St Patricks Day 2012

St Patricks Day 2012

Romantic Ireland: From The Streets’

This video is a brilliant video to show how local artists got together to create an exhibition and an artistic response.

Romantic Ireland: From The Streets’ was  hung at Anglo Irish HQ, North Wall Quay, Dublin. The reason for this was that Anglo Irish Bank was a central player in the madness that has went on in this country in recent years. This site was an exceptionally appropriate and evocative symbol of the audacity shown in the previous 20 years and the results of that audacity. The feeling behind was that we own this building through NAMA therefore they didn’t seek permission to use it as nobody sought permission to spend our taxes on private debt.

‘September 1913’ is a century old acceptable and relevant comment on the effect of greed on the ideals of a nation. On St. Patrick’s Day the world is watching us celebrate artistically. It seems appropriate to display an artistic response on this day that shows we’re also capable of a bit of reflection.

The exhibition was an artistic response. It was part of a wider ongoing discussion around ideas of sovereignty and nationhood. Was it always like this? Are ordinary people consistently sold a lie for the benefit of a relatively small group of people? It has the potential to establish a starting point for a different discussion on Ireland. Is there a place for idealism? Is it a romantic notion? Is idealism interchangeable with naivety? What does it mean to be Irish? What is the relationship between the economy and being Irish? Or the economy and sovereignty or being Irish and sovereignty? We were in the exact same place 100 years ago. The exhibition is a statement of a few things, one of which is that there are many people who never lost the run of themselves over the course of the economic ‘boom’. These people are still here. While the only discussion about Ireland to be heard is about the economy, this exhibition concerns what’s best in being Irish — Creativity, Self reliance, Community.

It was done for free by all participants.
It is a gift to the state

Artist of the Week!

This weeks artist of the week is a Donegal artist, called Sharon McDaid.  She works in a variety of media and is inspired by the surroundings of her native Inishowen. Her works convey life in Donegal and the diversity of the landscape.

She uses such a lovely arrangements of colours and shapes to make really interesting and quirky compositions of sheep, birds, people and landscapes. The colours are sometimes harmonious but in others she uses a range of contrasting colours which explode on the canvas to create really exciting pieces of work. She uses mostly oil on canvas and is now regarded as one of the emerging talents in Irish Contemporary painting.

You can find out more about her work at her website: http://www.sharonmcdaid.com/ .

Doodle for Google

A huge congratulations is due to Patrick Horan on winning the 2012 Doodle for Google competition. This is a competition that we have entered in the past with many regional finalists and two national finalist over the past 2 years.

Patrick is 18-years old and spent almost two months brainstorming, sketching and tweaking his artistic creation that is splayed across the Google Ireland homepage today. Speaking yesterday evening, Patrick said he got a bit of a shock when his name was called out at Google’s Dublin HQ on Monday as the winner of the 2012 Doodle 4 Google in Ireland.

He was up against 75 other finalists in Google’s fourth Doodle 4 Google competition at the awards ceremony last Monday, but it was his creation that depicts turning back time and wishful thinking which captivated the discerning eyes of the judges in the end.

Hailing from Clonlara in Co Clare, Horan is a sixth-year student at St Munchin’s College in Limerick. It’s the second time a student from St Muchin’s has scooped the Doodle 4 Google accolade. Back in 2009, Evan O’Sullivan Glynn won the very first Doodle 4 Google competition in Ireland.

So well done Patrick, I am sure your art teacher and school are very proud!

Artist of the Week!

Each week I will be posting a new inspiring artist for you to see. They will be a mix of the old masters and contemporary artists.

This weeks artist or should I say artists, are Michael Kelly and Johnny Kelly. They  are two brothers from Dublin, who work separately and sometimes together. They are exceptional.

You can see some of Johnnys work at this site: http://vimeo.com/johnnykelly. His most recent animation is the Chipotle Mexican Grill  ‘Back to the Start’ piece that has gone viral on Facebook recently. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfSGt6rHos  and the making of this animation can be seen here: http://vimeo.com/28349065. It really is worth a look to see how much work goes into pieces like this.

Enjoy!

News!

Please keep an eye on the NEWS tab up above as there are lots of interesting posts coming in the very near future.

At the minute there are photos of the fantastic production of ‘Back to the 80s’ musical in which the art department designed the sets.

There are also some lovely photos of our present 3rd year students designing greeting cards for me to take over to Ethiopia last year as part of the Bonga Banana Art programme. This programme helps young women to create a sustainable living for themselves and their families. Miss O’ Donnell came out with me to help with her skills which were greatly needed and appreciated! There are many photos of our time spent there and of the other programmes which we were involved in.

Art History revision course

The 6th Year students are attending an Art History revision course tomorrow the 12th of March in the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny. It has been organised by the Donegal Art Teachers Association . We would like to thank Donna Mac Grory in advance for all her hard work in organising this event for the students.

Welcome to the Rosses Community School Art Department

Here at the Rosses Community School, the subject of Art, Craft and Design has an important role to play in the curriculum.

 

It encourages creativity, visual awareness, manual skills, lateral thinking, problem solving and activities of the right brain hemisphere – that side of the brain which is intuitive, artistic and creative. 

The Art Department believes that art contributes to the personal development of the individual. Through its study the student will realize the vocational significance of Art in their lives and in that of their communities.

Our main aim is to develop Visual Literacy in other words the ability to think in terms of a visual language. We believe everyone has the capacity to be creative. Creativity is not limited to the chosen few any more than learning is in another subject. 

Art, Craft and Design is an option subject at the Rosses Community School and is a very popular choice among students.