I've done a few posts already about my love for Tiki designs. Its been one of my most popular posts ever, here on my wee blog. (See here!). So when the theme of this years Feile na Bealtaine parade was announced, as 'Masks', I knew immediately what I wanted to do.
For a few years now, I have worked with the local boy's school here in Dingle, designing and making their Feile parade costumes and props. I thought the theme of Tiki masks would suit the boys down to the ground.
Had a cracking time at the Kenmare Lace Festival! Met up with some lovely lace makers, some I knew already, some I never met before. Above is a pic of my bobbin lace, made in a workshop taught by amazing lacemaker Ann Keller. I am now fascinated with bobbin lace, especially with the use of metallic threads in bobbin lace. Oh, all nice and shiny! I know Textile Support in Italy runs these kind of courses. I wonder...
Only a Kerry island can offer what Valentia Isle Festival offered. The most fantastic location, facing the Atlantic, with distant view of the Skellig islands. Its one of my favourite things about Kerry. So much sky! Getting to spend a few days sitting out in sunshine, watching fluffy clouds roll by.
I haven't finished unpacking the car, and I'm not going to bother. Instead I'm going to pack it up again, because I'm off to the Valentia Isle Festival!!
Today I did a whirlwind trip down to Valentia with fellow festival crafter, Pat Lawless. To do a site visit and confirm up last min details for a craft village. So, we're on folks!
Everyone was invited to write their ideas, hopes and dreams of the future on postcards and the walls.
I'd written a very brief post about an upcoming Fís/Imagine Corca Dhuibhne (see here) - An instillation by Transition Towns Corca Dhuibhne in a derelict building for our Arts festival, Feile na Bealtaine.
Fís Corca Dhuibhne opened its doors on Thursday, the beginning of the festival, and quickly became the highlight of the festival. I know I'm a bit biased, being one of the participants, but it truly was a magnificent project, and a perfect example of transition towns ethics. People coming together, to share ideas, work, and possibilities of the future.
Stones and sods were gathered from all over the peninsula. I had to quickly do up the 'Please step on the grass sign' as people were not stepping on the grass
As part of Feile na Bealtaine, I'm also organising an Open Day in our newly formed Goat Street Studios! (Thats where I should be, now, tidying up, so I'll keep this short)
Drop into the newly formed Goat Street Studios on the 5th of May, 3pm-6pm
Lots of art activities for all the
family.
‘Doodle for Dingle’, an art competition for kids.
Art &
craft demonstrations.
A history of the studios and the artists involved.
It's been all go since I got back from Italy, because Feile na Bealtaine takes place, this coming weekend! I've been busy out making props for the parade, and also for Fís Chorca Dhuibhne. An incredible project brought to you by Transition Towns Corca Dhuibhne.
We have, basically, taken over a derelict building, and with the help of over 50 local artists, poets, gardeners and general fantastic hardworkers, transformed the inside of the building! More info below...
I'll be doing a Plarn workshop on Friday, 2nd May, at 3pm, part of Fís Chorca Dhuibhne.
In this workshop, I'll be showing how to recycle those horrible plastic bags, turning them from rubbish, to yarn. For the past 3 years, I have been hoarding nearly every plastic bag that has come into my house, and am now about to embark on an ambitious plarn lace project. For those of you who can crochet, I'll be showing how to make Irish Crochet Lace from plarn. This workshop is free.
Have spent the week unpacking and sorting after last Sundays Harvest Picnic, I had to catch up on housewifey/motherly duties. On wet and windy days, trying to amuse the child, in a non electronic way, can be tough. But sometimes the simplest ideas, the old ideas, are still the best. Remember these?
I made several of these with the child and his friends, and in doing so made several observations. Making these requires making clean folds, and, therefore,concentration. Precise folds, the essence of origami, are a great indicator of hand/eye concentration, and well, simple listening skills. Its also about simplifying moves. Make a wrong fold and the paper permanently creased, wont work as well. It took making a few before the kids got it; that slow precise moves were better than fast rough ones. However they got well stuck in, becoming more precise with each one. Using them is also incredibly good for dexterity of the fingers, at first they couldn't use them, but after about 10mins, they were pros.
We all wrote different things inside them, and, funnily enough, mine was the rudest. I wrote things in it like you're a smelly pants, the worst thing the kids wrote was 'bad luck'.. but that will probably change once I'm out of range...I'll probably be able to get another week out of these before I have to come up with something else, 'from the old days, back when I was a kid' as the kids refer to my childhood.
