Greetings from Ireland

So here I am in Ireland, having arrived Sunday night after a long day in transit and 2 hours driving on the left in the dark to my destination, an artist’s residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in County Monaghan. “Annaghmakerrig”, as it is known around here, was the family estate of the actor Tyrone Guthrie, whose will specified that it be maintained as a residency for artists (visual, literary, musical, etc.). There are up to 20 artists staying here at a time, anywhere from a few days to a couple of months. It is close to the border with Northern Ireland, and jointly funded by the 2 governments, so there are usually quite a few Irish artists here, both from the north and from the Republic, as well as an assortment of Europeans, a couple of Americans, and maybe Canadians.

There are two housing options for artists here, staying in the “Big House” or in the “cottages”, which are really like apartments in the old farm buildings. I’ve stayed in the house before, but have started to opt for the quieter space of the cottages, where I seem to better collect my thoughts and focus on studio work.

I have been here 4 times before, so arriving here was like coming home. It is lovely and lush, especially after Iceland, and a place where I have always felt at peace in the quiet and welcomed by the warmth of the people. Family issues at home have much occupied my mind in the days since I arrived, but I am happy to be here and settling into my house and my studio, with windows looking out into the garden and lots of space to rattle around and put up work on the walls. The project I’m working on here (more on that later) will take me out and about, so I’ve rented a car, a real luxury! 

The Big House

from across the lake

The cottages

My cottage

studio building

my studio

Interior, day 2 and onward

The next day it was very sore muscles and a much easier morning walk down the canyon, photographing and wandering about, then back on the bus. We rattled down out of the mountains for several hours, then back on paved roads to short stops at Gulfoss (a famous waterfall) and Geysir (a thermal area with spouting geysirs). We pulled in to Reykjavik at dusk, then on to my hotel at Keflavik and a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call for my flight to London. Wow, what a way to end the trip…

Kerlingarfjöll canyon

Leaving Kerlingarfjöll  

Gulfoss

Geysir

Breakfast on Iceland Air on my way to London and Dublin...

Last adventure in Iceland: Into the Interior!

At Steinunn’s suggestion, I decided to take the bus through the interior instead of around the Ring Road (the main highway) to Reykjavik. Knowing that it would be a 9-hour trip on bumpy gravel roads, I booked an overnight in a tiny hamlet of mountain huts at Kerlingarfjöll, the halfway point. We set out in our “bus” (really a van) on paved roads, quickly to turn onto gravel that got progressively rougher as we went along. Our driver was a bit of a cowboy, careening along with gravel and dust flying, and bouncing so hard I thought the van would come apart. The Kjölur route, as it is called, runs through desert-like sand, dirt and stones between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull glaciers. While it is quite barren and some would say depressing, it is also rather beautiful, with vast stretches of land framed by the 2 glaciers. We stopped for an hour at Hveravellir, a remote site with thermal areas and a hot spring, where everyone, including the driver, can take a bath in the thermal pool if you wish! 

Then on to Kerlingarfjöll, a group of mountains that you can see approaching in the distance for hours before you get there. The bus wound into a canyon for 7 miles, and dropped me at the group of huts along with assorted other tourists and backpackers. I checked in and started out on a hike recommended by the host, and what a hike it turned out to be… straight up into the mountains! I fortunately met up with a young German couple who had been on the bus, and hiked on with them, as the trail got alarmingly steep and slippery as we went on. Crossing a tiny bit of glacier, we arrived in a stunningly beautiful valley full of color, steaming vents and pools. It was a bit like a secret world tucked away where you would not guess it was there—a very special place. Five hours later we were back at the huts and I treated myself to Icelandic lamb soup at the mom and pop restaurant/hostel there. My A-frame hut was pretty comfy, made even better by the last of the Bailey’s that I brought along from Baer (thanks, Emma!).

The "bus"

Interior highlands with glacier

Stopping for a hot bath

Kerlingarfjöll

Kerlingarfjöll

Kerlingarfjöll

Kerlingarfjöll

Kerlingarfjöll

My abode for the night

Goodbye Baer...

knitters at work

Last supper

It has been an amazing month, with lots of struggles as well as successes in the studio and so many interesting conversations about art and life. Saying goodbye to these 3 lovely women and our warm, supportive hosts was like letting go of a terrific little family. I will miss you all!

Swan feather

Showtime!

On our last day together at Baer, the 4 artists hung an exhibition of the work we did there. It was a wonderful opportunity for closure on some projects, concluding conversations in the studios, and an opening reception for the public. 

Conversation in Veronique's studio

Dawn's installation

My work

My work

Emma installs an outdoor piece

Lost in translation?

