For most of the year, Anam Cara offers retreat space and time for individual creators to work on their own projects.  In addition, we offer six or seven week-long residential workshop retreats guided by an experienced leader and focused on a specific creative process.

Five of this year's workshop retreats have taken place, and they were, from all accounts, of great benefit to the participants in each:  David Hazard's "Writing with Fire" had the writers working in all genre and sharing their final pieces to an enthusiastic audience of peers; Evelyn Dunphy's "Painting the Wild Coast of Ireland" included plein air painting in the village of Eyeries and an exhibition of their work with a wine and cheese reception for some of the villagers; Solveig Eggerz's "Transforming your Memories into Life Stories" gave writers  the opportunity to explore and chronicle memories influential in their writing no matter the genre; according to each of the poets, Leanne O'Sullivan and her "Lining Our Thoughts: A Poetry Writing Workshop Retreat" were "of tremendous support and inspiration"; and Kim Richardson's "Loosening the Bonds: A Silent, Guided, Elements Retreat" was a "powerful, life-changing experience" for all the participants as well as for Kim.

Two great workshop retreats are already on the schedule for 2015.  The two workshop retreats still to come in 2014 follow the descriptions of those scheduled so far for 2015.

 

 

Painting the Wild Coast of Ireland: A Watercolour Painter's Idea of                       Heaven  

Leader: Evelyn Dunphy (www.evelyndunphy.com)

Arrival: May 30, 2015; Departure: June 6, 2015   

 

From Evelyn:  "Join us as we experience the haunting beauty that surrounds Anam Cara. The lengthening spring days offer plein air opportunities in the colorful village of Eyeries, the nearby strand, and mountains. I will lead you in painting the wild, rugged coastal views of this ancient landscape. Brightly colored cottages wind their way down the lane and the misty foothills of the Macgillycuddy Reeks overlooking Coulagh Bay reveal themselves in the ever-changing light -- it's an artist's paradise.

 

"This workshop is designed to expand your knowledge and ability with plein air painting, accompanied by studio work that will underscore and re-enforce the field work. I hope that the combination of this and a new landscape will prove a winning combination."

 

Evelyn Dunphy offers clear, concise methods of looking at the complexities of nature and choosing the major and minor "chords" that enable her students to express their personal excitement about the landscape. Her analogies to music are especially enlightening: "a staccato of brushwork against the long rest of a graded wash."

 

For more information about the workshop retreats now scheduled for 2015 and to book one of the few remaining places in the Master Class in Poetry (shown below) or your own retreat to work on your own project, get in touch with Sue at anamcararetreat@gmail.com.

 

SEPTEMBER 2014

Bookings for this workshop retreat are closed.

Traditional Irish Lace Making

Led by Fiona Harrington

www.fionaharrington.com

A Week-long Residential Retreat

Arrival:  Saturday, 6 September 2014

Departure:  Saturday, 13 September 2014

"This workshop is designed for those who have an interest in learning about the Traditional Art of Lace Making in Ireland. No previous Lace Making knowledge is necessary but knowing how to thread a needle is definitely an advantage. The aim of this workshop is to provide each participant with the knowledge and direction needed to engage with Traditional Lace techniques and create a unique and personal piece of Lace.  Many Lace Makers believe that there is a meditative quality to Lace Making that allows the Maker to connect with each and every moment as you focus your concentration entirely on the tip of a needle."

OCTOBER 2014

Master Class in Poetry

Led by Bernard O'Donoghue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Bernard_O'Donoghue

A Week-long Residential Retreat

Arrival:  Saturday, 11 October 2014

Departure: Saturday, 18 October 2014

"I grew up in rural North Cork, in a place famous for traditional music and for poetry in Irish from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These things led to deep-rooted interests in linguistic things, and especially literature, both written and oral. I went to school in Manchester (my mother's place of origin) when I was 16, and my obsessions from then on were Latin, English literature and music (including classical music at the Halle). I have lived in Oxford since 1965, and my main inspirations have been medieval literature: Chaucer and Dante and above all, the shorter poems in Old and Middle English. The Anglo-Saxon elegies are my model for the perfectly formed lyric poem." 

For many years, Bernard has spent time on and been inspired by the Beara Peninsula.  His Master Class will focus on using such places and time as subject matter and/or inspiration as he guides participating poets in enhancing their poetic gifts.