We're off today to another Harvest Picnic! Transition Kerry are hosting their foody day, and well, they are pros. Incredibly well organised, efficient, and downright revolutionary in their action plans. A fantastic group, and some lovely people. It'll be a fun afternoon.
Incredible! That is the only way to describe the day that was the Dingle Harvest Picnic. We had sunshine, kids on bikes, chilled out parents, workshops, talks, and SUNSHINE!! Its amazing what a sunny day does to Irish people these days. It was almost overwhelming, to be able to organise something outdoors, and not have it cancelled or moved because of bad weather...We had an escorted cycle around the marina and town before heading up to the town park for a day of fun and frolics. Talks, workshops, music, and even the match (Del-boy style, a TV on top of a van!)
Tomorrow (well, technically today, I'm up late) the Dingle Harvest Picnic kicks off. This is in association with the Kerry Bicycle Festival, so we'll have fun in motion.
Heres the running order:
11.30am Meet at the maarina for a cycle round town, and then up to the Park
12.30am Bike Maintenance Workshop with Paddys Bike Shop
1pm-2pm BLING BLING! DIY Bike Bling Workshop with me
2pm-3pm Talks on Recycling, Dingle Carnival Band, Kiddies Disco.
3pm The All IReland Final (hopefully. It might be a Del Boy job, with a TV in the back of a van...)
Theres also facepainting, info stands from Dingle Tidy Towns and Transition Towns Corcra Dhuibhne,
Just a quickie to tell yous about the Kerry Bicycle Festival, which starts
this weekend. A fantastic festival thats full of fun, frolics, and..bicycles!
They have a heap of events going on in Tralee, including an event not to be
missed - THE BIG CYCLE! Its a plan to gather over 1000 bikes in Tralee Town
Square, and cycle out to Blennerville. It takes place on 22nd Sept, 3pm, and
ties in with International Car Free Day. Check out their website to see whats
going on www,kerrybicyclefestival.org
I've been helping out with organising, for the first time, an event in
Dingle as part of the Bicycle Festival. A family fun day which includes a cycle
round the town, then up to the park for a Harvest Picnic! It's a joint venture
between the local Transition Towns and the Tidy Towns groups, a chance to show
off the newly cleaned-up park, and spread some eco awareness at the same time.
There'll be lots going on, including music, and maybe even the All Ireland
Final...I'll post up more details over the next week.
I'm on the lookout for anyone with interesting bikes: choppers, highnellys,
unicycles, etc, to come along, show off their bikes. Also, some bike-related
Art, so any interested artists, please get in touch. Some kids arty/crafty
workshops would be great too, volunteers always welcome!!
It'll be jam-packed with fun and bicyclemess...
The car has just been unpacked, and packed again. I'm heading away on a
road trip of sorts for a week or so. I thought I better get a blog post
in before I get embroiled in another project.
The Really Rather Retro Romp Vintage Market and Disco took place last Saturday in McCarthy's Bar, Dingle. And PHEW! it was a long day and night, but a good one. I won't post all the pics here, you can see them either on Facebook or on Flickr
Well, my ranty posts seem to be popular, lots of readers, few emails and some nice chat on Facebook about toughening up. Should moan more often...but no, life's too goddamn short, and the sun is shining. Yes, for several days now the sun has been shining in Ireland, and its so nice to see people going round with smiles on their faces. It just reminds us all what a beautiful country we live in, despite what our politicians get up to. So, I've been offline, tidying up the garden, beach walks, picnics, and making some decorations, that thankfully are drying fast in the sun....Remember I said I was going to give up craft fairs, and doing stuff for free...well, I don't mean to be hypocritical, but I have just one more to do. I know I'm being hypocritical, but I had agreed to this before my rant, so its gotta be done. Anyway its a fun one. I'm making some stuff to help jazz up the marquee of the Brandon Bay Surf Classic. Very cheap, very cheerful, and of course very last minute. I'm thinking bunting, flowers, ribbons, driftwood and maybe a bicycle wheel, we'll see...Yup, its for tomorrow, so gotta get crafting. And I get to try flog my latest obsession, knots. Need to make some money to buy some new string! But thats for another blog post.
The Brandon Bay Surf Classic!
