New art group making waves
A NEWLY formed art group in Rosslare Strand has showcased its members’ inherent talent and caring nature by donating a portion of the commission received from sales in its first exhibition to a local community centre.
The Waves art group was formed by Anne Marie Kearns and Gina O’Connor and the members were delighted to get the opportunity to showcase their work in a joint exhibition held in conjunction with the Studio 8 group in the Rosslare Community Centre.
A new extension of the centre was opened this year and to help cover the costs of that work the artists involved in both groups decided to hold the joint exhibition which finished at the start of this month.
Ms Kearns said everyone was very excited to be involved with the initiative and the fact that almost all of the 26 paintings exhibited by the six group members involved were sold.
‘We were each allowed to exhibit five paintings and the Waves artists exhibited 26 works - 18 of which sold,’ she said.
The €345 raised from the sales was presented to Maria Gore, the Manager of Rosslare Community Centre, who graciously accepted it on behalf of the centre committee.
The Waves members who had works in the exhibition included Anne Marie Kearns, Gina O’Connor, Anne Greene, Sue Gaynor, Eimer Tansey and Carol Collins. The group meets every Monday from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at the Cois Barry Centre in Rosslare Strand.
Ms Kearns said a limited number of vacancies are available for new members and anybody wishing to join should contact her on 087-8235387.
The Studio 8 group was established by the late Douglas Bain in 2008 and includes experienced artists and beginners. Damian Carroll said it began by meeting informally in a studio that Mr Bain had set up in his garden.
‘We had no art teacher but we were all enthusiastic amateur artists and we encouraged and learned from each other and progressed together,’ he said.
‘Over time, we arranged some occasional tuition from visiting artists and this further progressed our standard,’ he added.
Unfortunately, Mr Bain passed away in 2014 and following that the art work stopped for a time.
However, as Mr Carroll pointed out the founder member is fondly remembered every time the group meets now. Since 2014 the group has met in a room that was provided by Fr James Murphy in the old convent in Rosslare Strand.
‘That is where we now meet on Friday mornings,’ said Mr Carroll.
The exhibition in the RSRC was the first one the group jointly held with Waves Art Group and it was linked to the annual field day.
‘It has been a great success and the Rosslare Community Development Association who agreed to stage the exhibition, will benefit from the sale of more than 20 paintings,’ said Mr Carroll.
He said the members are now looking forward to developing their art further over the coming year and plan to hold another exhibition in 2019.