As we prepare for our annual trips to schools across the United States we can't help but get excited for another fun summer. Below is a list of fairs we will be attending this winter, the first of which happen this week in New York. These events are a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Cow House from directors Rosie and Frank. Additionally, if you see that we are going to be near you we would be happy to schedule a home visit.

California
Westridge School, Pasadena, CA: Sat. February 2, 2013, 10am – 3pm
Marymount High School, Los Angeles, CA: Sun. February 3, 2013, 11am – 2pm

Connecticut
Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT: Wed. January 30, 2013, 6pm - 9pm
Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT: Sun. February 17, 2013 11am – 1pm

Massachusetts
Philips Academy, Andover: Sun. January 20, 2013, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Newton South High School, Newton: Mon. February 4, 2013, 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Missouri
John Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO: Sat. January 26, 2013, 10am - 3pm

New Jersey
Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ: Wed. January 16, 2013, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Moorestown Friends School, Moorestown ,NJ: Sat. February 2, 2013, 11:30am – 3:00pm

New York
Roslyn High School, Roslyn, NY: Tues. November 27, 2012, 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, NY: Wed. November 28, 2012, 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Rye Country Day School, Westchester, NY: Wed. Sun. January 13, from 1pm - 4pm

Pennsylvania
The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA: Sun. January 13, 2013, 2:30pm – 5:00pm
Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, PA: Mon. February 11, 2013, 5:30pm – 8:00pm

We just recently posted a gallery of artwork made by our students during Art on the Farm this past summer. In their three weeks on the farm students have the opportunity to explore drawing, painting and photography, focusing on their own interests, informed by their time in Ireland. Everyone produced some very strong work, and as you’ll see, represent a variety of media, styles, interests and approaches. Painting above by Romy Stein.

View the gallery here...

The Line Between is a group exhibition by 2011 Cow House residency artists Antony Clarkson (UK), Sabina Mac Mahon (Ireland), Shiro Masuyama (Japan), and Hilary Wilder (USA). Their work is presently on view at the Wexford Arts Centre, and will also travel to Monster Truck Gallery and Studios in Dublin.

Saturday, 6th October at 4pm - Co Director Frank Abruzzese will host a talk with the exhibiting artists on the works in-situ at Wexford Arts Centre and their practices.

Friday, 12th October - Opening reception at Monster Truck Gallery and Studios. Work will be on view from Saturday, 13th October to Saturday, 3rd November.

It was just yesterday we said goodbye to everyone from session 3, and its hard to believe the summer has come to an end. We had an incredibly productive week, and it's safe to say we set a record for the greatest number of large scale paintings and drawings. Every square inch of the studio was in use during the final days, and it was truly a pleasure to see all the work produced in our final critique.

We would like to especially thank our four visiting artists Devra, Nora, Rachel and Sarah for all their hard work, generosity and excellent teaching. The summer would not have been the same without you, and your dedication to all our students led to some truly remarkable work.

As we look back fondly on all the good times, great art and new friendships we wish everyone the best in the new school year, and hope to see many of you this winter at one of our reunions. You can see the new photos here…

Cow House directors Rosie O’Gorman and Frank Abruzzese have recently been featured on the new website Studio Beat. Studio Beat was co founded by recent visiting artist Rachel MacFarlane, and will feature new artists every week. In their words...

Studio Beat is about artists and their spaces. It’s about their process, practice and idiosyncrasies. It’s about art studios as an extension of the art itself. It’s a collection of unintentional installations and a visual diary of creativity. It’s not a review or a critique. It’s a journalistic exploration of natural habitats.

You can find both articles here...

This past week started with some life drawing and everyone working hard in the studio preparing for our first critique. It was wonderful to see the amount of quality work everyone produced. Nights were filled with artist talks by Nora, Devra, Sarah and Rachel, and we still found time to watch a couple movies.

Our three day trip to Cork started with a visit to Blarney Castle where everyone had a chance to kiss the famous stone granting the gift of gab. After a walk around the beautiful grounds we headed to the English Market in Cork City for a delicious meal at the Farm Gate Cafe. Other highlights included some shopping in the city center, a visit to the Sean Keating exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery, and an evening screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Our second day out west took us to Cape Clear Island, Ireland's most southernly point. After settling in to our homey seaside accommodation we headed out for a walk to take in the beautiful scenery. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and exploring the enchanting island. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Frank, Devra, Nora and Rachel that evening, including fresh local vegetables and cheeses from the English Market and pan fried mackerel caught just a day before our arrival.

