www.ballinamore.net

SHOW US THE PAINT!

A BODY OF WORK CREATED BY TRANSITION YEAR ART STUDENTS FROM CARRIGALLEN VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

Materials: Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

Each student has painted a self-portrait, twenty -four in total.

The Brief: Paint a self-portrait based on your reaction to a newspaper article you have recently read.

Each student started their painting from scratch, they made the stretcher, stretched and primed the canvas and then proceeded to paint. This was a challenging project for these students (most had not studied art before), they began with some trepidation but soon got involved in the process. They have titled their exhibition “SHOW US THE PAINT!” an appropriate title showing their willingness to learn and to try new things

Solas Junior `12

LARGER JUNIOR ARTS EXHIBITION AT SOLAS.

The Annual Junior Exhibition at the Solas Gallery, Sat Jan 28th- Sat 18th Feb,  will be larger than ever this year. Last year there were 372 pictures on display,  from all  the schools in Leitrim. These pictures are all framed and hung by the gallery`s committee and members, a gargantuan task! The Ballinamore Artists Group who run the Solas Gallery have a big commitment to  the development of art within all age groups, especially the young where creativity has such an important role to play in their development. This year there is the interesting addition of a display of work from the transition year from Carrigallen Vocational School. The project, led by artist Julie Martin, required the students to read a newspaper article and then to paint a self portrait as a response to the article.  There are 24 students involved aged 15-16 of whom less than ½ did art,  giving a fascinating insight into the way news can influence ones perception of life. The students started from basics, from making their own stretchers and covering them with canvas on to the completed works.

The Junior Exhibition will open on Sat 28th Jan at 3.00pm and will be launched by Isabella Bancroft. Isabella is a Solas committee member, trained in the Montessori method ,has taught art in primary and secondary schools as well as working with children and adults with learning disabilities. She feels that whilst teaching technique, she asks her students to experiment and challenge themselves. The Junior Exhibition will run to Feb 18th and all are welcome. Teachers and pupils are asked to please collect their work at the end of the exhibition to clear space for the next show. If Teachers would like to bring their class to this or any other exhibition please enquire with the Gallery. Opening hours are Tues-Sat; 10-6pm. Contact details Gail or Ben, 071 9644210; info@solasart.ie; www.solasart.ie

YOUNG ARTISTS EXHIBTION 2012 Opening Saturday January 28th at  3pm

Featuring the work of local school children and young adults from primary and secondary schools throughout County Leitrim. There will also be a special exhibition of self portraits by the transition year students of Carrigallen Vocational School. You can read more about this special exhibition of portraits by clicking on the exhibition title ‘Show us the Paint!’ The exhibition will be officially opened by artist Isabella Bancroft on Saturday Jan 28th at 3pm and all are welcome to attend. If you can’t make it in on the Saturday be sure to call in to see this exhibition before it closes on Feb 18th. We welcome visits by supervised shool classes but do please phone us in advance (Tel 071-9644210). 

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Part 2 of the Sugarcraft course will go ahead if there are adequate numbers in Athlone IT, Cavan IT, Carrick-on-Shannon Community School and Boyle Community College in February.

Dates will be finalised in the next few weeks.

If you are interested in attending any of these courses you can the school or college and you can also email me at info@cacamilis.com

With the buzz of Christmas and New Years Eve all behind us, it’s time to look forward to 2012 and welcoming back all our guests and friends to Ballinamore for many happy visits. Best wishes to all for 2012.

It’s the end of December and so the nest calendar year is almost upon us. For me the new year really begins at Winter Solstice and I am already enjoying the lengthening of the winter days. We are having a wet and warm Christmas season in Ireland, quite a change from last year’s extreme winter weather and a welcome change for most people I think.

 

I have to admit I really enjoyed last years cold and bright Christmas and I miss the cheer of the snow, this year didn’t feel as festive to me and I have to also admit that I am becoming very tired of the mud that the almost constant rain has brought around my door.

Despite the unseasonal warmth (warmest Irish Christmas on record apparently) we still need to keep our fire lit. I have spent the last hour in the timeless chore of cutting kindling, emptying the ashes from our small stove and laying down the fire-start, I am sure every stove owner has their own way of setting the fire-start depending on what fuel they burn. We burn a mixture of peat briquettes and our own white-thorn wood, cut from the overgrown hedge earlier in the year. My partner and I even have our own ways of setting the briquettes, kindling and paper to start the fire and each is equally successful.

Some days my favourite part of starting the fire is cutting the kindling. At the moment we have a few wood-piles lying between the sitting room and the kitchen in our new house. We have a pile of saw-mill cut timber there which we have used for framing the walls, this pile is dwindling as we run out of wall framing timber (because happily it is in the walls) and the pile of cut-offs has grown. Some of the cut-offs will still be used in various jobs about the house however some pieces are destined to become kindling.

