the quotes. I started working on a series of images to be printed onto textiles for beading and stitching; the theme maps and quotes. I am working on progressing the designs, patterns and applications to textiles, clothes or prints for framing. A preview of the initial work:

I got exciting news in October that my tender for Art Alongside Programme has been placed second in order of merit! I am waiting to here more about what this actually means but its positive.
What else has been going on? Yes. I have been having very interesting discussions and extending my network in Ireland and globally. Growing my creative lab network of thinkers, doers and creative's all very exciting stuff. I'm really enjoying the way twitter is connecting me to like minds directly. More of that this month.
After my October blog post I spent some time looking at that work from a decade ago.
I realised that something very specific was going on and I was getting to respond to it if I would stop and make space for it. So that is what I did I stopped and made space for that work to look at it to think about it to just be with it.With the help of a friend and healer Catherine Maguire that window from the past has become a door. The transition happened quickly.
Imagine a door opening into a fruitful garden (a cliche I know but that is the image that comes to mind as I write). It feels good to be in the flow of work that is being communicated back and forth between my current reality and my artistic response to a previous reality. It has opened a very interesting space to work in linking loss in general in my life. As I have written before 'Loss is part of my life'. I am processing and expressing that loss and other things in meaningful images. I have posted a new image as the first image in response to the work from 10 years ago. I am working towards an exhibition with experiential workshops based on the work (1999-2009) which will be referred to as the 'inland series' dates March and October 2010.
If the images are meaningful to me that is enough or is it...

Astonished - me? YES astonished!

I recently did an open studio day where I was astonished by the amount of work sitting on my studio shelves. I took out all the dross work, semi finished work and the finished but not framed work and the framed work... yeah I know and I have n't even mentioned the work that was finished and I would never frame.

I astounded myself that I was storing work that was dated 1998.

But what is interesting about this is that I have allowed myself to hold this work and now I find myself reviewing it, recording it and realising that here lies the evolution of myself as an artist. So I think I will do a retrospective of my own work up until my exhibition "Footprints in my heart..." in 2007, during that exhibition my perspective on my creative work changed.

The other atonishing thing that happened is a small body of work gave me a wake up call. In 2000 I made work of a very personal nature... lets be really clear all my work is personal but this work was from the the core of my soul. In 2000 something happened to me that rocked me to the core of my being and subsequently other things happened that stripped me of my ability to cope. In Autumn 2000 I harvested my creativity to deal with a personal loss. I had not looked at this work in a long time just eight pieces. Eight paintings, drawings and images based around me and this loss they shocked me to my core. I could not believe the emotional strengthen of the work. My reaction happened over the last two weeks and continues. As I write I glance over to where the work is stored in a portfolio stacked behind my shelves, hidden from sight in the studio.

My first reaction was: this work is amazing I wanted to share it! Lets find a group based around this experience and go and do some creative work with them! I met a friend about a week after that and shared the idea with her noting as we spoke how deeply the small body of work was prompting me and effecting me. Two days later I crumbled I knew I needed some space, that Sunday my husband took our three sons off and in the quiet of the studio I took out all eight pieces and looked.

I looked and photographed them and looked.

Then I took myself off to our local beach where I did some work outlining a training session, lay on the sand, took some photographs and went for a swim. I reached the conclusion that I needed to be in that group for me. I need this work validated, I required that it would be witnessed... this was shocking. My ego was messing with my heart and my head. manipulation of the highest order. This was not ok to think like this...

From your perspective your probably thinking by making my art public I am looking for validation but that is not how it works for me. My professional relationship with my art goes as follows I make work for others, the process of creation is my piece and it is not until I am happy with the work that it will chosen for finishing at the framer or hung in a venue. It was a distinct point in my career as an artist where I knew I could hang work and be happy with it full stop. Even to the point that if someone disliked my art work I was accepting of their opinion and feedback with no ego attached.

So another few days passed and I got over being indignant and I came to a further evolution.

