Monday 31 August 2015

Residency at Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annamakerrig, Monaghan

I started my week long residency at The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, Monaghan on the 19th of this month. I was originally intending to arrive on the 18th but something came up at home so I had to leave it until the next day. When I arrived it took a few trips around the house to stop getting lost. I got to meet all of the residents that evening at 7pm when everyone in the house meets for dinner. The majority of people staying were writers, all in different disciplines,novelists, poets and play writes. out of 14 I think 3 of us were visual artists. There were more writers and artists staying in the cottages around the house too and they usually joined us after dinner.


My studio for the week, The Artist Room


I arrived around 2 on the first day and straight away went out  with the intention of scouting out possible areas that I could use for the new character that may or may not appear in my paintings. This didn't last long because it started raining and I ended up working in the studio for the rest of the evening on a drawing for a painting to be done when I get back home to Laois. I was also getting some bits and pieces together for the show at The Hyde Bridge Gallery in Sligo.




On the second day I was finishing off the drawing and didn't do much else. I was wandering around talking to some of the other guests on residencies here and due to the weather didn't venture outside. It still felt that I was settling in at this early stage too.

Day 3 was good which meant I was out running around the forest for the first half of the day. The new character that I've been considering introducing to the work is the Green Man or a wood spirit. I made a beard out of pieces of organza fabric shaped like leaves and sewn together. I had this over my face and having to run between the camera and where I was posing or standing meant that either I wasn't able to breath right or I'm massively unfit or both, anyway I don't know if I'll be using the images that I captured in the current series of work. I might/probably will use the character in the current body but the overall composition of the photographs from the residency are a little too brightly light to sit with what I'm currently doing.


The view from the front door and, for some reason, my hand


Later in the day I was back in the studio working on a few quick sketches in watercolour of the Green Man working from some of the photos taken that morning and that night we all gathered in the sitting room and the writers read some of their work to the group.

On the fourth day I got a drawing for a new painting very close to finished, while I will use it as a painting it won't be one for Sligo as I have a few more planned to do for that show. I also spent some time putting together a write up to send to Visual Artist Ireland for the exhibition at The Hyde Bridge Gallery in Sligo.

Sunday was a slow day for work, I did 2 small watercolour sketches but most of the day was spent in the kitchen with the everyone because almost half the group were leaving so we were just sitting around chatting and by the time we got back to our studios and rooms it was nearly time for dinner at 7pm and then we ended up talking more afterwards.

Monday was my last day and similar to Sunday it was spent talking. There was also a big turn over in residents at the centre and I met new writers just before leaving Monday evening.

I really enjoyed my time at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. For my final year on the MFA I aimed to complete 1 painting per week and I have kept that momentum up. Going to Monaghan gave me a chance to get some new preliminary drawings to work up into paintings later, I also got to work on a potentially new character for the paintings. It was really good to hear the different authors talk about and read out their work too.