Every few days on of us goes out and picks a piece of wood that looks unsuitable for anything but kindling and we chop it up with our small axe. The chopping block is currently in the bathroom, incidentally that’s also where this year’s Christmas tree is. Doesn’t everyone keep their Christmas tree in the bathroom? Perhaps not. Our tree actually consists of a few Pine boughs that I cut the day before Christmas Eve and tied in a decorative fashion to a framing timber on the wall. I then decorated these with our small stash of Christmas decorations, I couldn’t find the stored box of decorations from last year so it was a bit improvised, none the less it is very pretty.

So the bathroom is very central to our activities this Christmas. The chopping block is a 2foot length of wood, 9x3inches, a cut-off of a roof beam. I enjoy chopping kindling. You really need to focus as your fingers are never far from the axe blade when you make that first incision that grips the piece of wood before you proceed to split it by hammering both the wood and the axe together down on the chopping block. It’s a very satisfying job, mark, split, gather the pieces into a basket.

Ever since axes have been used people have performed this task of making kindling for the fire. Perhaps it is the time of year that made me think of the generations of people, across the world, that tend to the cooking or winter fires, to warm and feed their families. Gathering and cutting firewood in some places or cutting turf, drying it and bringing it home as generations of Irish people have done over the centuries. Storing the winter fuel to keep it dry, ensuring it is not too far from the door especially in snowy or wet winters. For some people now the fire is no longer a necessity, whether or not it is essential the hearth has still a special place in many homes.

 

   Now at the turn of the year I wish you

  the warmth of a brightly burning fire

  as these lengthening winter days pass.

  I wish for you health and contentment in the coming year.

 

Winter Colour

We made a cake to celebrate the launch of Getting Irish Business Online in the Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon on Monday last. Thanks to Ivan Keaney Photography for the photos. This is a great opportunity for a business to get online. 

Our own website has been up since 1998 and I would encourage any business to take the leap online.  You cannot answer the phone 24 hours a day but even if the website only had your basic details it is there 24/7 to be viewed by prospective clients from all over the world. If you are thinking about it have a look at the Getting Irish Business Online site and get online with the help of Google, Blacknight Solutions, An Post and your local City or County Enterprise Board.

Leitrim County Enterprise Board and Google are hosting a one day workshop in Carrick-on-Shannon on the benefits of having a website.
As part of the Getting Business Online initiative, the one day event is targeted at business people without a website, and offers one to one support with developing a new website as well as answering any questions on the initiative.
Venue: The Landmark Hotel
Date: Monday December 5th.
Time: 9am to 7pm
There will be a presentation at 1pm from Google and the Enterprise Board covering the website development tool and some case study examples will also be given.
Everyone welcome to drop in at any stage throughout the day and If you know of anyone who may be interested in developing their own website please feel free to pass on the info to them.

Sean O Heslins GAA Club in Ballinamore will hold two annual North South reading symposiums, bringing together readers groups in Cavan Fermanagh, Leitrim and Tyrone. Themes explored will include belonging, identity, voices of others and remembering from Irish, British and international authors.

Recently I misplaced the card reader that I use to download the photos from my phone and last night it turned up again so I have a few photos to share. There was a lot of rain in Leitrim over the last five or six weeks and I have the proof…

Carrick on Shannon quietly reflecting

 

The Park Gates

 

For the second half The Swans take the south goal

Christmas Group Exhibition Dec 2nd – Jan 12th

 

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View Sample Images

[View with PicLens]

The Solas Art Gallery in Ballinamore is about to open its annual Christmas group exhibition.  The community based gallery has had a highly successful year, with new exhibitions of work taking place monthly.  The astonishing variety of work on display in this Christmas exhibition provides wonderful evidence of the ever-expanding membership within the gallery, with artists from Leitrim and the surrounding counties all represented.  There is something to suit every taste here, with a wide range of mediums and styles being showcased, including some interesting photography and collage work, as well as the more traditional oils and watercolours.  For example, the ever-popular cartoonist Anne Gilpin has produced several wonderfully humorous pieces, such as the delightful “Reluctant Donkey”.  Local artist Brendan Dean, having completed a successful solo exhibition at the gallery earlier this year, has produced some provocative and exciting mixed media pieces for the Christmas exhibition, such as the aptly titled “I’m just doin’ my thing”.  Of course no Christmas exhibition would be complete without a snow scene, as winter scene paintings are always popular at this time of year.  However, it would be difficult to find one as beautifully executed as Marjorie Leonard’s “A Perfect Winter, Castlecoole”. 