Wow, a week has flown by and so much has happened—an earthquake, a hurricane and family matters at home, an excursion day, show and goodbyes at Baer, a final Iceland adventure into the interior, and transition to Ireland. I am still trying to catch my breath. So follows a series of posts to try to catch up…

Final days at Baer were wonderful. We spent an evening horseback riding, which was really fun and interesting. The Icelandic horses have a special gait that many do naturally called the tölt, which is kind of like a trot but lifting the front legs quite high. It is very rapid and prancing and lovely to watch. Not being a rider myself, I was quite happy to amble about at a walk, a bit like a swaying rocking chair. We were all grinning ear to ear by the end, just from being around these beautiful horses. My daily walks often included a stop to chat with a stallion that Emma nicknamed “Fabio” for his fabulous hair and manly ways.

A little instruction

"Fabio"

Steinunn took us on a daylong excursion, first stop Hólar, a town founded in 1106 and historically important as one of 2 bishoprics and essentially the capital of northern Icealnd. Hólar was the last remaining stronghold of Catholicism in Iceland during the Reformation. There is a beautiful little church there as well as some sod houses perched on a hill and an agricultural college, all in a town of around 100.

Abandoned farmhouse

In Hólar church

In Sauðárkrókur we visited the fish factory, where part of the processing includes tanning the fish skin into “fish leather” that is used in shoes, bags, and other very pricey accessories. A few pieces will come home with me for bookbinding projects…

fish leather

We went on to Skagaströnd, on the next fjord west, and the location of NES, another artists’ residency where I will go for a month next summer. It is completely different in structure, with artists sharing a large common studio and living in 3 different houses in the town. The studio is a former fish factory and sits right on the edge of the water. The town definitely has some quirky aspects, with a recurrent cowboy/country theme that apparently comes from a local DJ’s love of American country music.

On the road to Skagaströnd 

The studio at NES

Cowboy culture in Skagaströnd 

Hello to hurricane-soaked friends in Ulster County…

Hi everyone, so wishing I could be in touch by email, but it sounds like NPMail will be down for a while. I am functioning on a gmail account, but don’t know how to reach many of you except your NP email. I’ve been able to reach my housemate and a neighbor and all is OK, with just one tree down L. I hear that the flooding is bad, and am hoping that all my friends are safe and dry. I guess it may be a long time before power is all on again. If you are reading this, shoot me back a comment on the blog about how you are all doing…

Photo of my downed tree courtesy of neighbor Paul.

On hiatus...

It has been a hectic week, and I have not had time to update. I'm on the road for the next few days, into the interior by bus, then flying out. Next post will probably from Ireland!

Studio, Day 21

Tired of looking at tiny pictures on my laptop screen or on small print paper, I decided to grid some of them up in size for our exhibition this week. Much better! I feel like I can see what I'm doing now. It may be time to buy a big monitor when I get home.

Exhibition next week!

We will have an exhibition next week of the work we have produced here, all are invited!

To Hofsos

With our time here drawing to a close, I realized I had not been back to Hofsos, the closest town, since the day I arrived. So when Dawn needed to post some letters, I decided to walk to town (about 4 miles rt.) with her and Veronique. It's a pretty typical Icelandic small town (they are VERY small). One of it's notable features is a museum about emigration, the black buildings in my photo. 20,000 people (about a quarter of the population at that time) left in the late 1800's due to harsh weather and natural disasters, including ash fall from the eruption of Askja in 1875. Most went to North America, many settling in Canada. If you have Icelandic ancestors, you can type their name into the database and find your family. Neat!

Also of note in Hofsos is their public swimming pool. Icelanders are very big on pools, with almost every town having one, and most are thermally heated. This one is particularly beautiful, as it sits perched overlooking the fjord.

The story on the half-and-half house is that the 2 owners could not agree...

Hofsos

Hofsos pool

A lounge moment

Early morning visitor, a female ptarmigan

A new arrival

Things have been quiet here, with quite cold, rainy weather, so we have been hunkered down in the studios. I can feel autumn approaching, as the days grow shorter and chillier. The big news has been the arrival of the little guy shown below, who was born on Sunday night. He is the third foal born this summer—quite cute! He is still a little wobbly on his feet, but starting to frisk around.

Inspired by the beautiful Iceland sweaters and wool that are available here, all of the other artists have taken up knitting! Our host and her mother have graciously given some lessons, and all are happily knitting away.

We will take a couple of short excursions early next week, but otherwise all are focused on completing work in the studio and an exhibition of our work scheduled for next week. Lots to do...

dewy morning

Icelandic wool