How I found this trip…
If you are wondering how to take a trip to Ireland, or some other location, for the sake of art and spirituality, here are two great places to start.
Our trip co-director, Catherine Anderson, hosts many such trips at Creative Pilgrimage. You’re sure to find something that speaks to you. While you’re there, see Catherine’s many books, such as The Creative Photographer, her Soul Collage and labyrinth work, and her personal art projects. Catherine resides in Cape Charles, VA.
Our trip co-director, Jane Dalton, is an art professor at UNC-Charlotte where she teaches both art education and studio art. Her website can be found here at Contemplative Artist. Her latest book, one of many, is The Mindful Studio: Cultivating Creativity and Well-Being in the Art Classroom. Jane resides in Charlotte, NC.
Other Resources
So many connections were made on the trip, and many people, including our co-directors, shared resources. I’m passing along a few so you can enjoy them too.
L.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art, Phaidon Press Ltd., 1995 (First published 1950). For many years, this easy-to-read history of art from cave paintings to experimental art has been loved by many. I found a gently used copy to pore over at leisure this summer.
Anything and everything written by John O’Donohue. If you’re wondering where to start, begin with the 1999 classic Anam Cara which means Soul-Friend.
Christine Valters Paintner. All of her books are wonderful, but her online presence at Abbey of the Arts is followed by many of my fellow travelers.
The Burren: Heart of Stone is a two-part documentary found on PBS. You’ll hear more about the Burren from me in coming days.
Niall Williams and Christine Breen, O Come Ye Back to Ireland, SoHo Press, 2003.
Poetry by the following:
Pico Iyer
Fredric Lehman, The Sacred Landscape
Mary Oliver
Deborah Anne Quibell, Soul Bird: Poems for Flying
Kai Sidenburg, Love Poems from the Earth
Wallace Stevens, “Sunday Morning”
David Wagoner, “Lost”
Rosemary Wahtola Trommer, Naked for Tea
And last but not least, my daughter sent me the following YouTube video just before I left on my trip. These Irish kids make me smile every time I watch. Find your spark in Ireland! Now where’s my bucket hat??