Monday, June 24, 2013

Roches Terrace


June 24, 2013 - Settling in to Roches Terrace.


I’m looking out the window, over the roofs of the houses below us (this town is as steep as Jerome, Arizona!), across Cork Harbor, to the Atlantic Ocean.  The Capricorn full moon started out yesterday morning with a rainbow stretching from Cobh out to sea. The jackdaws are building nests in the chimneys, and fighting with the crows that live on Spike Island out in the bay. Out the back window are the convent gardens: 


It is very quiet, except for the cathedral bells that ring out every fifteen minutes on unholy days, and more if there’s a reason, and the foghorns from the ships when the yacht club holds sailboat races in inclement weather.
It poured with rain our first day, as we arrived in the little Cork airport, almost alone except for the Boy Band (the Wanted?) and the screaming girls. From the baggage claim, I momentarily thought we were under a terrorist attack.
We thought the weather would hold, but the little squalls have been interrupted by long stretches of sunshine and warmth. The temperature must have hit the upper 70’s! Everyone has been sunning themselves on the sidewalks, in folding chairs and as little clothes as possible.




Clive has stretched, primed and undercoated several canvasses, and he’s arranged a studio space in a corner of the living room, looking out over the water. He's starting a portrait study this afternoon.

For the clement weather, he seems to be speaking highly of a pair of pretty trees in the convent garden. But, he’s also got some still-life objects from the beach in waiting – melted plastic, rusted metal, dead birds, the usual. 



Yesterday Richard Scott, from the Artistic Alliance, took us to visit Ballymaloe House, where our exhibition will be in November. We toured the grounds and walked the Labradors, and everything was a million shades of green, including the ponds full of swans.




I’ll be hiring Miss. Giulietta at the exorbitant rate of 50 (Euro)cents a day to help me gather pottery shards at low tide. As she worked very hard over several days to earn 62 cents being “good”, this new job and salary has got her very enthusiastic.


1 comment:

  1. It's so nice to read about your adventures in Ireland, Clive and Virginia! Looking forward to reading more, and to seeing what creations you two make. (And you're so lucky to have Miss Giulietta as a studio assistant!)

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