Nostalgia's Not What it Was - Pigsy

Following on from his well received debut show, artist Pigsy now presents a new body of work "Nostalgia's Not What It Was", opening on Thursday 5th October at 6pm in Fumbally Exchange, Dame Lane, Dublin 2.

Ciarán McCoy is Pigsy. As Ciarán McCoy​, he works as a partner in the renowned architectural practice ODKM Architects​ in Dublin City centre. As Pigsy, he releases himself from the disciplined nature of architecture to create free flowing expressionist art. 

Pigsy started to create from a young age by using chalks on both the playground and the blackboards at school  to pass the time between classes. He has added a multitude of painting media to his palette since then but still incorporates chalk use in most of his pieces as a nod to these formative methods.  

This body of work is all about moving forward as a person and deals with ​the evolution of childhood friendships, old haunts and activities from childhood and the difficulties experienced throughout schooling because of his dyslexia. 

“Nostalgia's Not What It Was"​, is an idea that I’ve been working on for a while" says Pigsy "I believe it's best to live in the moment and not give over too much space in our mind to useless non-positive thoughts that prevent us from seeing our true potential and this has been the inspiration behind the exhibition"

The exhibition is curated by KEMP, the man behind the urban and street art themed the KEMP Gallery and an artist in his own right. 

"I'm both excited and honoured to be working with Pigsy again" says KEMP. "I love the honesty in his painting. It's very accessible even though there's a depth and complexity to it, which is very rare. I'm looking forward to sharing these new pieces with the public" 

Drinks will be provided at this exhibition by Hope Beer, an independent craft brewery based in Howth Co. Dublin. 

The exhibition runs from the 5th to the 8th October 2017

Sailing Italy 2017

Just back from an amazing sailing trip around Elba Island.  

After a scare the night before - we were travelling, when Ryanair cancelled our outbound flight, we quickly rebooked with Aer Lingus and got on our way.

When we arrived in Rome we went straight to the Coliseum where I had booked a tour.  What an incredible sight.  We really enjoyed this tour.

And then it was on a 4 hour train ride switching at Cecina for Castiglioncello to meet the rest of the crew.

Here's a few pics from the trip for you to enjoy (in no particular order):

Busy days - eating, drinking and cycling about......and lots more!

Here's a catch up of what's be going on here in Ireland.

I have been glued to CNN watching Hurricane Irma. This guy in the goggles is my favourite presenter......well aside from the lovely Anderson Cooper.

Filmmaker Mike Andrews was filming Ciaran in our house for his documentary. You can see further photos by clicking here.

I stopped and took pics of this building on the Merrion Road. It houses Jacobs Engineering, it seems. It has the look of Sam Stephenson to it. If you know how the architect is, do comment below!


On Thursday we had a big blow out in Dillingers. Look at that amazing starter of crab and prawn, which was divine.  And their cocktails weren't bad either - nice and strong the way I like my drinks! :-) 

 

Stay safe my Key West friends......get out of Irma's way!

Five years ago I wrote this post about Isaac.

Today I write about Hurricane Irma which looks like it is heading to the Florida Keys.

It looks like it is going to be a big one and I hope that all of my Key West friends who are planning on not evacuating are safe. Hopefully many who are planning to stay will have a rethink over the next 24 hours if Irma continues on course.

I visited Key West a year after Wilma. There were many new cars on the island because they had all been flooded in the storm surge. I could see water lines on the houses to where the water had risen and then some of the roofs were covered in tarps and wood because there was a serious shortage of repair men. And I also saw signs on houses saying "FEMA won't pay my claim" - some of these were the houses with tarps on the roof.  

I return to Key West this October. I hope I won't see anything like I saw after Wilma.

Clean Up with Friends of the Grand Canal (Leeson Bridge Meetup)

I saw on Facebook that there was a meet up of Clean Up volunteers on the 2nd of Sept at Leeson Street Bridge at 10am.

Amy and I weren't up to anything that morning so we said we go along and help.

When we got there we quickly got set up with gloves and pickers and set to work.

This group is the Friends of the Grand Canal and they have a website here.

They were a lovely friendly bunch of people and the coffee at the end of the clean up was sponsored by Starbucks and served by the canal - really enjoyed that!

If you would like to join the clean up it is on the first Saturday of every month.

 It is very satisfying picking up rubbish.  Amy and I chill out and chat as we move along the canal.

Look at that wonderful Dublin day!

The Great Gatsby in The Gate

If you read my blog over the past few days you would know that I was attending "The Great Gatsby" in The Gate Theatre on Saturday night. 