On our final day we visited Liss Ard estate where we had the opportunity to experience The Irish Sky Garden, a land art work by James Turrell. We arrived back at Cow House late that evening, and everyone was happy to settle back in and enjoy the next morning off. The week has started with everyone working hard on their personal projects, and we can hardly wait to see what everyone produces in their final week. You can see our updated gallery here…

In our last week everyone was hard at work on their final projects. There was hardly a moment during the long days and nights where the studio wasn't busy with students painting, drawing or printing in the darkroom. In our final critique it was clear everyone had made a sincere effort to find their own interests and really push themselves to produce some wonderful work. We still managed to find time to enjoy the beautiful weather swimming and fishing at the pond. We really look forward to seeing many of you this winter, and hope you all have a wonderful end to your summer. You can look at our updated photos here.

Our second week begin with two life drawing sessions that proved both challenging and very rewarding. A critique on Tuesday night gave everyone a chance to show their work, the walls were jam packed with drawings, prints from the darkroom, collages and watercolours.

On Wednesday morning we headed West. We stopped at many scenic spots including Inch beach and an elegant 1200 year old church at Gallarus before making it to our hostel on the beautiful Dingle peninsula. The next day a tour of Ross castle provided insight into the life of an Irish Chiefain, and a stop at Muckross Abbey offered a haunting spot to photograph. That evening everyone was treated to live music at Kate Kearny’s cottage at the Gap of Dunloe before hiking up the mountain to see a spectacular sunset.

The last day out west was spent at Skellig Michael, a 6th century monastery located on the peak of a rocky island off the coast of Kerry. It was quite a pilgrimage, rewarded by beautiful sunshine, views of the Atlantic and thousands of puffins.

Now back at the studio, every is getting stuck into their final projects. We are excited to see the work develop this week. You can see the updated gallery here.

The first week of our second session has been jam packed. After some fun group activities everyone got stuck into a variety of different projects; building their own camera obscura, creating collages, printing in the darkroom and making watercolours. There have also been many early morning bike rides, playtime with the dogs in the sunshine and plenty of chatter around the dinner table.

Highlights of our trip to Dublin included a talk by artist Damien Flood at the Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, a visit to the Douglas Hyde Gallery and a walking tour of the city centre with our charismatic guide Lorcan. Everyone also had plenty of time for shopping and photographs in between the showers of rain.

On Sunday morning our one minute sculpture project based on the work of Erwin Wurm saw everyone working together to generate some fantastic sculptures. Now as the sunshines today everyone is looking forward to seeing new sights and places during our upcoming trip to the west of Ireland. Be sure to check out our new gallery here.

Our final week was spent hard at work in the studio. We were amazed by everyones dedication to their final projects, and this was evident in the work produced. We were treated to some wonderful paintings, drawings, photographs and even a few installations. We wish everyone the best for the rest of the summer, and hope to see many of you when we travel this winter. You can look at our updated photos here.

Our second week of Art on the Farm started with everyone continuing their hard work in the studio. Rachel's drawing marathon, Nora's narrative project and the two life drawing sessions provided us with plenty of great work to talk about during our critique.

We spent three fantastic days out west, starting in the Burren, Co. Clare. This surreal limestone landscape is home to many flower species, some found in only a hand-full of locations around the world. Other spots on our first day included the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a 5000 year old portal tomb and the Cliffs of Moher.

On our second day we took a ferry to Inismór where we enjoyed the warm sunshine on our bike ride across the island. After some time on the beach photographing jellyfish and getting stuck in the sand we hiked to Dún Aonghasa, a stunning ring fort on the edge of a sheer cliff.

Our final day out west was spent visiting the charming city of Galway where we spent a few hours enjoying some delicious food and shopping before heading back to the Cow House.

Now that we're back on the farm everyone has begun work on Devra's collage project, and their own final projects. We're really looking forward to seeing what everyone creates over the next week. You can have a look at the updated album here.