This stunning collection of work is a visual feast of colour and creativity that all are encouraged to come and see.  In the current bleak economic climate, a visit to this fascinating exhibition is sure to lift the spirits, and perhaps even solve the problem of what unique Christmas present to give to that special someone.

The exhibition will be opened by Sinead Guckian. Sinead is popular County Councillor with a very keen interest in the arts, especially local artists.  The exhibition opens on Friday at 7.30pm and will run until 14th Jan 2012.  All are welcome to come along on the night and enjoy some wine and festive refreshments.  There will also be the opportunity to meet the artists, as many of the gallery members will be attending on opening night.  The Solas Gallery is located above the Four Seasons Garden Centre on the main street in Ballinamore and is open 10-6 Tues to Sat.   For further information, Christmas opening hours, or enquiries regarding membership, vouchers etc. please contact Gail or Ben at 071 9644210.  Alternatively, email info@solasart.ie or visit the gallery at www.solasart.ie

Siobhan Cox Carlos ‘Small Pink & Punctual’ Helen Pinoff ‘ Urban Jumble’ Nov 4th – Nov 26th

 

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View Sample Images Helen Pinoff

View Sample Images Siobhan Cox Carlos

Over the last few weeks I have been slowly doing the almost yearly job of moving compost from one bin to the next. Our compost gets turned twice before it is considered ready for use. We have five compost bins and of course there is a system for how we utilise them. We use a sawdust bucket system for our toilet, we’ve been using this system for ten years now and it works really well for us. We make our own sawdust using our power planer, it costs us nothing to make as we have the timber on our land and we have all the electricity we need for using power tools.

We put both cooked and uncooked kitchen waste into buckets until we have two or three buckets filled, then every time we need to empty the compost toilet bucket we also empty the kitchen-waste buckets, covering everything with a layer of cut grass and rushes. We use one compost bin until it is full, the bins are roughly 4foot square. When the bin is nearly full I start the process of moving the compost in the other bins.

Compost Tetris, Garden Fun

Imagine that all the bins are full and that the bins are A, B, C, D and E in that order and they are all built in one row. Bin A is nearly full so I begin by emptying bin C and putting the soil around trees, creating a new fruit bush bed or topping up a fruit bed. I keep some of the soil to close the bin which is almost full. I then shovel the contents of bin D into bin C and then I shovel the contents of bin E into the now empty bin D. Now we are ready to finish filling bin A and when it is full I close it up by covering it in grass and then topping with soil. Bin E is now ready for use.

It takes roughly nine months to fill a bin, sometimes longer depending on settlement in the bin. So every year I get to play Compost Tetris.

We always keep a pile of cut grass beside the compost bins which sometimes needs replenishing. Sometimes this requires cutting grass and rushes however today I was able to move some which had been cut over a year and half ago - quite a workout!

When I was resting between runs with the wheelbarrow I was struck with the beauty of the sunlight glinting in raindrops hanging from the bare whitethorn  (hawthorn) branches in a nearby hedge. Such beauty is never far away here and I am always grateful to receive it.

 

I N V I T A T I O N

 

“U r b a n   J u m b l e”

 

SATURDAY ART SESSIONS

 

at

 

Solas Art Gallery, Ballinamore

 

MEET THE ARTIST:  HELEN PINOFF

For two Saturday afternoons in November, artist Helen Pinoff will be showing the interactive side of her exhibition “Urban Jumble” and you will be have the chance to play with some of her abstract sculpture and find out more about how abstract art evolves.

 

Her sculptural pieces are reminiscent of the toy building-blocks of childhood.  They have a tactile, playful quality, and are “paintings in sculptural form”.

 

All curious and open-minded folk, students and children (over 3) are very welcome to call in to the Solas Art Gallery in Ballinamore and meet the artist for some hands-on “Urban Jumble”.

 

Saturday 12th and 19th November, 2pm – 4pm

  

 

 

23 September 2011

Christmas Exhibition at Solas Gallery – 2 December 2011- 12 January 2012

 

Dear Artist

You are invited to submit up to 3 pieces of work for the Christmas Group Exhibition at Solas.

Drop off is on Saturday 19th November 12 –5pm.

This exhibition is open to members only.

It is not selected and we try to show everything.

Maximum size is 60 x 60 cm (or 50 x 70 cm etc).

Smaller pieces are preferred for this exhibition.

There is no theme.

We have included an entry form, artwork stickers and a summary with the important dates and information. The drop-off can be quite busy at times so we ask that all your paperwork (Entry Form and Labels) be complete when you arrive. The check boxes show the things that should be completed.

As always, if you can help with any part of the exhibition please let us know. We need volunteers to stuff envelopes, prepare finger food, serve wine on the night, wash glasses etc. If you can give an hour or two of your time it would be a big help.

