Deirdre Buttimer (58), Kilrane
‘I’M originally from Dublin, now living in Kilrane. I worked in Dublin for over 30 years in the financial services sector in training and change management.
But I always felt that I wasn’t using the creative side of my brain. In 2008 I took a career break and enrolled in the Art PLC course in Wexford Vocational College. I saw an advertisement for the course in the local newspaper as my husband and I had been thinking of moving at the time.
After the PLC, I applied to IADT in Dun Laoghaire, NCAD and the Wexford Campus and I eventually chose Wexford because I felt there was something about here that was stunning and I was impressed by the level of expertise that the tutors have as practising artists.
I completed the first year of the degree and returned to work and then left my job full-time to do second, third and fourth year.
My husband who was self-employed moved down as well and eventually retired. We took a drop in everything, sold everything we had and downsized. It wasn’t a big sacrifice. It just evolved.
My work in the graduate exhibition is called ‘ Temporary Gathering of Strangers’ for which I used everyday objects to mark map grids on throwaway tablecloths to explore transient human contact in cities.
I’ve also done a lot with macro-photography, zooming right in to make something abstract when it’s not. I have some large digital prints in Caroline’s Cafe in Kilrane.
What I want to do now is set up an art practice. I’m not the lonely artist in the garret. When you look at contemporary art now there are a lot of options for engaging with the community such as the Callan Workshouse project.
There is a role for artists not necessarily in making things but in community engagement and it would be great if Wexford would consider something like that for art graduates. A few of us are going to see if we can get some support from the Council. Is there something we can do as a group of artists working in an old location in the community.
I’m going to keep an open mind. I’ve come up with an idea for something but I don’t want to say too much about it at the moment. I consider myself an artist now, definitely because I’ve realised that it’s not something precious.’