May 31st – June 3rd, 2013​
Norah Brennan
​Amanda McAlister
I am from Belfast originally but have been living in Kerry for 13 years now. In the past I have worked in an Arts workshop for children and have been involved in mural projects both in Belfast and here in Kerry. Currently I run a free art stall in a local farmer's market. The aim with this is to make it easy for people to make art together in their community. I believe Art is a wonderful life enriching activity. We opened the art stall to encourage people to explore and express their ideas with others. In my own work I enjoy taking materials that would be thrown away such as glossy magazines. I use the colours in the pages as my materials instead of paint. I like the idea of taking something that would have been disposed of and changing it into something that looks really precious.
​Having spent her early working life as a catering manager, Norah returned to college in 2007 to study art at Galway Mayo Institute of Education where she was introduced to and fell in love with Printmaking in all its forms. She graduated with a first class Honours Degree in 2011, having been awarded the student of the year award for Printmaking and the Lorg Fine Art Printmakers Bursary Award. This has allowed her to continue to develop her work. Norah lives and works in Mayo Her work is informed by memories of time and place and she has a penchant for using strong, bright colour to convey a sense of emotion in her images. She works instinctively and allows the printmaking processes to guide her.
Her work has been exhibited at various venues within Ireland as well as in the UK, Australia and France and is in the collections of the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Roscommon County Council.
Having grown up in Killorglin in the 1950’s in era without TV there was plenty room for the world of the imagination to be absorbed. I had a lot of interests in simply dreaming possibly taking interest from the books at the local library especially fairytale books to harness the imagination of their contents. As I grew older I followed landscape till about thirty where I did a drawing of a man with a donkey and cart, having continued to work on this drawing imaginary shapes began to emerge. It lured my style of work towards delving into the subconscious. Today I work the same avenue a sense of understanding for each new beginning of a work and step by step towards a clear emerging of composition, while along the way several little messages have to be erased until finally it all comes together.
​My pieces are influenced by scenic surroundings from where I grew up. I was very lucky growing up spending summers in West Kerry, Dingle, Killorglin and trips abroad. I couldn’t help but being influenced by all various landscapes I’ve travelled to. This also helped and influenced me greatly throughout my life, and College where I studied Art (GMIT- Cluain Mhuire).
My work is of my favourite landscapes in sunset, capturing colour verses the silhouette of land. Why I choose this is best is because I can showcase these various areas in my own colours and express myself in doing so. Many people walk and view these landscapes be it the local passer-by or the tourist, but I want to express myself in these paintings, through colour.
Dermot Mccarthy
​Aoife O’Connell
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