What We Did In School One Day.

~*~

Mosaic, murals, marbling, weaving, building, drawing, tie-dying, puppets, pottery, printing, jewellery, 

drumming, turf-mazing, juggling, special effects make-up, sugar paste, felt-making, batik.....

and I just know I'm forgetting many more....

~*~

I'd like to tell you about something. A place, actually. An incredible, unique place. A place where the word community means something. Where you can see, in action, just what it means when something is truly the sum of what is put into it. For all the human frailties and stumbles along the way, when heartfelt love and the best intentions fill something up it will always sail strong and true, even in squally weather. 

This is our school.

A place where our children learn about democracy, and humanity, and equality. Where they learn, through colourful and exciting practical projects, and hands on experience, just what it means to be a part of this wonderful, magical existence that is being human, being part of this world of ours.

These pictures may be of just one, exceptional day that takes place each year, but it is a sparkling example of just how magical a place it is. After ten years of attending Art Day, this year I was suddenly struck by just how unique it is. This event may be the biggest, funnest and most popular of them all, but it really is just one of many throughout the year where our children are shown that it is not just lip service, that we really do believe in the best of them. That they can be the best they can be. Yes they are children, with all the necessary mischief and shenanigans that are part and parcel of being so, but ultimately they are trusted and respected, and here, given an autonomy I have rarely seen elsewhere.

And in return they give it all they've got, throwing themselves into whatever it is they are engaged in, with unselfconscious, joyful abandon. I cannot think of anything more we could want from them, can you?

Here they are forming themselves into the adults they will be, laying the cornerstones of their future selves, discovering how to be. And this here is also why we drive 12km to school every day.

Because here is a place where exceptional people, the staff and parents, have taken what could have been an ordinary national school and, over years, turned it into something extraordinary. And I do know it is not unique. All over the country, all over the world, there are exceptional people who dedicate themselves to giving our children what very few of us had, to giving them something extraordinary to take with them into their future.
A belief in themselves and the possibility of being The Best Person They Can Be.

But I do feel blessed to be part of something that really does do 'what it says on the tin!' Here is a school that has an ethos that truly is part of the fabric of it's daily life, that holds it high and says, of course we can do this, because we can do our very best. And that, after all, is good enough.

And as the year comes to a close, Our Only Girl is preparing to leave this place that has been a very significant part of her life, that has seen her grow from a quiet, thumb-sucking 5 year old, to the confident, amazingly together 13 year old who is sailing forth without qualm.

And although she makes ready, with great excitement, to follow her big brother on to secondary school, it has been heartening, and heartbreaking, to see these children prepare to say goodbye to one another, after eight years together, every day. 

The bond between them, as a group, is unlikely to ever be replicated again in their lives, something they don't realise, but I do believe is so deeply ingrained in them that it is truly a part of them. Some of them are moving on together, but all is about to change, as I saw with Our Eldest two years ago, and life is about to stretch out it's dewy, tender wings.

So this is my own heartfelt thank you, to all you amazing people, past and present, who have made this place what it is today. So although one more of our Dearlings is leaving, we still have one in midflow, and one more, The Smallest, just about to start. My time is not yet done here. And though at times, the driving in particular seems interminable, I cannot think of a better place to be.

We are blessed. My heart is full.

Glimmer Lantern Glimmer.

I thought I would share with you another post from our now defunct blog I mentioned before. This is something that we won't get to celebrate this year on the day as we have someplace else to be!

Tonight, my man, Jay, is having an exhibition opening in Dublin, so if any of you happen to be around then do join us! You can read about it here. So in the midst of him preparing for this we have had a run of sick kiddies and storm and flood warnings, all mixed in to the general daily tizzy and winter wildness settling in. Great fun!
I do hope to actually do this lantern a walk at the weekend, or the next. I am so mindful of all the things I did with the older two that the younger two might miss out on simply because life is twice as hectic.

So without further ado...

~*~

There is a lovely tradition we try to celebrate every year which I first came across through some Steiner/Waldorf friends. It is usually celebrated on Martinmas eve which is the 11th November, although it is a lovely thing to do once the darkness draws in and the evenings shorten, a simple symbolic way to entice the light back.

