Happy New Year to all readers, 2021 crept in quietly here in Ireland, we rang in the New Year in our own homes with our direct family. It’s been a year of incredible losses especially my dear Mother in Law Pauline who was taken from us in March. Her love of her family most especially and her love of her garden with it’s unusual plants and flowers has always inspired me.
2020 we had no idea how simple a touch or a hug or a hand holding was until the year we were told we couldn’t do this. I really miss sitting close to people I love who I don’t live with, sharing a quiet chat, going to a swimming pool, going to the cinema, sharing a table in a restaurant and feeling relaxed. For me as an artist I had more time to create and produce new work , I was lucky I had my studio in my garden and could work independently and produce work, this kept me busy and I am grateful for that. I was also incredibly lucky to have been awarded two Grants from my local Council Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown https://www.dlrcoco.ie/en/dlr-arts I created new work “Natures Window” up in the hills beside my home , see more information on this installation in this blog post – https://andreaceramicsdotcom.wordpress.com/2020/10/19/ceramic-sculptures-installation-natures-window/
2020 was also the year I was chosen to create new porcelain ceramic work for Sculpture in Context 2020 – “Floral Portals” was created for The Botanic Gardens in Dublin and instead had to contend with hanging in my back garden under an exposed metal parasol ! Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. We had the opportunity to video the work and send it out but I really would love to see this work hung the way I had envisaged it hanging over the raised bed in the beautifully restored Alpine House , maybe one day 🙂
2020 was also the Year I was selected to exhibit with Ceramic Ireland in the wonderful Farmleigh Gallery, what an experience that was! I was incredibly humbled to have my work exhibited in such amazingly talented company. My large hanging piece “Cascade” was curated so well by Tina and Elaine at Ceramics Ireland and hopefully all the work in “Land/Marks” will get another showing this year due to its early closing.
I am a member of the artists collective ArtnetDLR and it has been a good year for the group, we may yet have a home in 2021 to exhibit our work, fingers crossed. We had to contend with online exhibitions only this year and I was successful in a number of these. I am currently working with the very talented Anne Curran on a collaboration for this year “ Metamorphosis “ , watch this space.
I finished off the year of 2020, by exhibiting in the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon County Clare in their Winter Open exhibition. https://thecourthousegallery.com/item/676-winter-exhibitions What a wonderful gallery and I am sorry to have not been able to get to see it myself, the plans of mice and men … As of writing it’s still open but online only as Galleries had to close recently. My piece “Sea Drift I” 18cm x 22 cm is still available.
Andrea Kavanagh 