Here’s to a better year...well it just HAS to be better than the last one!

It’s a long time since I wrote a blog, I honestly have no excuse as I was doing very little.

In November I painted the studio in preparation for the studio open day, which went ahead with social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer and without print demonstrations. It was a success and it was great to have some positive feedback.

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I also decided to put to good use one of the first prints made after the covid six month block. I took the drawing I made on a walk in Kinsale and combined it with Seamus Heaney’s words.

“If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere” got me through many dark moments during lockdown. Talking to friends, other artists, writers and musicians, I discovered I wasn’t alone.

Some people managed to get back to work, others didn’t and perhaps may never return to creativity. Then there are some who didn’t see any light and couldn’t bear it anymore.

With these people in mind, I decided that I would raise money for Pieta, as I feel we never needed their services more.
Before I did anything, I asked Marie Heaney if she was happy for me to use Seamus’ words and thankfully she was (I wouldn’t have made the print without her permission). Then I approached Pieta with my plan, they too were happy. If all the prints sell, I will have raised €10,000 for them.

So I went hell for leather printing! I was almost like a robot, losing all idea of the time I was spending in the studio.
Marcus was in charge of posting it on Facebook etc. And the sales were good right up to Christmas.

But on December 20th disaster struck. I slipped going upstairs to bed and broke and dislocated my ankle badly. I passed out with the pain and the ambulance men had to give me gas before they could move me. Apparently after a few puffs, I told Marcus that we should get some of it for our next party! God only knows what they thought!

So, stuck in a clunky boot for six weeks, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to work. But, I have to admit that I must be the worst patient in the world, and after a week I couldn’t bear the tedium. I got out my notebook, started to draw and eventually returned to the printing press. I think a lot of this was spurred on by a fear that not working might lead me to a block similar to the six month one I had during the beginning of the first lockdown.

So tomorrow I will be editioning this print, while the Christmas tree is still in all it’s glory. I’ll get round to that too, I hope!

EDIT: The tree is out in the garden, awaiting the saw.