31st March - 1st April 2012
As well as the Surf competition there will be:
Surf Expo - Surf expo will be running from the Marquee with local
shapers and retailers displaying their wares and happy to handle your passing
queries.
Local Arts & Crafts - Mingle with the friendly locals and take the time to view
and enjoy some of the local arts and crafts.
Environmental - Wise up to some of the local and national issues affecting
you and your environment!
Give a little - volunteer and recruit your mates to participate
in the Maharees Annual Beach Cleanup. Drive awareness of how precious and
fragile our coastal regions truly are. It's for the greater good and you're
conscience is guaranteed some Stoke for sure!
Myoilandgas.org
will be present at The Marquee to discuss the issues surrounding the
exploitation of our countries natural resources by Big Oil and other large
commercial interests with no dividend or benefits to Irish Citizens during a
time of National recession. Why are we giving it all away?
Between sick kids, sick me, and sick computer, (hence the
previous “@!”%**&@!” post...), its been hard to get my head around anything
the past few weeks.
So, finally, here are some pics of the 2nd Retro Romp.... (its like a recipe for a good party..)
Lots and lots of Bunting, enough to go round the room a few times...
Enough Paper Roses to decorate, pretty much everywhere...
So, another Retro Romp. Our guest DJs, this time round, are hosts of Galway’s best club night, The Nitty Gritty. They play music aimed at the feet and the dance floor,
loosely vintage, a night of stomping soul, funk, 50s rock’n’roll, early reggae,
rockabilly, swing, original ska, R&B and jump blues. Check them out on Facebook. It's going to be a finger-clicking, foot-stomping rocker of a night!!
For this Romps theme, we were thinking
1950/60's with a bit of love thrown in. Well, it is nearly Valentines...So, how
do we do a loved-up theme with a difference?
All you have to do is imagine going on a date with Tom Waits...
Now you’re talking! A bottle of rum, in a
dark dodgy bar by the docks...
So for our inspiration we could look no
further then Jerry Sailor, (the man, not the brand!).
The Original Jerry
was a sailor and a prominent Americantattooist. Not only did he create
a new form of tattoo design, the style of which is so original it still bears
his name, he also expanded the
array of colours available by developing his own safe pigments. He created
needle formations that embedded pigment with much less trauma to the skin, and
he was one of the first to utilize single-use needles and hospital-quality
sterilization. His attention to detail was so precise that the depiction of rigging
in his nautical tattoos was said to be perfectly accurate. Now
that’s a man dedicated to his craft, and worthy of honour. So,
expect the back room of McCarthy’s to be decked out in sailors hearts, polkadots, a
vintage nautical love-in.
Doing a bit of online research into the
1950's/60's, it’s amazing just how much American tupperware trash comes up. Where the hell is all the European photos,
images, info about the 50s/60s? I know Ireland was pretty grim in
that time, more tenements and Beckett than plastic neon Yankie.
You have to dive deep into the ridiculous mass of crap information about the
perfect housewife, and standard commuter male to uncover the real people of
50s/60s. But I wanted to see the real women, the independent, single, free
ladies. And believe me, doing online research into women is not easy. Frankly it's quite disturbing, but thats another ranty angry post for another day. A quick chat with the folks, and I heard all about Teddy boys. We're all seen one, an old geaser with ducks arse haircut....
So, I started doing a bit of research into
the teddy boys, and I discovered Teddy
girls orJudies. According to http://subcultureslist.com/teddy-girls, “The Teddy Girls were the first
British female youth subculture”.
They are not as well documented as the Teddy
boys, infact,“historically almost
invisible”, apart from a series of photos and an article published in
the 1950’s by Ken Russell. Russell is
more known for having directed movies such as Women in Love, Tommy, but he was a
still photographer in his early
years. What I found very interesting about Teddy girls is that in a lot of articles,
they mention that these girls not only were mostly made up of working class
Londoners, some of them Irish immigrants. Here’s some more of Ken Russells Photos http://www.retronaut.co/2011/09/teddy-girls-1950s/
There is definately more researh to be done there, I've become fascinated by Judies. But, time is short, only 7 DAYs until the next Retro Romp, and lots of decorations yet to be made!!
For those of you who are asking me about what to wear to the Romp (cd prizes for the best dressed!!) and don’t
want to dress as the perfect suburban man and wife, what better than to dress as the misfits, the Teddy
Boys and Girls, the original teenagers. So, come on, let’s hang out, and drink
rum in a dodgy bar in Dingle*...
