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gallery here in town.”
“Last November, I was invited to Charlotte in North Carolina to exhibit some of my work in a gallery there and that exhibition was full of paintings of North Kerry and Listowel and the Wild Atlantic Way that some of the artists that I had invited over to Listowel had worked on during their time here.”
“So to see all these familiar landscapes and scenery being exhibited America and that the scenery had had such an impact on the artists I invited over, it was a very proud moment for me,” she continued.
“All of the artists loved it here, they all want to come back. The artists who were here in May actually brought 16 students with them for 10 days for workshops and tours and to immerse themselves in the Irish culture.”
“It was just a huge, huge succes and a lot of them have already booked their accomodation to come back.”
Olive goes on to tell me that she is one of the brains behind the upcoming 2018 ‘Listowel Visual Arts Week’ which will be running from the provisional dates of June 20 to June 24 in 2018.
“It’s something that I’m organising to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of my gallery. We’re going to be having a great selection of workshops, exhibitions, lectures and lots and lots of other events planned to keep everyone entertained.”
“This will be the first real Visual Arts Festival in Listowel and if it goes well, the plan will be to have it as an annual event each year. It’s great aswell that some of the former Artists in Residence have already planned to come back for it, so it’ll hopefully be a great week,” she continued.
It speaks measures of the volume of Olive’s passion for her work when she says that after almost 20 years as a professional painter that she still describes painting as something of an “obsession” for her.
“I suppose you could say that painting is an ‘obsession’ for me so to speak, I can easily get ‘lost’ in it. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what I love about it. It’s an indescribable feeling. I’m blessed at the moment that I can paint every day and I’ve been very lucky aswell that I’ve been able to paint full time for a number of years now aswell.”
“I absolutely still love when people come into the shop just to look, it’s lovely to see people appreciating art more and more and for me personally, it’s very rewarding - it’s very nice to hear compliments about your work - it validates what you’re doing and keeps you going through those inevitable dark days we all have,” she added.
It’s another busy week for Olive again this week as she prepares to launch her latest ‘Artist in Residence’ programme, this coming Friday, August 26.
“The Olive Stack Artist Residency is a cooperative program now entering its third year. Visual Artists from around the world may apply for one or two month residencies that allow both time and creative space for making art in exchange for minding the gallery four days each week,” says Olive he in a statement on the residency.
“It is a win/win situation that allows me the freedom to work in the home studio without interruption to create new bodies of work, whilst the studio and residence above the gallery provide a similarly exceptional experience for visiting artists. Although the project may have begun as a practical venture, the ensuing results have been expansive and surprising,” the statement finishes.
The launch of the programme will take place in Olive’s gallery from 6pm to 8pm on Friday night and this will be followed by an open studio event and an art auction.
All proceeds from the auction will go towards the costs associated with running the Listowel Visual Arts Week.
For anyone interested in seeing Olive’s work in person, her gallery is located at 4 Main Street in Listowel and she can be contacted through her website at www. olivestack.com or through her Facebook page at ‘Olive Stack Gallery’.
When asked how it feels to have been in business almost two decades, Olive has only one simple word to describe that feeling - “remarkable”.
“20 years - they went by in a flash, it’s remarkable! I feel very, very blessed and I’m delighted to say that business has certainly picked up recently and here’s hoping for a very positive future.”
1. ENJOY CHARLIE’S WEEK IN WATERVILLE
LOOKING at the programme for theth upcoming Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival in Waterville, thereth is a great programme of eventse to choose from.
Running from Thursday August 242 until Sunday August 27, events will range from film, comedy and sound woskshops, secret cinema screenings, a Guiness World Record attempt, guest speakers, street entertainment, live music anda much more.
For further information, follow theth festival on Facebook.
2. STRICTLY AUSTIN STACKS THIS WEEKEND
TAKINGT place in the Dome on the night of Saturday August 26, 14 couples will celebrate the centenary of the club by taking part in th the Austin Stacks ‘Strictly Come D Dancing’ night.
The night will see dancers showings off 100 years for the gathered audience as they celebrate the ‘Dancing Through The Decades’D theme.
Tickets for the night are available to buy from Garvey’s Supervalu lu on Rock Street in Tralee.
3. IT’S QUIZ TIME FOR RECOVERY HAVEN
THET fifth annual Islamic Cultural Exhibition, takes place on Saturday, August 26.
The event, which will take place communityfrHc from 11am to to 5pm learn in the more Brandonabout Hotel aims at helping the wider ththe religion and is an event that hhas been growing in popularity year on year.
There will be plenty on offer throughout the day to keep everyone entertained with gift bags, calligraphy, henna tattoos, face painting and much more taking place.
Entry on the day will be completely free.
4. ENJOY THE KILLARNEY CYCLING FESTIVAL
NOW in its fourth year, the Killarney Cycling Festival returns on Saturday August 26.
Starting at 7:30am from the INEC car park, the cycle will cost €55 to enter. There are two routes, 158km or 181km available to choose from.
All information on the cycle will be available from the cycles website at www.killarneycyclingfestival.com
5. PAT SHORTT SET TO ENTERTAIN TRALEE
THE comedic talents of Pat Shortt will be on show in the Dome in Tralee this Friday night, August 25.
The comedian will play in the famous Tralee venue from 8pm to 10:30pm with tickets set to cost €28; they are available to buy from www.roseoftralee.ticketsolve.com
6. NA GAEIL TO HOLD FUNDRAISING CYCLE
NA GAEIL GAA club will hold their fundraising cycle this coming Saturday August 26 and will see cyclists tackling one of two routes, a 40km or 80km route.
Registration on the morning will take place from 7:30am with the cycle set to start at 9:30am; prices will range from €20 - €25 and €10 for U16’s.
7. GLENBEIGH TO HOLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
GLENBEIGH is getting set to hold its festival of music this weekend from August 25 to August 27.
There will be plenty of music and festivities to keep everyone entertained.
8. GREAT DAY IN STORE AT VINTAGE RALLY
IT’S set to be a bumper weekend in Castlemaine this coming Aunday August 27, when the Mid Kerry Vintage Rally takes place.
The event, which will be in aid of cancer support will have enough to keep everyone entertained as two steam engines, cars, tractors, farm machinery, motorbikes and much more will be on show.
There will be bouncy castles, a slow tractor race, dog show, sheaf toss, tug of war and live music.
For more details, contact Denis Tangey (0872574842), Mike McKenna (0870968989) or Brendan Dennehy (087696841).
9. GET EXERCISING THIS WEEKEND
AUGUST is here so why not try to head down to take part in one of the many parkruns taking place around Kerry at the weekends?
There are four parkruns in Kerry: Tralee, Killarney, Listowel and the Tralee Junior parkrun.
These completely free 5km events are run every weekend by volunteers and they have been proven to be extremely popular in improving both physical and mental health.
The Tralee. Listowel and Killarney parkruns are held every Saturday morning from 9:30am onwards while the Tralee Junior parkrun takes place on Sunday at 9:30am - these 2km events are aged for children from 4-14 years old.
Those looking to take part in the run for the first time can register at parkrun.ie where they can also print their necessary barcode.
10. GET DANCING IN AID OF CHARITY
Painting is an obsession for me, so to speak. I can easily get ‘lost’ in it. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what I love about it. It’s an indescribable feeling.
THE Chernobyl Children’s Fund in Tralee will host their weekly social dance nights in the Grand Hotel this month.
The dances start at 9pm every Wednesday night with the cost o
Lineup for the month of August is as follows: Mike Condon (August 23) and Irish Knights (August 30).