The crafting and artistic community of Bere Island is busy and active throughout the winter months. This year, Rachel at Lawrence Cove Marina will host an exhibition showcasing the work of Bere Island artists. Many of the exhibitors have also shared their skills through leatherwork, printmaking and mosaic workshops, delivered on the island with the support of Creative Places West Cork Islands. A number of live demonstrations will also take place during the festival. Times available from the festival information point in Rerrin Village.
Steve Carter – I am the son of a Bere Islander and have spent a lifetime behind a sewing machine. I now enjoy sharing my skills with the Men’s Shed and the people of Bere Island. At the festival, I’ll demonstrate some of our work using my sewing machine.
Madeleine Dunne – I am an artist resident on Bere Island and a former graduate and staff member of the Crawford College of Art & Design. Retired now, I work largely in textiles and printmaking. During the festival I will display some of my quilts and linocut prints. Over the winter I shared some of my quilting knowledge and gave a lino printing class to the local community. During the festival I will give a demonstration of the linocut printing process.
Michael Killen – My lifelong association with Bere Island goes back to my childhood summers spent on the Island and its influence has permeated all I have produced right through my professional life. I studied in Dun Laoghaire School of Art & Design and in the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. My work is mainly figurative. I work in bronze and timber, and in recent years, in print. My prints, for sale during the festival, are based on drawings completed recently on Bere Island and in my studio.
Jenny O Neill – I live on Bere Island with my partner and our young family. I have a particular interest in Mosaics and have shared my skills with local women from the Bere Island Women Create group at classes supported by Creative Places with the West Cork Islands. At the festival I will show some of the work of the island women and will also have some of my own work for sale.
Marion O Sullivan – I am the daughter of a Bere Island man. Encouraged by my mother, I developed my love for knitting and crochet during my primary school days. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Irish and Irish Cultural Studies from UCC. I taught for many years and moved permanently to Bere Island in 2008. I market under the name Berelantic Yarns and sell my knitwear in craft shops in West Cork. My work is always available at the Marina as it will be during the festival.
Catherine K Sullivan – A native and resident of Bere Island, I am also the island nurse, a job which keeps me very busy. For relaxation I enjoy knitting andcrochet and during the winter evenings I share my crochet knowledge with a number of the island women. Recently I have begun spinning my own wool. As International Spinning Day coincides this year with the Saturday of the Arts Festival, I will give a Spinning demonstration to mark the occasion.
Sheila Walsh – Daughter of a Bere islander, I spend summers at my home from home on Bere Island. There, in the beauty of the land and sea, I find inspiration for my work in oils. At the festival some of my paintings, prints
and cards will be for sale while a number of my works will be on display.
Other contributors:
Margaret Moloney – Quilting
Margaret Lougheed – Crochet and Quilting
John O Mahony – Woodworker/fine carpentry