Finally, a reminder that Sculpture, Photography and Glass have all been exhibited at the gallery. These art-forms are all very welcome. We have a collection of plinths available for display.

If you have any queries about the exhibition, or if you would like to volunteer to help out, please do not hesitate to contact the Gallery 071 9644210.

Best Regards

Gail Quinn

Secretary

Ballinamore Community Arts Group

                                                                      

www.solasart.ie

SOLAS  EXHIBITION  CHRISTMAS  2011

Ö ACTION INFORMATION   DATE

    Art Drop Off   Sat. 19th November 12 – 5 pm ÿ Number of Pieces Up to 3 per Member

Pieces should not have been hung in gallery previously   ÿ Size Up to 60cm x 60cm or a combination of these dimensions (Eg. 50cm x 70cm).

Due to pressure of numbers, smaller pieces are preferred for the Christmas Exhibition.   ÿ Membership Must be paid up to date. Can be done on the day if necessary

All memberships are due for renewal as and from the AGM.   ÿ

ÿ Paperwork

(Enclosed)

• Entry Form Completed

 

• Stickers filled in on back of artwork

    ÿ

ÿ

ÿ Presentation

• All Artwork ready to hang with pair of hooks on the back
• Clean Frames and Glass
• Framing and mounts to gallery standard

      Selection This is a non-selected exhibition. We will try to show everything.     Opening   Friday 2nd December at 7.30pm   Pick Up of Unsold Work   Saturday 14th January 2012

It’s amazing, we have just had 3 full days of sunshine! We are not talking about just a bit of clear sky every now and then, we are talking about three whole, entire days of sunshine, from sunrise to sundown.

A German friend noted on Saturday, our first sunny day, that we had only had three sunny days in the past sixty days. My German acquaintance tends to make notes like this, as does my Swiss neighbour. They both tend to be mathematical about the weather, percentage of humidity, inches of rainfall – actually make that feet of rainfall, days of sunshine.

Some friends and I were chatting about this phenomenon of being so analytical about the weather and concluded that Irish people don’t have these tendacies because it would be too depressing to know exactly how much rain had fallen last week or that we have had only three whole days of sunshine in sixty days.

It’s much easier to cope when you know that it’s “been awhile since there was a good sunny day” or “there’s been a fierce amount of rain recently” as opposed to the cruel, hard, cold and wet facts.

So, back to the happy, happy fact that we have had multiple, complete days of sunshine. The ground is beginning to dry out, the mud outside our door has dried up. There are wasps flying about, presumably making the most of the last few flowers.

We have been working on the house again, for a while there it was too wet to be climbing up on the scaffolding to do outside work. We kept ourselves busy tidying up the inside of the house, moving the cedar wood indoors to keep it dry, painting the windows that have yet to be installed.

Now, for the last few days we have working outdoors again. We used the cedar to clad another wall, bringing us around to the south facing front of the house. We are about halfway to having the entire house clad and weatherproof.

Water Collection System and Cedar Cladding

It’s been so good to be working on the outside of the house again, even better has been working in a tee-shirt. It’s still a little chilly in the morning however it’s not long until the sweatshirt comes off – yahoo! Soooo nice to feel the warmth of sunshine.

Sundown, however, comes on quickly. The temperature drops so suddenly that it’s a rush to pull on sweatshirts and woolly hats, put the tools away and get indoors to light the fire. I laughed today when I thought about the silly old Vampire movie I saw over Halloween – the townspeople were rushing to get indoors when the sun went down, to avoid being Vampire supper.

We displayed the same urgency for different reasons, bright sunny, cloudless days lead to clear skies and cold nights. It’s time to be back indoors, enjoying the heat of the stove.

 

I subscribe to the mailing list from the FIndhorn community because sometimes what I receive is simply lovely, as it is today -

Be very, very simple, very un-complex, very natural, like very small happy children, undisturbed by what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow, but living and enjoying the ever present Now to the very full. Never try to possess anything, never try to hold on to anything, because when you do, you cannot be simple and childlike, for you are full of fear, you are afraid of losing that which you are trying to cling on to. When you can open your hearts and share all the good and perfect gifts, which I pour down upon you, holding on to nothing, then you know the true meaning of the freedom of the Spirit and you really are free. When all is out in the open and you have nothing to hide, what a glorious feeling it is.

One of the co-founders of the Findhorn Community, Eileen Caddy, received guidance from the “still voice within” and shared it with others in the community for more than 40 years. Today they continue this tradition by printing her guidance in the community’s weekly newsletter and by sharing it with the wider world through a mailing list.

If you feel inspired just go along to their site and sign up for the newsletter, you will get a little good news in you inbox every now and then.