The basic premise is that the children make lanterns and then take a candle lit walk in the dark dark woods! You can either make them together as part of your evening together, or everyone can do them at home and then get together.

There are so many types of lanterns to make. What we did was very simple. 

You will need:

A glass jar for each child.

A roll of thin wire eg. florists wire.

Some sheets of coloured tissue paper.

Some pva glue in a small container like an egg cup.

A small brush for each child.

A tealight for each jar.

To begin, tear the tissue paper into small pieces.

Start painting glue onto the glass jar and press pieces of the tissue paper onto it. Continue until the jar is covered.

Once the glue is dry, measure a length of wire to form a long loop, plus extra to wrap around the neck of the jar. Secure it by twisting the ends tightly around the wire where it meets the vertical lengths.

It's important to have a long loop so as to avoid little hands getting too close to the candle!

Once everyone has gathered together outside, the adults can help light the candles. Then we can set off into the dark, dark woods.

These next few photos were taken with a flash so of course it loses the candlelit atmosphere.

It was equal parts thrilling and slightly scary, even for the older children!

They really do get such a thrill out of doing something they would rarely get to otherwise.

There are simple little songs that are traditionally sung for the duration of the walk. It helps if a few people know them to start off.  But any song that includes light or sun would do. The walk by the way need only be ten to fifteen minutes long. Believe me, after ten to fifteen minutes tripping through the darkness, their imaginations start to take off, and it's not long before everyone is ready to head indoors for some warming soup! 

What Is Hidden In The Garden.

This years Sculpture In Context exhibition is taking place at the moment in the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin. This wonderful annual show is in the most lovely of settings. There is something reassuring about botanical gardens, don't you think? The sense of order and symmetry, peacefulness and even discipline appeal to my inner control freak! And it's not just the neatness of the gardens, but that satisfaction of nature and plants knowing just what they need to do, and everything being efficient and logical. Ah yes...

And so it is a delightful wonder to wander and discover unexpected hidden gems of creative explosions, some of which have no bearing or relevence to their environment, and some of which are like marvelous imaginings of the garden gods who have taken a moment of madness and thrown caution to the wind.

Vertical Garden
by Deirdre Judge.

I am particularly thrilled to bring your attention to the above glass piece that was made by none other than my mother, Deirdre Judge! A delightful representation of my parents abundant, bounteous garden that is bursting with life (and flavour!) and here rendered as a gorgeous wall hanging.

Specimen 3
by Michelle Brady.

Redwood Spore Drip
by Andrea Cleary.

A Match Made In Heaven
by Joanne Murray.

The above piece by Joanne Murray thrilled me beyond words, seeing immediately the Julie Arkell influence which is a guaranteed lasso around my heart. Gorgeous work, and I do hope to track her down at some point and feature her in a long overdue Something Lovely post.

If any of you are in the vicinity over the next few weeks, do take an afternoon to wander these most lovely gardens. We didn't even see half of the exhibits, I am sure and feel the need for a return trip while these mild days the summer forgot to take linger on...

The Lonely Beast.

First of all, thank you all so much for your sweet, thoughtful words after my last sad post. My Only Girl is feeling a good bit better now and reading everyones lovely comments and in particular those that shared similar, sympathetic stories helped her a lot.
So today  I thought I would share some happier news with you all. My brother Chris, who I have featured here regularly, has recently shared the exciting and wonderful news that his gorgeous children's book is to be published!

You can read about how this came about over on his blog here: Chris Judge Illustration. And while it won't be out until early next year, you can pre-order it on Amazon here, and WH Smith here.

We are so proud of you, Chris!

Can't wait!

Something Lovely: Missed Connections.

This afternoon I sat in the garden. A rare enough occupation in my busy week, but it was such a glorious, sunny day that I couldn't help but collapse into a deck chair for a short while and watch my two  tow-headed charges romp around in the sunshine.
I was listening to something that was so heart-stretchingly beautiful that I had to write a whole separate post about it here. And the combination of warm sunlight and such heavenly music was so heady that I found my mind drifting, dreaming, thinking about these wonderful illustrations by Sophie Blackall that were brought to my attention this morning by dear Nancy from the b in subtle. And I decided that it was time to reinstate my regular 'Something Lovely' post which had sadly lapsed somewhat.

