Its been a long yr with Several tragic losses in the autumn of 09 which catapulted me into emotionally engaging on a much deeper level  with my work in painting,drawing,ceramics and history.

The beginning of the year was very shaky and the work reflected it, but after mid term i returned to work and pulled together enough to achieve respectable results for the end of first term.

During the Christmas holidays we had the hardest winter we’ve had in a long time, Snow which melted and refroze for weeks so there were lots of fires and eating as much as one could muster, which was easy in the center of town…In January the  50mile drive to sligo through the mountains and valleys got lighter as the sun came up earlier and i frenzied myself with enumerable small paintings and drawings as i was prone to put too much into each piece, making lots of small works allowed me the freedom to explore many options while keeping the work uncluttered.

Still haven’t gotten around to properly photographing my work yet. there is just too much gardening and getting ready for barbeque season to be doing with…however

lots of this work poured out of me and it was a truly healing experience in that somehow a door had opened and i literally flung myself wholeheartedly out there into expressing  with renued vigor and a completely new sense of freedom.

spring finally began to appear as the last term approached and the easter holidays brought time to reflect… the final term was short and the weather was good so far. Works got bigger and i played my way through the term with relative ease, concentrating on particulars and narrowing my focus.

Im happy with all my work so far and delighted with a lot of it so its pretty great in my shoes right now.

Just remembered the kiln story.the kiln is still sitting in the she waiting to be wired up…a whole other story which will hopefully be resolved this summer….in the meantime i am thoroughly pleased with my ceramics for the year, not as much work as before but reflects more concentrated focus.

What can i say         Aint life grand!

I retold the story continuously to all my friends as one does…and lo and behold Joan Walsh..a singer songwriter friend here in town mentioned that her friend had a free to a good home kiln for offer to anyone willing to come and get it!

So connections were made and William lucey my neighbour…A wonderfully talented carpenter/cabinet maker, who had a van offered to collect it,

So yesterday William, Damien from  Jampa ling , Tibetian Buddhist centre in Co Cavan, and myself headed off to Terenure in Dublin with ropes, tools of all descriptions and had lunch with Adelaide, a dear long term friend who works as an assistant head gardener in farmleigh house in the pheonix park and consequently is used to lifting heavy weights.

Therefore she made up the 4th person we needed to manually move this one ton kiln.

Waiting in the corner of  Ri,s shed…looks pretty innocent but believe me it was a job and a half….

The problem was not only the weight which was top heavy, but there was literally 2mm spare space when we had removed the door and left side of the frame which had been put back with wall bolts when the kiln originally came into the current space. naturally…sods law! the bolts were impossible to get out…

 The frame was miraculously removed undamaged…thank you Damien & William for your practical solution skills! and this massive weight was lowered onto its back, with some great team work using ropes a chair( yes a chair!!) and 4 strong backs!

Then of course it was dragged through the frame and precariously down two steps to the alley using the door as a ramp….there were a couple of hairy moments when the weight took over the momentum and gave us quite a scare…but finally it slid into the van….phew….half way there!

William lucey who remained calm and smiling throughout all difficulties on the day having had only 4 hours sleep!

working out how to remove the doorframe undamaged.

    Making sure i remember the connections, as there was  only 2mm to spare, they had to be severed.

At last it waits to be put into the van and driven the 120 miles home.

Thanks to Adelaide, William, Damien for all your wonderful help, patience , perseverance and for being such good friends….and to Ri of course for kindly and generously donating the kiln which will when repaired (hopefully only some of the elements need replacing) be a wonderful asset to my degree yr and the start of my career as a ceramic artist…..

The kiln story will be continued……………………………

Anyway ive been in Art college now for 2 years and looking forward to my degree yr next yr. i manage to work at home as im lucky to have spaces available and am slooowly working twards getting the shed converted so i can work with ceramics and sculpture in there, which will give me more freedom to build big. luckily a friend of a friend donated a small kiln and i look forward to getting it up and running soon, after some repair as the expence of materials and renovating space is horrendous but with time and patience ill get there….so share the joy of my dream and take a look around……..leave a comment if you want……thanks…Brendan.

The shed! looks not too bad after removing 2 huge skips full of junk/rubbish, a few trees, lots of nettles, repairing rotten guttering and roof timber…..at least it doesnt leak anymore!! if only i had loads of money! never mind as i have time and creativity..it will all come together.

Ceramics studio, up a lot of stairs…good exercise and a great view…its amazing how the carpet stays clean!

Paint studio..downstairs thank god!

Paint studio, other side….Thanks for watching!……Brendan.