Flight, an Exhibition of 9 Visual Artists
Flight
‘Flight’, an exhibition of art work, based on the Mountshannon Art Festival theme for 2026 will take place in Scariff Library from Monday the 25th of May, until Saturday the 6th of June.
We have 9 incredible local artists taking part, all of whom have a long connection to the festival, which celebrates its 30th birthday this year. Indeed, Nicola Henley was one of the founders of the festival in 1996.
Official Opening with Patricia Moriarty, Tuesday 26 May, 6.30pm
Artists
Nathalie El Baba is a visual artist and experienced facilitator, based close to the small town of Scariff in County Clare. Her studio is in a peaceful location, amongst the rolling hills East Clare is famous for. This rural place has been her home for many years and has provided her with opportunities to connect with both the landscape and the communities here in the West of Ireland.
She works with themes of migration and connection, reflective of her own journey – her family left Lebanon when she was a young child during the civil war – but also reflective of the many stories of movement across lands from the people she has met.
Through her painting Nathalie explores the strong emotional connection to place in Ireland. She is fascinated by the sense of rootedness, contrasted against the constant movement of the sky. Where do we see ourselves belonging? Do those who have known migration ever belong to place? Her work explores the narratives of both our internal and external landscapes.
Nathalie holds a B.A. in Art and Design, Certificate in Youths Art, Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Art, and is a certified Story Exchange Facilitator trained by Narrative 4.
Jane Seymour Ceramics
In 1994 Jane moved from Wales to rural Co. Clare, Ireland, where she built a house and studio, and applied herself to ceramics. Using her hand-built forms as a canvas for her designs, she draws and engraves directly into the surface of the unfired clay, applying layers of oxides and stains which are re-applied between firings. This gives a depth and texture to her hand-built ceramics. Jane makes strong, mainly slab-built ceramic vessels with a controlled and defined surface decoration, inspired by her interest for the figurative; mainly birdlife and the human form, working from studies and life drawings. Her main artistic influencers are Modigliani, Gauguin, and Picasso among other great artists.
Jane is a member of Portfolio Ireland; Ceramics Ireland; and is a selected member of the Crafts Potters Association London UK. Her work is in private collections, in Ireland, EU, UK, and USA, and in the OPW collection. She has exhibited widely in Ireland, and in UK. In 2022 her work was included for display as one of Irelands
selected ceramists for the Fourth Triennialle in Faenza, Italy.
Searching for Light in the Depths of My Soul.
Ian Kelly is a visual artist living and working in East Clare, specializing in bog-wood sculpture.
He holds a Degree in Fine Art, 1991, graduating from the Limerick School of Art and Design.
Ian has exhibited throughout Ireland, North America, and Cyprus.
The Work:
My work involves bringing the ancient material of bog wood back to life in a new form, having laid in a state of suspension for over 4,000 years buried in the underworld of the Boglands, preserved through time and darkened by age. It is both a challenging and enchanting medium to work with, taking it from its raw form to a highly finished and polished state demands a physical and emotional investment. Using mainly Bog oak I express various emotional states of the human condition as well as exploring surface, form and decay. The wood and myself are two parts to a union that strives to create an entity outside of us both.
The influences on my work are varied, with the main sources derived from aspects of my life - death, love and loss. Working both figuratively (human form and bird imagery), and with abstracted forms I try to remain true to the nature of the wood which has been so influenced by the impact of its exposure to the forces of the bog.
https://www.ancientirishoak.com/
Lynn Kirkham is a well-known, multi-faceted artist, whose work includes landmark public sculptures, innovative basketry and community arts projects and events. A full-time artist of over 30 years, Lynn leads a quiet life, with a menagerie of animals, close to the earth, growing, harvesting and processing creative materials and food. Her strong connection with nature, folklore and heritage inspires and informs her artworks, through using traditional and reclaimed materials, craft skills and themes around local flora, fauna, stories and myths.
Dragonfly is made from home grown willow and hand plaited willow bark with rushes gathered from Lough Derg
Nicola Henley is a Fine Art Textile artist based in the West of Ireland who has exhibited widely in Ireland, The UK and worldwide. She specialises in large scale, one-off textile artworks for exhibitions and private and public commissions.
Born in Bristol, England she moved to Co. Clare in 1991 to set up a studio and continue working on large scale artworks, based on her interest in nature and wildlife. Her work is inspired by nature and particularly birds; their movement and sense of freedom, set against the dramatic seas and changing light of the Atlantic coast. She aims to draw our attention to the delicate balance of nature and the connections between ourselves and the natural environment.