We are pleased to announce the 2012 residency artists. Colin Matthes (USA), Lois Patino (Spain), Marc Horowitz (USA) and Susie Tarnowicz (USA) will take up residence at the Cow House from September 16 until November 25, 2012. During the autumn of 2013 all four artists will exhibit new work at both Wexford Arts Centre and Monster Truck Gallery in Dublin.

Images above are from left to right video still Into the Origin by Lois Patino, performance The Recessionator by Marc Horowitz, top right Rising Water Improvised Rescue Device by Colin Matthes, and bottom right mantlepiece setup by Susie Tarnowicz.

You can read more about this years residency artists here.

Over the next few weeks we will be adding a new mezzanine to the Cow House. This addition will add permanent, self contained studio space for both our residency artists and students. Beginning the work of putting up the new structure has sparked some memories of when we first began renovations six years ago. We have just added a gallery of photographs taken during this two year process. Looking back at these images reminds us of all the excited anticipation and hard work that filled our days, and back then we could have never imagined a better first five years. You can view the new gallery here...

We have just added a gallery of work created by our residency artists from the 2011 programme. You may view the images here. Pictured from top to bottom, left to right are relics from 'Longevity, if not Immortality' by Sabina Mac Mahon, Removing obstacles of relationships by Shiro Masuyama, Self Portrait with Jenga by Antony Clarkson and TheViking’s Skiff by Hilary Wilder.

We are pleased to announce our 2012 visiting artists Devra Fox, Nora Rodriguez, Rachael MacFarlane and Sarah Hearn. During the programme they will run workshops, give individual tutorials and speak about their own creative process. This provides our students for Art on the Farm a great opportunity to work with and learn from dedicated and talented artists. For more examples of their work please click here.

Devra will receive her BFA from Bard college this year. A common theme that emerges in her practice is growth and deterioration in connection with the human body and nature. She seeks parallels, such as the correlation between the stemming of human veins and branches of a tree, and an overarching connectedness present between our bodies and nature.

Nora received her BA in Visual Art and Art History from Columbia University in 2011. She has taught at the Oxbow School in Napa, CA, Philips Academy, Andover MA and the De Young Museum in San Francisco, CA. Her recent work has been on paper in ink and pencil, and addresses sign systems, primarily personal and cultural symbols which express subjectivity.

Rachel received her BA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2008. She has been working as a technician and mentor at her alma mater, offering technical demonstrations, artist talks and individual critiques.Her work uses maquettes made of found refuse to serve as references for painted worlds that fall somewhere between mimetic representation and abstraction.

Sarah received her BFA from the College of Santa Fe in 2001 and her MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010, and currently lives and teaches in Oklahoma City. Her recent work, An Unnatural History, is an installation that inhabits the space between the continuously shifting realms of science, pseudoscience and science fiction, documenting the (fictional) discovery of a taxonomy of marine life.

This year we welcomed back a group from The Agnes Irwin School for a second session of their SSP program focusing on drawing, photography, and the history and culture of Ireland.

Their time was jam packed and fun filled. Some of our activities included a three day trip to Dublin where we visited Kilmainham Gaol, Fire Station Artist Studios and the Royal Hibernian Academy. A day trip in Wexford was highlighted by a visit to Hook Head to see the oldest continuously operational lighthouse in the world, a ramble through the picturesque Tintern Abbey and a tour of the Dunbrody famine ship. Back at the Cow House the girls were treated to an evening of traditional Irish stories by story teller Jack Lynch, an artist talk by local artist Kate Murphy, and an exchange with students from Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School.

In the studio everyone worked diligently through drawing, photography and bookmaking workshops, culminating in some wonderful handmade books. The nighttime photograph above by Margee Howell was taken during our night photo workshop. Amidst all the hard work lots of time was still found to play with the dogs, cycle and jog around the block, and to celebrate two birthdays!

This was our first group with our new baby boy Michael, and we couldn't have asked for a more kind, thoughtful and warm hearted group of girls to share it with. The two weeks seemed to just fly by, and we really look forward to catching up with everyone this winter. We would like to especially thank Keri Farrow for all her hard work in putting the trip together, and look forward to another great trip in 2014! You can have a look at images from the trip here.