*Not that McCarthy’s
Bar is a dodgy bar; on the contrary, it is a perfectly fine drinking
establishment, which I highly recommend. Especially on the 10th of February,
9.30pm!
Admission
€8, Tickets from McCarthys and Ré Nua. See you there...
Only 8 days to Halloween!! My favourite time of the year. (And 11 days to the Retro Romp!!) Luckily the Retro Romp ties in with Halloween, or my son wouldn't let me away the with the mess I've been making lately, (and the time I am spending, making the mess). We want some of the stuff we've been making, to be a surprise, so the picture above is a glimpse of some papermache I've been working on. If you pass by my house Halloween night, you might recognise those bones...
I'm really enjoying working on the Retro Romp. I haven't done papermache for years, or painting for that matter, and its nice to get away from woolly things, for a change. (Never thought I would say that!). We've pretty much made all the decor, mostly out of salvaged and recycled materials. What I love about it, is the fact we are trying to bring together some of my favourite things; crafts, music, dancing and people. And I'm working with some wonderful people, who want the same things!!
I've had a few people ask me why are we putting this on? Whats it for? I have an answer, a really good answer that will explain it all and sound really intelligent, deep and artyfarty. When I get my head around the spiel, it is there, I just haven't got the words right yet. And considering I have been up late painting every night, I doubt it'll come to me soon. So, for now I say, fun! Its for fun, do you remember fun, purely and utterly for a fun night, well, music, dancing and people.
My poor blog, I'm still struggling to get the time to update it! Between general life stuff, trying to update The Woolly Way blog, trying to learn how to update the Cork Textiles Network website, a completely distracting yet possibly really exciting venture in Dingle, and now I'll be taking part in Culture Night in Killarney!! I will be hanging out with some fantastic Kerry Crafters on New Market Lane, selling my wares, and even a little bit of demonstrating... Its not officially open from 5pm, but I will be there from about 3pm. I had said I was going to take a break from fairs and markets this year, but since I am still carless, (my lovely mitzi has gone to scrapyard heaven), I am going to sell my crafty soul to raise funds for the vehicle I have always wanted! (Well not really, anything that has 4 wheels and moves will actually do).
Original Kerry Craft Market Demonstrations:
Craft
Demonstrations highlighting traditional and contemporary craft making
techniques. An opportunity to meet some of Kerry’s master craft makers
as well as see their work. Music, food and fun. Co-ordinated by members
of Original Kerry in association with the Backlane Gallery.
Frame: Art Cycles opened in Siamse Tire last night, part of the Kerry Bicycle Festival. I actually got something together for it this year. Anyone who knows me, has immediately said, "did you crochet it"? No, well, not quite...
Heres what I made:
Maybe I take my themes a bit seriously, when they said bike exhibition, I just had to make something out of a bike. (I blame my sister, we've been chatting a lot lately about the merits of inner-tubes). And of course, I had to add a bit of crochet. (The leaves are made with innertubes and crocheted with a fine silver thread.)
If you can't catch the exhibition in Kerry, you'll catch it in Cork at the Cork Cycling Festival, 16th - 24th July 2011
This is where I double up on The Woolly Way blog, but there I have to try to sound impartial and official... here I get to be a bit more unprofessional and say Woohoo!!
Woohoo!! 16 Lacemakers form The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland Guild are travelling over for the seminar, including internationally renowned Veronica Stuart. (Who I had a lovely lunch with, last Saturday in the Phoenix Restaurant in Keel)
Woohoo!! Members of the Shaw-Smith family (makers of the Hands TV series will be personally attending the seminar. I have recieved a copy of the Lace making episode, that we will be viewing, and it is really amazing. (We are amazing, as in Ireland is amazing, as in Lacemakers are amazing. One of the most lively, enthusiastic and most of all encouraging groups I have dealt with, its about time we started appreciating the wealth of our textile history... sorry, stop rant before it goes on....)
WoOHOO!!!! We are throwing in a book launch too, because, well, why not. Two books Clones Lace, and Youghal Lace have been revised and reprinted recently, so we are going to officially launch them at the event.
Workshops There still a few places at the workshops, you can download registration forms from here http://panceltic.ie/irishlace.asp
That's enough for now, worn out with the excitement. And I still have to try get something together for Gig sa Tig, more on that later...
