"Aingeal" - mixed media on reclaimed wood. Inquiries. Available at the Olive Stack Gallery. The flat is bursting with creativity as my first guest has arrived! Writer Avery Caswell (aka Leslie) is here for the week to experience the magic of Listowel and its long history of writers, poets and storytellers. Within the first 12 hours, we already had an adventure involving a chair, a stool, a lightbulb and a potato. Oh and some wine. I am calling it the "masterful use of a potato" adventure. Let your mind wander a bit on that one. The theme of excess continues...this time it isn't too many breakfasts, but too many pastries! The counter is stacked high with goodies, including gorgeous cupcakes from Mary, eclairs from Damian, scones from Olive and a lovely banana bread from the farmer's market. I'm not going to eat them this week. I'll just stuff them right inside my clothes because, one way or another, I am wearing them. Listowel is not for dieters.
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Held in the glamorous Feale Room at the Listowel Arms Hotel, this party included friends from around the world, incredible music, food and dance. The "6 to 9 Club" was there, along with some pub theater celebrities and even an Elvis! Once more, I was overwhelmed at the warm generosity and sense of community in this town. I don't ever go to parties alone. Walking into this one by myself was another first (when in Ireland, wear your big girl pants). But here's where things become truly magical...within ten minutes, seeing faces I knew from my last trip here, receiving welcomes and hugs and smiles - I realized I knew more people in that room than I knew in my own neighborhood at home. It might have been Carol's birthday, but the greatest gift was surely mine. Her invitation (spur of the moment, generous and welcoming) allowed me to count the blessings I've received as result of this residency in each of the familiar faces and smiles. Now I have no way of knowing the real story behind this event, which occurred outside our "Window Theater" at about 6 o'clock the next morning, but it seems to me someone might have had one too many adult beverages that night...our beloved sign and holiday music speakers are now leaning precariously. We may have to ask Santa for a new one.
"Semblance" (series of four) - mixed media on aquabord, each 6" x 6". Inquiries. Available at the Olive Stack Gallery.
“The children looked like remnants of themselves. Spectral. Some were naked to the waist. Many of them had sores on their faces. None had shoes. He could see the structures of them through their skin. The bony residue of their lives.” - writer Colum McCann When I began this series of paintings, they were intended to become vibrant abstracts. The colors were there, the movement, the texture. And then I began to see the faces. A bit haunting, not fully formed but wanting to be seen. Earlier in the week, when visiting the artist Alan Hall, I had the chance to peruse the book The Truth Behind the Irish Famine, by Jerry Mulvilhill, which Alan had on his dining room table. I found the illustrations gritty and disturbing, perfectly suited for the subject and the raw emotion it creates. I think they were lodged in my subconscious when I began painting. There is evidence of the famine throughout Ireland. It wasn't that long ago, really. The mid 1800's, almost 100 years after America's independence and just a few years before the Emancipation Proclamation. The Irish continue to examine and research and process the famine similar to how the U.S. continues to struggle with the legacy of slavery. Some things cross over generations, and the weight is palpable. My own mother was of Irish descent, and her father's family fled Ireland on one of the famine ships, Standing here in the land of my maternal ancestry, I can feel the sadness fill up my boots and root me to the ground. "My Fine Feathered Friends" - mixed media on wood, 6" x 18". Inquiries. Available at the Olive Stack Gallery. It was a work day here in lovely Listowel. The town is beginning to hustle and bustle as the holidays draw nearer. Even the post office had a queue (line) today! Now that we've sorted out the international shipping for our collaborative coloring book, I'll be the post office elf for the month. It is rather fun to stand in a line here in Ireland. Everyone is so patient and polite. I can't imagine the same line in Fort Lauderdale without someone blowing a gasket. Meanwhile, world news is a bit dodgy, so let's focus on the cheery local news, where elfing around has gone extreme. We're on the front page of The Kerryman newspaper! At least I am incognito, as they listed me as Janine Wall. Whew! No one will be the wiser. Shhhhhhhh! Seriously, though, this is great press for Olive Stack and all the incredible Listowelians (is that a word?) who have created this holiday adventure.
I was feeling particularly fabulous in a gorgeous wool sweater I picked up from Chic Boutique. There will be no wool-wearing when I return to Florida, so I am going to wear it while I can (I may be the only one wearing cashmere while sleeping haha!) Mary made me feel like a pampered princess, having figured out my particular style and stocking the dressing room with goodies to try on. She's clearly the queen of couture! She and her mother have more than thirty years running their side-by-side boutiques. A legacy of luxury and fashion knowledge which is rare and wonderful. When you're in Listowel (and I know you will be!) stop in and let them show you what Irish couture is all about. But hand's off the purple cashmere wrap - that one is mine.
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AuthorLola Jovan |