Find these potential sweethearts here.

Sophie finds these lovely people on Missed Connection websites and turns her marvelous hand to capturing them on paper. You can see lots more over on her blog Missed Connections. 

What is it about these stories that I find so arresting? And often, in their short few lines, so moving? We all have these stories in our lives, and I often think about how chance has put us where we are, with the people we have in our lives. Chance.

Think about it. 

Find this perfect profile here.

To think, Jay, we would not be here together if...you hadn't gone to my friend's party. Or even before that, if your father hadn't taken a chance on a girl who might have let him down, and put her in the very place that you were. Does he know the part he played?

And what of all those dear connections we have made with those incredible, special people we know and love? The combination of our decisions and theirs bringing us to that magical point where we connect.

I could list so many friends, and wonder and shake my head in amazement. Right down to all you wonderful blogger friends. What are the chances any of us would have met 'in real life'?

Find this mysterious chap here.

And to what extent is it fate? Do we have any control over any of it? It is so heartening to think about all these millions of human connections being made, and missed, every day. 

So there is hope and love out there. And there is people like Sophie who breathe life into these little stories, and today as I sat in the sun I wasn't marveling at the beautiful view, or the gorgeous sunshine, but I was marveling at the human spirit, and the spiderweb of possibilities that we have all around and about us.

And the strength of the human heart. Because I do believe we hear one another's, beating through the daily traffic and toil, and I do believe if we remember to pause and listen to one another we just might be amazed.

And we just might fall in love.

A Christmas Art Fair Thing.

As the Christmas season gets underway I love to see the commitment so many bloggers have to supporting both handmade and local art and crafts. This year I haven't managed to produce anything myself, but I thought it might be nice to share a few things with you all. And where better to start then at home, so to speak!

Any regular readers here will be familiar with one of my younger brothers, the multi-talented Chris, as I can't resist often featuring his warm, uniquely funny artwork. So, this Saturday he's having a Christmas Art Fair Thing in his little studio in Dublin city. Anyone who is in the Dublin area is welcome to pop in for a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie or two, and have a look at what he has to offer. I promise you a good chance of finding something for that discerning art lover of yours with a love of the bizarre and humorous.

Details of when and where can be found over on his blog.

Do take a moment to pop over and check out his website which includes a stunningly extensive array of paintings, comics, including one to download for free, illustrations, many of which you will recognise if you live in Ireland, and a favourite pastime in our house, spotting his work in action out and about the streets of Dublin and beyond!
And for those overseas visitors, he does have a fantastic postcard box set which gives a good cross-section of all of the above available for sale in his shop.

Happy browsing!

Something Lovely.

So it's been a while since I posted about Something Lovely that I have come across on my wanderings of Blogland. In truth, I have been inundated with invitations to visit blogs and I am doing my best to get around to them!

But occasionally I get distracted and stray off, following my nose into the wilds of Blogger, and a little light amongst the trees twinkles and beckons me and I cannot resist...

(I like to think of Blogland as being a Narnia~like forest with doors to other worlds...)

This illustration above, I spotted and it seemed to call my name. Something about it... And I realised immediately that the style reminded me strongly of a favourite childhood book that still sits on my shelf, along with my little collection of now vintage children's books.

I had to investigate further...

It is by a lovely lady called Paula Mills who lives all the way around the world from me, in Melbourne, Australia. Her style is so evocative and nostalgic that I was immediately captivated.

And even better, she has another blog called Sweet William with her sister and sister-in-law which is choc~full of gorgeous creations and finds. Do take a peek!

So, Happy Weekend to you all! I hope your festive preparations are going to plan.

For the record, mine have not even begun...

I am waiting patiently for that sudden rush of panic which I have no doubt will blindside me any day now!

Won't it...?

Bright Shadow.

Where did that week go!

Well, I thought I'd give you a little peep at something Jay has been working on with his collaborative art group Projector Collective.

In a nutshell, it's a project that is looking at, or reflecting, ideas about urban renewal and regeneration, and they were given a row of disused inner city houses in Dublin, the shutters of which they then covered in 23 carat gold, and had the front gardens filled with sunflowers!

