Drawing on Nature’s Abundance,Green Sakthi Club, Tamil Nadu, India

In the summer of 2017 I was invited give a series of Art workshops to the children from the Sri Narayani Vidyalaya and Vidyaashram schools in Tamil Nadu, India. The project was inspired by The Plastic Cow documentary and aimed to raise awareness about plastic pollution and the impact of littering on the environment and wildlife. Trips were organised to see the sacred Gho Mhata in the Sri Puram Golden Temple and to learn about recycling at the Ex Nora Waste Management Centre.  Back in the classroom, beautiful artworks were created that promoted environmental awareness through a Poster Design Competition! The project was sponsored by the Canadian International School, Abu Dhabi and Green Sakthi, a wonderful organisation committed to raising environmental awareness amongst school children in Tamil Nadu, India.

The Recycled Jellyfish Swarm, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

This project was inspired by The Ocean Clean Up an organisation that is working to find a solution for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The aim was to raise awareness about the disastrous effect of plastic pollution on oceans, birds and wildlife by highlighting the amount of plastic we consume on a daily basis.

The numbers of jellyfish, who are thought to be extremely sensitive to changes and imbalances in their environment, have dramatically increased in recent years and they were chosen as the visual motif to create a large-scale art installation from re-purposed plastic waste. Workshops were held with the children from the Canadian International School in Abu Dhabi to create one thousand jellyfish sculptures which were made out of recycled plastic water bottles and grocery bags they had collected in just one week! A team of dedicated teachers, parents and high-school students worked to string each individual jellyfish.

The project was generously sponsored by EcoWaste and featured at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017, the largest conference on environmental sustainability in the Middle East and North African Region. It was re-created as part of the Art of Nature exhibition held by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation to celebrate the Abu Dhabi Festival 2017.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art

This is an on-going project with the Education and Community Department of the Irish Museum of Modern Art that aims to increase the engagement  of second level students and teachers with Contemporary Art exhibitions at the museum through the annual publication of online resources to accompany exhibitions. The main objective is to provide resources that have accessible language with vocabulary and key concepts explained clearly, enabling audiences to consider and appreciate artworks from an informed perspective.

Fashion Design

Lecturing in fashion design at third level Certificate and Diploma courses involved devising and delivering a comprehensive course content to ensure students would gain an extensive understanding of the process. It included contextual and cultural referencing through the study of fashion and dress history and the development of skills in visual communication through observational drawing, visual research, concept development and design development, the study of textiles, fabric manipulation and embellishment as well as practical garment construction skills from beginner to advanced levels.

Portfolio Preparation

Teaching Portfolio Preparation through private tuition, workshops, courses and classes involved facilitating the development of skills such as critical thinking and analysis through idea generation and development, visual awareness and communication through observational drawing, photography, note-booking and  contextual referencing through exploration of historical and contemporary artists and designers.  

Past students have been accepted to study Fashion Design, Architecture, Photography, Make-up for Stage and Screen, Animation, and Visual Art at the Istituto Marangoni, the National College of Art and Design, School of Architecture at the University of Limerick, The Institute of Art, Design and Technology, The Grafton Academy and Griffith College.

Art, Craft and Design

Teaching Art at second level involved preparing pupils and students for the Junior and Leaving Certificate State Examinations. As both courses generally run for two years and the syllabi are so broad it was possible to teach an extensive range of skills, techniques and crafts such as observational drawing, painting, print-making (intaglio, lino and screen), creative embroidery, sculpture and clay-modelling. In order to facilitate continued appreciation and engagement, Art History is incorporated from the outset as well as frequent trips to museums, galleries, exhibitions and artist's studios which culminates with a study to trip to Paris in the final year. Examination results were consistently above the National Average and many students progressed to study Visual Art and Design at Third Level. 

The Transition Year Programme facilitated the participation of student's in a diverse range of activities such as the St. Patrick's Day Festival, IADT Art in Schools, Junk Kouture, LA Academy Make-up and Fashion Courses, Photography and Portfolio Preparation.

The Textile Workshop Dublin

Established to provide fun and enjoyable craft workshops and courses in embroidery, sewing skills and fabric printing for adults at Nelly's Cafe and The Pearse Museum. Featured in publications such as Tatler, Image and Image Interiors as well as appearing on Mo Thintean Fein, a TG4 interiors programme.