Irish Arts Blog

Reapers Whistle

 

by Patrick Naughton

This poem was inspired by a day in Galway listening to the hymns of the past and the ghosts of the present:

There was an old man who looked dead and gone,

pale as death with the reaper beside,

he held the black juice dear to his soul,

when he played the accordian these angels appeared,

these angels had instruments of their own,

a guitar, a flute and a seanog spawned,

they drank, they sang about times long gone,

oh t'was a day to remember in that snug alright,

i saw the old man nearly dead and gone,

playing that beautiful song till night,

they sang about bogs and twigs that day,

reminded me of a tale someone once told,

never fall into a bog or there'll be trouble to pay,

cos once your in, you'll never be out,

maybe that's what happened to the old man,

fell into the snug that cold winters day,

and until this time he will remain.  

Galway Ground

by Patrick Naughton

I wonder what secrets nature holds,
ears to the ground, stories told,
weather beaten stone where the sun shines bright,
why does the light capture the day so right?
imagine a place where it's dark for time,
some nordic land way beyond,
i suppose they dream of the sun at night?
just one of the secrets nature holds.

Mountains

While skiing in Austria recently I fell and tore my ligaments. Naturally, I cried and cried and cried for what seemed like days but once I came out of a the blur of tears I have started to become focused on the mountains.  Not in the winter season cause I am still annoyed at them for causing me so much pain but the mountains in other seasons. 

How the light hits them and how the shape is never wrong

nature just makes them that way

the mornings can be different to the evening setting sun

 

how big and powerful they are and how comforting they can be.

Mountains so much fun and so much pain!!

Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement!

Bet you think you've logged onto the wrong site by mistake! Well you didnt. I have just been busy with an exceedingly weird commission... the most difficult brief EV-ER to be honest.
These cufflinks were made for doctors & surgeons in Blacrock Clinic to commemorate the first non-surgical aortic valve replacement in Ireland. Irish Times Article
(incase anyone's interested)

This was what I was working from...

I made 5 pairs and actually this picture doesn't do it justice as I did light colour pairs and dark colour pairs. This is a light color valve cufflink with a dark colour letter. The letters were all different pertaining to their surnames. The valve part is made from soft brass and the chicken-wire-outsidey-bit is an actual 'renal stent' that I got from a pharmaceutical company which was super handy as making that little intricate mesh was about to send me over the edge. It took a lot of designing but hopefully the end result is recognisable (to those in the know anyway). Weirdest brief yet thats for sure!!!
 

Low Tide Beach

cm 22 x 28 - Low Tide Beach by Cristina Colli

I'm fascinated by the beach at low tide, and the different patterns, flows, textures created by the tide currents. I'm captivated by the soft colours of the sand, the water shimmering, the sense of movement, the contrast between dry and wet sand...

I intend to make a series inspired by this and  "Low tide beach" is the first piece.
This mosaic kind of flowed, I really enjoyed making it. I used smalti, gold, marble and shells that I collected during long walks at the beach close to where I live. I cut the shell and turned them into tesserae and I love the idea of incorporating them into the mosaic.