It was an immersive theatre event so we didn't know quite what to expect. As we went in to the theatre we were told we had to switch off our phones and photos were not allowed.  I think this was brilliant as it meant that our focus was purely on the event and the setting we were in rather than taking photos. 

When we entered the auditorium (which had all the traditional theatre seating removed) we went to the bar and bought themed cocktails and then found a little area in the Gatsby Mansion as we waited for our host Jay Gatsby to arrive. We immediately got in to character and gave ourselves alter egos - I was Mabel! Amy otherwise known as Shelby, jokingly explained how "she nearly drowned in a bathtub of gin the other night" as she sipped her gimlet! 

We also had a great time looking at everyone in costume.

And then the show started with the arrival of some of the main characters who began to mingle with the guests.  We were approached by Mr Wolfsheim who invited us to a card game later and showed us his molar teeth cuff links!! As we spoke to him he ad libbed and threw quick and witty lines back to us. Just incredible!

Nick Carraway took to the floor and set the scene and then the arrival of Jay Gatsby got the party going.

And from then it was a crazy whirlwind of controlled chaos of storytelling and entertainment. Audience members were led away in groups by different characters where small scenes were played out in different rooms with small parts then given to some audience members to play out in different settings (either in the off areas or in the main area on their return).

For us as a group we got to partake in the following:

• we learned the Charleston
• watched a card game with Wolfsheim and also had a private singing performance from up and coming starlet Kitty
• And then possibly the most fun was when we were whisked away on a scoop with a reporter/photographer and in a rushed manner brought down to a backroom area (like a press room) and then moved to a small bar area - I was handed a small notebook and told to write down everything that I saw

All so much fun!!

I think I have captured the frantic nature of the night and along with all the movement and interactions of the "audience cast" we were treated to the story of Gatsby by the most excellent cast. My favourites were Jordan the professional golfer, played by Rachel O'Byrne, who was just as I imagined she should be - commanding in both presence and performance. Nick Carraway (Marty Rea) was engaging and sweet while Owen Roe's "Wolfsheim" was slick, likeable and dis-likeable all in one - a fantastic performance. I also enjoyed how Myrtle and Kitty were portrayed but unfortunately was not enchanted in the way I expected to be by Daisy.

My review of the event finishes here with pics of us all dressed up and ready to "immerse ourselves in Gatsby".

Here is Amy in her Peter O'Brien coat before we go out the door. Peter O'Brien designed the costumes for the play and I think she could blend in perfectly on stage looking like this!! Her stunning headpiece is actually a necklace. Amy always looks great with a hat or a headpiece on - as she says herself "I have a nose for hats" ;-)

Look how great Kasey's hair is! I think she captured the era perfectly by curling and pinning it. Kasey started out with a pretty flower hairband and then moved on to a feather hairpiece. I think the first hairband was a day look with the feathers taking it up to a night look - just what you need for a party in the Gatsby Mansion!!!

Photos were not allowed once you walked in to the theatre so we got a few in the lobby. I think we captured the look - what do you think?!

As you can see we thought of detail from top to toe, making sure our shoes were of the time.  My red shoes are a bit crazy but I reckon ladies in the 1920's only had one or two pairs of shoes so they had to just wear what they had, whether they matched or not.

 

Getting crafty on a Friday night!

After work yesterday, Amy and I met up to make headpieces for The Great Gatsby tonight. Amy was making my piece and I was making the one for Kasey.

It was fun getting my sewing box out and felt like a bit of a retro evening as Amy brought over some records to play as we worked and drank wine. The music was great but there was a lot of walking over to the record player to turn to the other side!!  #GenerationX

My dress is blue and Kasey is wearing black so I had picked up some ribbon and feathers to match in Hickey's Home Focus.

 

Amy didn't need to make a headband as she bought a necklace in a charity shop (thrift store) which she will wear in her hair. It is stunning!!! 

There will be pics on my blog tomorrow of us all dressed up in our garb and you can see Amy's headpiece then.

And here are the finished pieces!

The cost of the head pieces was next to nothing. The blue one consists of ribbon that was about a euro per metre and which Amy then attached one of her vintage brooches too (she has loads!).

The black cost a little more with the feathers costing about 3 euro (but I have lots left to use on other products) and the brooch costing 2 euro (this was in a reduced price bargain bin). 

All in all it was fun to sit in and craft of a Friday evening and as I said, cost little or no money to make which is wise as in reality these items will probably only be worn once or twice in the future.