Ballinglen Arts Foundation, County Mayo, Ireland
Everyone wants to be a boundless source of vigor, force and strength, to appear abundant, sound, and endless. Sometimes our strength is compromised and we forget our inner powers. To heal something or someone is to make it sound again. A wound can be knit shut or closed up: scarred over so that there is still a mark remaining, an evidence site where the healing took place. It takes time for a wound to heal and a certain measure of waiting, trusting, and hoping is required.
In 2005 and again in 2007 I spent two months as an artist-in-residence at The Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle, County Mayo Ireland. My 2005 residency exposed me to the vast and mysterious beauty of the wild western coast of rural Ireland. I was taken by the sacred quality of the landscape and the folklore that has endured for centuries. Open spaces, wind, and weather affected me deeply. My return to Ballycastle in 2007 was more personal for me. I was feeling a bit older, a little worse for wear, and in search of a renewal, a stepping out of everyday life and taking a long look back from across the Atlantic. I wanted to visit old friends, taste decent oatmeal, drink in a pub, and walk in the wind but mostly I was searching for a renewal of my artistic strength and source of vision within my studio work. Life had made me incredibly tired.
A local Irish friend took me to see an ancient holy well - one not marked on a map or sign post. Holy wells are usually natural springs enhanced or protected by man-made constructions or buildings. They can be an elaborately decorated grotto dedicated to specific saints or a simple piled rock hut. These springs are believed to hold pure waters constantly rising and surging to the surface, a sacred source to be drawn upon for its potential healing.
I realized that visiting a well really is a personal thing. It requires some blind faith, a bit of belief that there is something larger than us, something connected to a greater deeper place. The water is a source of power and strength flowing below, within, and throughout the land. These waters renew and nourish those who come to drink and collect it. Dim eyes can be illuminated once more by sacred waters. The power within the land runs deeply and is vast and endless.
Everyone wants to be a boundless source of vigor, force and strength, to appear abundant, sound, and endless. Sometimes our strength is compromised and we forget our inner powers. To heal something or someone is to make it sound again. A wound can be knit shut or closed up: scarred over so that there is still a mark remaining, an evidence site where the healing took place. It takes time for a wound to heal and a certain measure of waiting, trusting, and hoping is required.
In 2005 and again in 2007 I spent two months as an artist-in-residence at The Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle, County Mayo Ireland. My 2005 residency exposed me to the vast and mysterious beauty of the wild western coast of rural Ireland. I was taken by the sacred quality of the landscape and the folklore that has endured for centuries. Open spaces, wind, and weather affected me deeply. My return to Ballycastle in 2007 was more personal for me. I was feeling a bit older, a little worse for wear, and in search of a renewal, a stepping out of everyday life and taking a long look back from across the Atlantic. I wanted to visit old friends, taste decent oatmeal, drink in a pub, and walk in the wind but mostly I was searching for a renewal of my artistic strength and source of vision within my studio work. Life had made me incredibly tired.
A local Irish friend took me to see an ancient holy well - one not marked on a map or sign post. Holy wells are usually natural springs enhanced or protected by man-made constructions or buildings. They can be an elaborately decorated grotto dedicated to specific saints or a simple piled rock hut. These springs are believed to hold pure waters constantly rising and surging to the surface, a sacred source to be drawn upon for its potential healing.
I realized that visiting a well really is a personal thing. It requires some blind faith, a bit of belief that there is something larger than us, something connected to a greater deeper place. The water is a source of power and strength flowing below, within, and throughout the land. These waters renew and nourish those who come to drink and collect it. Dim eyes can be illuminated once more by sacred waters. The power within the land runs deeply and is vast and endless.