As part of the Creative Engagement Programme 2021-22, Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon has been exhibiting work completed by its Transition Year and fifth year students.
The exhibition, named ‘Transcendence in the Landscape – Painting with Emotion and Memory’, was created in response to the local environment of the students, with help from artist Sara Foust.
Alongside the art teacher Ellen McMahon, the students collaborated with Sara through a range of workshops carried out throughout the duration of the project.
Ellen said, “The school gets involved in the Creative Engagement programme every year. It involved the full group of TYs and five fifth year art students.
“Sara came up with a plan for us and the workshops took place out at her gallery, before moving out into the landscape to make work from that with Sara’s work as inspiration.”
Each of the workshops focused on the different aspects of Sara’s work, including concepts and processes, application of paint and her use of colour.
Students gathered research locally and created their work ‘en plein air’, funded in their endeavour by NAPD Creative Engagement and the Clare Arts Office, before finishing off their paintings in the classroom for the last few weeks.
The process began in January with the first workshop, and Ellen highlighted that the students achieved a large body of work in a short period of time, factoring in holidays, other subjects and the fluid nature of the Transition Year experience.
She added, “Every student produced a final piece of work, which was great, and the exhibition was a moment of particular pride for them.
“They got to see their work hanging in the Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery, meet the curator and see the opening launch – it’s great having work in a folder for class, but that was when it clicked that all of this was real for them.”
While the exhibition was planned to run for a short time between April 7 and April 17 it is hoped to possibly extend the exhibition due to the great attendance at the launch as well as the continued interest in the body of work throughout the period.
Sara exhibits her artwork throughout Ireland and internationally, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Clare County Council and has been commissioned by CREATE, Leader/RRD, Cluid Housing and HSE, with many private collections in Ireland, the UK and the US.
She often explores emotional resonance, nostalgia and architectural narrative in her paintings, pushing the viewer into landscapes with plays of illusion and flattening and making her an ideal candidate to guide the students in their artistic endeavours.
The project involved TYA (Kate Andreassan, Áine Bermingham, Gráinne Burke, Abbey Cahir, Clodagh Callinan, Faye Clancy, Rachel Cotter, Naomi Coughlan, Alannah Doyle, Siana Drinan, Kate Egan, Lauren Flaherty, Elia Garcia-Vidal, Alanna Hayes, Annika Heymann, Julianna Kenny and Irene Postigo) and TYB (Provence Bruneau, Afrina Khan, Aisling Kearse Barry, Kate Lavin, Áine Longe, Niamh Lynch, Kate McInerney, Susan Meehan, Róisín O’Doherty, Emma O’Reilly Forsith, Nina Richter, Cliodhna Rouine, Amelia Santiago Pena, Áine Shannon, Róisín Shannon, Klaudia Szlichta and Ciara
White).
Also congratulated by Scoil Mhuire in their achievement are fifth year students Lili Barrett Monaghan, Conor Farrell, Maia Gosseau, Chlosha McCoy and Sarah Peters.