I am the witness to that work. Right now that is enough. But a dialogue has opened with the work from 2000 and that is exciting. As I move from 2009 to 2010 a decade has been lived and a window from the past leads into the future and how that window becomes a door is an interesting question.
Part of the reason for this post is still around creating space for our stories. I did not have space to share the loss, sorrow and downright grief. In some ways it is still unresolved perhaps because it is around grief it will always be there. But with compassion for myself I aim to create that space and share with you the continuing story. Not the visual work, not yet, that might follow in due course I have some work to do first.

If you'd like to see the photographs I took on the beach that day I have added them to my redbubble site, click here to be taken there...

I have written on loss before behind my paintings I journal, I process, I write.

Decluttering discoveries

During the week I was cleaning the house in anticipation for the open day today and the Women in Business Networking session yesterday morning. I don't know if your house is the same but we seem to end up with piles of papers, bits of Lego, toys, books and general mishmash of things on top of a table in the sunroom. As I was decluttering the space I came across a box which I knew was special.
I had forgotten about it it just lay there for ages in a pile of junk ignored.


The box contained letters from my boyfriend written from Germany in 1991, a set of New Orleans Mardi Gras beads, two keys (I no longer remember the significance or the location of the where they unlock), an old pingin coin 1968, a parking pass and itinerary to Feile '91, the set square belonged to paternal Grandmother and is marked 12/10/33 M. Gavin, two halves of different shell rings from 1989, some valentines cards (the cutest one talking about the average person needing 300 hugs a month to remain health, happy and secure...). It also contained some things I had written:
A funny Limerick with no date:

An Irish girl by the name of Roisin,
had a drink that was Emerald Green,
she noted with horror that it was already tomorra
And wondered where it was she had been

...and the wail of children but are cats, fills the night air (this was written about 10 years ago)

There is a poem written out by hand by Micheal Davitt called 'Lovers' that I would love to reproduce here but won't without the author's permission. An extract from a Luka Bloom song written out on a post-it note.

A quote
"Do not wish to be anything else but what you are, and try to be that perfectly" Saint Francis of Assisi

All in all a time capsule of 1991.

What are you interested in?

Image made in www.wordle.net

Leave a comment let me know?

My favourite TED.COM

TED2009
Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity
19:28 Posted: Feb 2009

Someone handed me another newspaper sheet as part of my collaboration project to celebrate my birthday (previous blog) I was so excited that a gift of Elizabeth Gilberts book was with it - thanks Lyola! I have n't read it and I am so looking forward to starting it. Elizabeth Gilbert has come to my attention through TED.com earlier this year and I really admire her from this talk so I am really looking forward to reading her book 'Eat, love, pray'.

Life is good!

Questions for a new project

Collaboration
Creative lab open to all exploring the relevance of creativity and art in our lives.

How artists are relevant in today society? Can art get people back to work? How can artists facilitate the creative entrepreneur?

Announcing a self initiated body of work by artist Roisin Markham to explore how an artist can bring creativity to more people, make her arts practice relevant to society, make interesting work, make collaboration the work, the art and symmetry of getting people involved. Taking a broad approach to what art is.

What is the role of creativity and artists in times of harsh economic realities? Creativity for moving forward. Creating a positive creative environment conducive to excellent work.

The core starting point being the fact that art is the realisation of creative thought.

You’re invited to

a workshop introducing

the magic of sheep fleece to felt
on Saturday 3rd of September,
3.30 in Ballygarrett Art Studio.

Ballygarrett Art Studio invites you to discover the ancient tradition of felt making with “the magic of felt” workshop series. An opportunity for hands-on learning in the workshop at the studio. Children are welcome with a parent or adult.

Learn how to make felt at one of the workshops:
Saturday 3rd October, 3.00 – 4.30 pm
Tuesday 13th October, 3.00 – 4.30 pm

Saturday 17th October, 3.00 – 4.30 pm

Workshops €25 per person + €5 for materials. Child & adult price €40 + €8 for materials.

Book your place call Roisin on 086.1546163 email ballygarrettartstudio [@] gmail . com

Join in the creative fun with artist Roisin Markham at Ballygarrett Art Studio, Templederry Lane, Ballygarrett, Gorey.

What is felt? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt

I will be demonstrating wet hand rolled felt making and some needle felt.

The Workshops are about learning how to make wet hand rolled felt.