Things have been getting really crazy here at the midpoint of the semester. I've been continuing work on my "cult" painting series, collecting research for my paintings and my thesis, traveling back and forth to Galway for the use of the NUIG library, reading voraciously, attending classes and also trying to function as a human being in between. It's been busy, but that's what grad school should be, and I kind of love it. One of the highlights of the last few weeks was an AMAZING package my parents sent to me, full of all sorts of treats and comforts from home. One very special surprise though, was a beautiful little Ironbound pillow that my cousins, Carl and Anna made. It was filled with fir balsam needles from Maine. I miss the island constantly, and have been wishing for a long time that I had some kind of fir balsam sachet to smell when I get homesick. This gift could not have been more perfect and more loved. I was also greatly moved by the chocolate and multiple sticks of Burts Bees that were loaded into the box. So great.
This is the pillow. Newtown Castle is behind it.
The days are getting longer, and the weather is getting nicer…sort of. Rain and hail are still a normal part of daily vocabulary, but the moments of sunlight are stretching for longer periods of time and with greater intensity. I've come to love Ireland in all weather, though, and appreciate its beauty during violent hailstorms as well as the typical rainbow-sun-light breeze-type of weather.
I took this above picture on my walk home from school one day when it had stopped raining long enough to justify a long, scenic route home. These gravestones were made by a student at my school years ago as a kind of famine memorial. They're displayed in the church yard. I think they're beautiful.
It snowed! Very briefly, and it didn't stick, but seriously, this is extremely rare in this part of Ireland. It was amazing to see snow and not hail. After following the news about the snowstorms that have been slamming all of our family back home, we were thrilled to experience even the tiniest sliver of action here.
A typical rainy weekend spent in the studio. This is what I see out the window while I wait for the kettle to boil. Not terribly exotic, but I know I'll miss it one day.
There was a Welsh music festival in town last weekend. It's a tradition that happens annually as a way to honor a Welsh musician who got engaged in Ballyvaughan years ago. Shortly after getting married, he died tragically, and to honor his memory, his wife got together a group of their musician friends to come to Ballyvaughan and play a few trad sessions in the pub where they got engaged. Somehow word got out to musicians all over Ireland and the UK, and now it's become a massive annual event, with traditional musicians flocking from all over to play music in our tiny town. There were trad sessions in every pub, some pubs had multiple ones going on, with as many as 40 musicians in a single pub. I've never seen the town so full of energy. It was really intoxicating.
I was walking to Spar for some bread and milk and thought that this little house looked extra beautiful at that moment. The shadow was really nice. This yellow door always makes me happy.
So much music
This is the hill behind school. This is our view from the school cafe.
There are horses on the hill. They're super friendly.
Some hour-long studies I've been working on in between my cult series paintings. Painting skulls really helps with portraiture, I've been finding.
A glimpse of the studio.
I didn't watch the SuperBowl, but thanks to the internet, I did get to see this commercial and just had to gush for a brief moment. I wouldn't think that a 60-second clip of film could inspire me so deeply and fill me with such pride for my home country, but I've been whistling (and sometimes even singing) "America the Beautiful" on my walks home ever since…I don't think the sheep mind too much.
I found this commercial to be such a beautiful celebration of everything it means to call oneself an American: this idea of human beings from all across the globe coming together to form a new society, united by their shared love of freedom, hope, and equality. As much as I love experiencing life in the country of my heritage, and as much as I think can be changed in the United States for the better, and as happy as I would be living in Munich, eating German food for the rest of my life, there is something so profoundly beautiful about the melting pot that is America, and watching this clip reminded me of how proud I am to identify this nation as my home. Absolutely beautiful.
Although I should mention, unfortunately, that Coke products do taste noticably better here in Ireland. I think it's the lack of corn syrup. One more little thing America could improve on.
