2023/ 2024
Share This Post 2023/2024 Le Chéile Arts The wonderful inovative Le Cheile Arts shop was born out of the determination and hard work and strong
Gill Smyth
2022 goings on
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This year saw the world coming back to a bit of normality, which was very welcome. At first, perhaps, we were all a bit nervous, but it didn’t take long to get back to the way life was. I wonder did we forget all the lovely walks we had time for, or more importantly the family time we all enjoyed in a new way? I didn’t miss the speed of life as we know it during COVID, however, we must move forward. During the lockdown, I am delighted to say online sales were amazing and I am so grateful to all who purchased my work and have it in their homes now.
This year saw me working on a lot of new work and exploring painting birds and animals more, to mention the main ones, Kingfishers and Hares. I absolutely loved painting them and am delighted at how they turned out. They proved very popular too!! You can see them all in my shop.
Bandon Library was rejuvenated in the past year or so and has the most wonderful gallery which is open to local artists. I got the opportunity to run a solo exhibition there In May this year. All the good wishes and comments are so important to keep me going, thank you all!
I was delighted to get to exhibit again this year at Cork School of Music, it is an amazing venue and there is always a great buzz around the place. I am thrilled to say I did very well there again this time and it always humbles and grounds me when someone loves my work enough to take it home to hang on their wall. That exhibition ran from October into November. Thanks to Tom in CSM for all his help and organization, much appreciated.
Hot on the heels of getting out of Cork School of Music, I set up in the Found-Out Café in Innishannon, my home village. Deirdre Kelly the proprietor is so generous to me each year having an opportunity to showcase my work. This year being near Christmas, the exhibition looks great, and I have enjoyed sales already, even on the first day! Again, a huge thank you to Deirdre.
And to finish the year off, I am thrilled to be part of the amazing artist and craftspeople who have the opportunity to showcase their work at the Christmas Elves pop-up shop in Dunmanway, Co. Cork. Christmas Elves is funded through Creative Ireland and Cork County Council. It will be open for November and December 2022 and hopefully beyond. Huge congratulations to Cecilia and Paul for the enormous amount of work they have undertaken to get this fabulous shop up and running.
On a personal note, this year brought great sadness to my life. My dear Dad passed away suddenly after a very short illness. A man who was in his 88th year, full of life and living it to the full. He and I spend many road trips together and many little outings too. I miss him every day, he was a great example of what hard work and determination look like.
My eldest son graduated from college in November, so that was a day of celebration and two very proud parents of his achievements. And so at the end of another year, I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and hope that 2023 will be kind to you.
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2022 goings on
Share This Post This year saw the world coming back to a bit of normality, which was very welcome. At first, perhaps, we were all
Gill Smyth