The textile pieces are made by a combination of dyeing, painting, and screen-printing cotton calico and texturing the surface with various materials such as handmade Japanese paper and silk stitched onto the surface of the cloth. The change of scale from bold printing and painting to the intimacy of close stitching helps to convey the concept of near detail with open space of a landscape or seascape.
Vivienne Bogan is a visual artist /printmaker, working with mixed media on paper, her own handmade paper and cotton. At times she incorporates found materials, stitches and other 3D embellishments in her work. She has been exhibiting her work for many years in solo and group shows in venues throughout the country and some abroad. Her works is represented in such collections as the Council of Europe, Brussels. Beaux Arts de Quimper, France. National Portrait Collection. AIB banks. Dublin Castle, amongst others She has served on various arts committees including the Irish Arts Council and EVA.
Some recent exhibitions: 2026 Art Evolve Fair at the RDS Dublin, and the Lavit Gallery, Cork. Last year: The Kenny Gallery, Galway, and at LCGA Director's Selection exhibition. In 2024 she had a solo show titled 'Spontaneous Self' at the Limerick City Gallery of Art. Other recent group exhibitions include The Rose Angle Gallery, Dundee, Scotland, the Guinness Gallery, Dublin and Siamsa Tire, Tralee amongst others.
One of her many delights is the pleasure bringing people together in her studio to share in the joys of being creative, and exploring different art forms For many years she worked on a programme of social integration through the arts for service users with the Daughter of Charity. Originally from Limerick, and having travelled extensively, she now lives and works in East Clare.
Paul Berg
After receiving my degree in visual arts and design from the Academy van Beeldende Kunsten in Rotterdam (now the Willem de Kooning Academie), I have kept myself busy designing and creating anything from paintings and sculptures to furniture and playgrounds.
Although I call the West of Ireland my home, my work has been exhibited and sold worldwide.
Sadhbh O Neill is an Irish artist and sculptor living in Mountshannon with her husband and fellow artist Sam Gaine, where together they have created a sanctuary that deeply informs her work. Originally trained in textile design at National College of Art and Design and later awarded a Masters from Manchester Polytechnic, she has worked internationally as a textile artist, lecturer, artist-in-residence, and public artist. Over a long and varied career, she has completed numerous public commissions throughout Ireland and exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions. Since moving to Mountshannon in 1998, her art practice has evolved into richly textured sculptural and mosaic work.
Sadhbh describes her work;
"Beauty and joy are at the heart of my work. They are the emotions that inspire me to create. My sculptures call to me from my intuition, often from a dream, almost as if I have no say in their manifestation. My sculptures are a juxtaposition of contrasting media, textures, patterns, and colours. My mosaic work takes time and is meditative and slow – each tile is chosen, cut, and then placed, creating patterns of depth and richness.
Every sculpture I create is a story that arises as part of my lived experience, filtered through my fantasy and imagination. Thus, every sculpture carries a part of me.
This sculpture “Flying with the Fishes” is part of a series “The Mermaid's Garden”. I have been swimming in the lake every day for many years, and it has become an anchor in my life. The lake and all its stories, folklore, and dreams have become an integral part of me. The Mermaid's Garden evolved from stories and events in my life and inspired by the lake"
Sam Gaine is an Irish painter and former architect living and working in County Clare with his wife, artist Sadhbh O Neill. He was born in Dublin and studied architecture at University College Dublin. His early career included international scholarships and architectural work in both the United States and Moscow before turning fully to painting in 1990. Deeply inspired by the Irish landscape, sacred sites, and the tradition of icons, his paintings explore spirituality, memory, and connection to place. Sam now paints full time. His paintings express his deep love of the Irish landscape and her Sacred Sites. They capture the beauty, subtleties and history of our landscape and our ancestors. From his earlier travels to Russia a passion for Icons grew. His journey with painting Icons reflects the depths in which he experiences the world. This soul connection flows through all his paintings, whether landscape, tree, sacred site or icon. Sam has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has completed numerous public commissions, including works for the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, Muckross House, and Ennis General Hospital. His work is held in both public and private collections throughout Ireland.
For the past few years Sam's creative work has focused on drawing. The two pieces he has in this exhibition are “Birds” and “Angels”.