For the summer of 2010 we will host artists Manya Fox and Julie O’Rourke. For these nine weeks they will run workshops, give individual tutorials and speak about their own creative process. This gives our students for Art on the Farm a great opportunity to work with and learn from young, dedicated and talented artists. For more examples of their work please click here.

Manya, originally from Seattle, received her BA from Bard College in 2005 and her MFA from UCLA in 2008. She has exhibited her work extensively throughout the United States, and was included in the 2009 Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography, published by the Humble Arts Foundation. Manya has had extensive teaching experience at both the UCLA and LACMA teen summer programmes, and as a guest lecturer at various institutions including Bard College, Sheridan College and UCLA. In 2009, Manya participated in two artist residencies, the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner Wyoming, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Manya currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Julie O’Rourke grew up in the woods of Maine. After receiving her BFA in Textile design from Rhode Island School of Design she continues explore traditional craft using modern design techniques. With a focus mainly in knitting, sewing, and weaving, Julie’s body of work reflects her appreciation for start to finish design, consciousness of material source, and the simplicity and versatility of natural materials. She draws inspiration from her ever-shifting surroundings and can still often be found with pockets full of rocks, feathers, and sea shells.

Rosie and Frank visited the Presentation Secondary School in Wexford town in March, to host workshops with the transition year students. Frank taught a cyanotypes workshop, and Rosie worked with the girls to produce large scale charcoal drawings focusing on negative space. Here are a few photos of the days activities.

From July 12 to July 25 we will host artists Matt Davis and Jennifer K. Beal Davis for one week during each of our sessions of Art on the Farm. During this time they will run workshops, give individual tutorials and speak about their own creative process. For more examples of their work please go here.

Jennifer K. Beal Davis

Jenny is a photographer and graphic designer based in New York and Philadelphia. She graduated from RISD with a BFA in Photography in 2001, and studied photography internationally at Spéos in Paris, France. Jenny has a deep passion for teaching. An expert printer, she's a traditionalist at heart, in love with the big clunk her Hasselblad camera makes with every film exposure. In her professional life she designs illustrated books and stationery at Clarkson Potter/Publishers with authors including Rachael Ray, Colin Cowie, theknot.com and many more. Jenny was formerly the Photo Editor at Packaged Goods, and a Photo Shoot Coordinator at Rockport Publishers, Fairwinds Press, and Quarry Books. She art directs photo shoots and works with photography on a daily basis.

Matt Davis

Matt is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where he received a BFA in Illustration. He is the Creative Director for a franchise corporation and has a busy freelance illustration career specializing in collectible silkscreen posters for popular music acts. His art tends to favor surrealism, traditional tattoo imagery, symmetry and pretty ladies.

Wexford Arts Centre, in partnership with Cow House Studios have initiated an annual international residency and exhibition programme. This collaboration consists of a ten week residency for an international visual artist at Cow House Studios, which will facilitate an exhibition at Wexford Arts Centre. This programme provides a significant opportunity for international artists to live, work and exhibit in Ireland, and simultaneously exposes Irish audiences to progressive contemporary art from around the world. 

The artists awarded the 2008 residency are Peter Allen Hoffmann and Haden Nicholl. 

Peter Allen Hoffmann lives and works in New York. He completed his MFA from Hunter College, New York. To date, Hoffman has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Berlin. Hoffmann is represented by Freight + Volume Gallery, New York and Thomas Robertello Gallery, Chicago.
_{“These new works represent an ongoing dialogue with aspects of the art historical canon. Disparate as they appear, these paintings function as a collection, where the relationships between them create a forum for the continuation of the conversation.”}

Haden Nicholl originally from Colorado, currently lives in San Francisco where he works with troubled teens. He received his MFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, California, and his BA in Psychology and BFA from the University of Denver, Colorado. Nicholl has exhibited extensively in California and abroad, including London, Puerto Rico and Ecuador, and his work is represented by the Little Tree Gallery in San Francisco.
_{“The bulk of my practice involves using symbols and text to provoke introspective reactions in the viewer. Working in a different country and preparing for a show there, has challenged me to develop my understanding of the culture so that I can interact with the audience on a more intimate level.”}

Furthermore, Cow House Studios award two additional residencies annually. Applications are open to both national and international visual artists working in any medium. Cow House Studios provide shared accommodation and twenty four hour access to the studio and facilities. The 2400 square-foot open plan space contains a wood shop, darkroom and computer lab. Individual spaces measure 18 square meters, each with abundant natural light.

The 2009 Artist in Residence Programme runs from September 14 until December 1.   
The deadline for receipt of applications is 30 January, 2009.

A big thank you to everyone involved with bringing the incredible kids from New Orleans and Tallaght together here at the Cow House for ten intense days of art-making. Rosie and I would like to especially thank Jackie for putting together such an ambitious project, and thinking of our studio as a place to end her residency here in Ireland, Maria for working so hard to ensure that everything ran smooth, and helping out in every possible way be it writing grant applications, cooking in the kitchen, helping out in the studios or designing awesome t-shirts. We would also like to thanks Timeka, Turron and YAYA for bringing such a great group of kids over from New Orleans. We can't wait to see ya'll on your home turf and try out those famed Po-Boys. And of course a fond farewell to Jay, Jasmine, Azania, Chloe, Aine, Padrig, Kwayne, Jourdan and Sarah. You will be missed dearly.

Cow House Studios are proud to announce our support for and collaboration with artist Jackie Sumell in her newest project A=AGHT. For ten days our studios will facilitate a collaboration between students from New Orleans, LA and Tallaght, Co Dublin on projects designed by participating artists including Cow House founders Frank Abruzzese and Rosie O'Gorman.

A=AGHT is a project designed by lead artist Jackie Sumell under the South Dublin County Percent for Art Scheme. Ms. Sumell is currently artist-in-resident through In Context-3 Programme, based in Tallaght and has been working in New Orleans over the last 7 years.

A=AGHT is a concept based on creating the same sound from two entirely different spellings. This serves as the conceptual catalyst for the process of identifying and extracting commoness in seemingly different communities. NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Tallaght (South County Dublin).

A=AGHT is a semi-utopic virtual space/town whose rules, population and culture are generated by a facilitated exchange between youth from New Orleans and Tallaght. Adult artists and cultural workers from both cities will develop projects that encourage youth participants to explore historic moments, social grievances, ethnic and racial disparities in order to invent a place of creative resolve.

We have just opened up two new courses for the Summer of 2008. Rosie will be teaching a painting course focused on color theory, and frank will be teaching a photography course course where students get a chance to print in the darkroom and take a couple shooting excursions. If you have any questions about these courses or future programming requests please do not hesitate to contact us.