And in their own words: The gold leaf will outlast the sunflowers and in essence refers to a more permanent level of transformation. This too is still open to decay, although over a longer period of time.

For more info on this project and the other wildly varying ones they've done, have a look here.

I just love coming across something like this unexpectedly!

Pangea.

So one good thing about coming back early was that I got to see my brother Chris' latest exhibition, which I would have missed. And I was very glad to as I had missed the last couple.

As always his sense of humour is what shines through the most, and I have to say I love these watercolours even more than his previous acrylics.

It was so great being in town. I have been feeling very countrified lately! I got to see tons of people I haven't seen in ages, and finally got to meet the gorgeous Sharon from Friendly Cottage, and then promptly lost her! Definitely see you soon Sharon!

And finally, here's something cool my Dad found on youtube. Someone has animated Chris' lovely Beasts!

How cool is that!

Want Something Cheerful?

So it's a while since I mentioned my brother Chris and I thought I would tonight seeing as he has updated his fab website. Do go and check it out. His work is brilliant, and clever and often hilarious. It's a breath of fresh air, truly. 

There's paintings to buy, as well as postcard sets. There's free comics to download, including Dystopia which is written by our older brother Andrew, and illustrated by Chris, and was originally published monthly in Totally Dublin magazine. (And okay, maybe Dystopia doesn't fit under the banner of cheerful... however...)

It's still a work in progress with the shop not fully up and running yet, but you can see examples of what's in store over on his Flickr.

 
There's also a ton of other stuff to see over on his blog too. And do have a look at his Work in Action. This guy is all over Dublin!  If you are in our neck of the woods then you've probably even seen his work and not known it. The kids get such a kick out of spying a Chris bus or ad somewhere unexpectedly. 

Well done Chris, it looks fantastic!

Something Lovely.

I'm thrilled to share with you a gorgeous collaboration between two of my favourite designer-bloggers. Studio Violet is Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker.


Check out their porcelain gallery here.

I just adore this circus themed re-used porcelain.



They also have these sweet posters.



As well as stamps and wall stickers, among other products.

And check out their blog here.

And of course, their SHOP!

I hope you like!

Something Lovely.

It's been a couple of weeks since I shared Something Lovely with you. I've been on blog sabbatical recently which is all Stephanie Meyer's fault as I had to read all the Twilight series to make sure they were suitable for The Eldest and My Only Girl.(Ahem. Well. That's what I started out saying...)  I'm halfway through the last one (which they won't be reading) and trying to drag myself back to blogland. So let's start with someone I've wanted to share since I discovered her a few weeks back. 

Meet the wonderful, talented Lisa Falzon. She is an artist originally from Malta and now living in Co. Cork here in Ireland. The minute I saw this particular picture I fell in love with it. I think it's because it reminds me so much of My Only Girl. Or maybe Her in a few years. And I have to say even the expression on occasion is very Her! (I'm sure any number of you with daughter's know that look!)

Napoleon Wrapped Around Her Finger.

Lisa makes her work digitally, and if you are interested in finding how she makes these amazing images you can find out here.

The Constant Gardener.

Description: ... Loved her, even when it hurt...

even MORE when it hurt...

Her work has a mystical yet playful air that I just love. With enough romance, history and mystery to make up all the themes I love. 

Her Etsy Shop includes pendants, pocket mirrors and bookmarks, as well as postcards and prints of the original works. This below is a jointed paper doll which has stolen my heart.

My Valentine Joyride.

Do take a wander over and say hi. I'm sure you'll find something to make you smile!

Something Lovely.

Here's something that caught my eye in a catalogue my Mum and Dad brought back from Kilkenny last weekend. It's an exhibition of contemporary Norwegian arts and crafts taking place at the moment in the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny. 

It seems to be a really interesting collection of artists, but this one in particular appealed to me. Her name is Anne Lene Lovhaug and I do especially love her 'Trophies' collection, which these images are from. Aren't they sweet?

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush.

Passengers.

Sweet Little Sister.

You can check out more of her work here. I'd love to see it myself, and you never know. But if you are in the Kilkenny area do check out the show, which runs until the 26th of April.