Art on the Farm 2019: Final Update
It has been just a few short days since the end of the first session of our summer program Art on the Farm and we’re missing the group already. We’ve had great fun looking back on all the pictures and can’t wait to share the wonderful art that was made, especially the fantastic personal projects from the final two weeks. It was clear by the end that really strong friendships developed. We have no doubt people will stay in touch long after the summer months have passed.
After our trip to Kilkenny, the group was refreshed and ready for new challenges in the studio. We were quickly back into the swing of things with a morning life drawing session where after a few quick studies, students were able to work on some longer poses. In the afternoon we introduced the personal project assignment where our students have an opportunity to work on a more self directed project.
After a few days finding their feet with their projects it was time for a well deserved break. Time away from the studio is essential to gain perspective on efforts made in the studio. Its also a fantastic opportunity for photography and new media students to document places away from the studio and farm. For three days we traveled to Galway and Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands off Ireland’s west coast.
Incredible weather greeted us in Galway City where we soaked up the buzz with the annual Galway Arts festival running. We had a visit with photographer Ruby Wallis in her studio at Engage Art Studios where we also had an opportunity to view an exhibition by Blaise Drummond in their new exhibition space. After free time shopping and dinner, we finished of the evening at the cinema.
The following day we took the ferry to Inis Mór. After checking into our beachside hostel we rented bikes and cycled across the island. The weather was glorious, giving us the opportunity to examine the sea-life in the rock pools, take a dip in the cool Atlantic and hike up to Dún Aonghasa, a Bronze Age fort dramatically situated on the top of a spectacular cliffside.
Back on the mainland the following day, before our return to Cow House, we stopped in Galway to see an incredible exhibition by Sam Jinks who creates uncanny, remarkable realistic figurative sculptures. The trip was a great success and everyone returned to the studio ready for the final push on their personal projects.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the way our first session of the summer program ended. Not only did everyone work extremely hard, there was a wonderful sense of community. Everyone supported each other through the process of making and in the final critique. We are extremely proud of the work that was made and the friendships formed. We just recently posted a bunch of photos from our last couple weeks.
