This is 'Robbie the Skelly'. I have just finished a 12 week course - Reading You Local Landscape. What a fabulous time we all had. The joint initiative of Clare County Council, Clare Museum and the Limerick and Clare Education & Training Board (LCETB) Heritage Consultant, Zena Hoctor delivered the practical course which enabled our group to identify, examine and record the heritage features of our own local area through a combination of fi­eldwork and desk research.    Our group (on my birthday), at Kilbridget Burial Ground  We had great fun studying the local geology, architecture, archeology, seaweed, history . . and so much more. It was a great luxury to be a student again. Our group are hoping for a follow up course and we feel we have only just begun our research. Fingers crossed.  I shall miss the group and it would be good to be able to work together again.    My project - A Grave Situation! I became f...

My field this July - with orchids, ragged robin and buttercups, later I have swathes of montbretia and purple loosestrife. It is time for me to be looking ahead, dot the i's and cross the t's on various bookings that will take me away from home. Yes - I am venturing out into the world again in 2019. It has been a wonderful year here in Ireland, a lot less traveling and a chance to settle. I had time to notice which flowers bloomed when, find more fascinating local places to visit . . and make plans . . . I moved here 2 years ago today - on my 60th birthday. What an amazing 2 years it has been, I have made friends and settled down. Ireland feels like home now, it has taken this long. There is so much more to learn to learn about this beautiful place, I will be learning about it for the rest of my life. The teaching here has gone well and bookings have started for next year. I love inviting students into my home for the Look, Draw, Print, Stitch weekend workshop...

 Playing with Bondaweb and stitch. I do l ove seaweed.   It's been a while. I have been settling in and enjoying not traveling about too much. I have been exploring my local area, and enjoying all the colours, textures and patterns.  It is almost 2 years since I moved to my little slice of paradise on the Loop Head peninsula. It is continuing to be a challenge to support myself out here, but plans are in place to help with that. It takes time to discover what works out here. . and what doesn't!!  Seaweed in one of the rock pools in Ross Bay.  Seaweed and crab shell on Glasheen beach. I am thoroughly enjoying drawing and stitching seaweed and am now seriously into my dry stone wall series of work.  Getting out and about in this area I keep finding new places to excite - there is an alpaca farm not far from me that spins and dyes the fleece. They are all very well looked after and are fast becoming a great attraction. ...

One of Denise's prints I taught the August session of Look. Draw. Stitch. this weekend. Three lovely students, we had a great time and what fabulous work they produced. I have had to really sort through all the images I took. It has been difficult to choose. I run the Look. Draw. Stitch. weekends from January to November. So far this year we have ranged from one student to four. Next year when I move into the studio I hope to have six every month. Anyone can come - whether you have worked with me before - or not. Most students just come once, others come a couple of times a year. This weekend we had Susan from Australia. Denise from New Zealand and Rosie from West Clare! Usually students are from the UK or Ireland but these 2 antipodean ladies planned my workshop into their holiday in Ireland - good forward planning.  We started the weekend with a bit of drawing, nothing too terrifying. I have plenty of interesting things to draw inside and outside the house. We are ne...