Art groups to exhibit in Ennistymon

TWO North Clare groups have come together for a special exhibition, which will open in Ennistymon Public Library on Tuesday next.

A Sunbeam To Warm You is a joint exhibition by the Tubber/Boston Women’s Art Group and the Ennistymon Art Group. It will open on Monday and mark Adult Learners’ Week. Both groups are run as part of the Clare Adult Basic Education Service, Adult and Community Education, Limerick and Clare ETB.

Tubber/Boston Women’s Art Group was started after a local group approached Clare VEC in 2011 looking for a funded art course. Since then, there have been three courses held at the local community hall under the direction of art tutor, Marie Connole. The exhibition features work from the most recent TBWAG course, which ran in the winter of 2013.

Ten women from the area met for two hours each week to learn the basics of oil painting. During the course, they experimented with colour theory and developed individual painting styles and techniques.

“The majority of the group are beginners to painting. Indeed this will be the very first exhibition for most. The TBWAG will be showcasing paintings based on local landscapes, still life scenes and individually inspired works,” explained Marie Connole.

“As in all adult education courses the decision to attend can be the most difficult. At the beginning of the TBWAG art course there were claims of ‘not being able to paint or draw’. Like all subjects art has basic tools that can be learned to allow people embrace their individual creativity. As the TBWAG students become more confident during the course their confidence in their art abilities changed,” she added.

One member of the Tubber-Boston group said she thought they had “surprised themselves.” Others noted that they had “never before even picked up a paint brush”.

Just a few miles away, the Ennistymon Art Group has been painting since September 2013 and has eight members. The group’s work features the Irish landscape, ranging from the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and the west Kerry and west Clare coastlines. They have also worked on still-life scenes, and more personal themes such as their pets and animals.

While some members of the group have exhibited in The Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon, for many others this will be their first exhibition.

“Courses such as these are also wonderful social occasions,” observed Marie.

One member described it as “a peaceful two hours of meet and greet as well as paint.”

“There is a joy in working within a group which develops a wonderful community atmosphere. There are also other personal benefits. Most of the TBWAG and EAG have mentioned how relaxing the art were and the wonderful social nature of them,” Marie outlined.

Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB) are aware of the importance of developing integration and collaboration in rural communities.

The Clare Adult Basic Education Service aims for self-directed learning, with the objective that groups take the initiative themselves to continue to work together and several groups have progressed to staging their own exhibitions.

In 2011 the first TBWAG group exhibited in Tubber Community Hall, and in 2012 the second TBWAG group published the book ‘From Clare to Zambia’ in 2012.