The Autumn weather is changing and the leaves are starting to turn those gorgeous colours of yellow and orange as we head rapidly towards Solstice in Ireland also know as Halloween.
Samhain is an ancient Gaelic harvest festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Celebrated from the evening of October 31 to November 1, it stands as the direct historical root of modern Halloween. In September, I love to walk in the forests and parks near me and marvel at the wonderful colours of the trees as they transition from green leaves through yellows and browns to bright orange as they fall. There is something wonderful about walking through fallen crisp leaves on a path in Autumn. I think it’s my favourite time of year in Ireland, a transitional time before that biting cold winter lands. Our celtic ancestors believed that the veil between our worlds thinned at this time of the year, it’s an intriguing thought and I always enjoy the festivities of Halloween. The sights, sounds and colours make Autumn our most colourful time of year and the best time to go out into the forests and marvel at the beauty of trees.
I am busy at the moment creating new work in my studio in Rathfarnham but i took time out to attend The “In Hand” festival last weekend in county Wicklow. It was really wonderful to experience all the ancient crafts in one special place at Grennan Maze. You meet such incredible artists and crafts people who really have the knowledge to share. I returned to bronze casting again this year and created a couple more new small pieces. It’s an amazing process using sand to cast objects and this year I carved a salmon from special casting foam. When you sand cast the foam object with liquid bronze, the foam evaporates leaving space for the object to be cast in metal. I also got to try my hand at Arc Welding which I had done before but its good to reaffirm these types of skills when you haven’t used them in a while. I plan to do more experimentation with steel in the future to incorporate it into my practice.
Below is a process shot of a new piece of work drying out. Its a scene from last summer which i really enjoyed carving into clay.
Leave a comment