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Paint Your Own Pottery Tea Party at Les Papillons, Irvinestown. Co. Fermanagh

Our Paint Your Own Experience is suitable for practicing artists and beginners. You will be painting some pottery which has been thrown on a wheel and dried ready to be painted using underglazes.

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Meadowsweet

There's an abundance of frothy cream Meadowsweet growing along the lane. The air is fragranced with a soft rose-like scent. It is related to the Rose family.  I picked some and I'm hoping that they'll fill the sitting room with their delicate perfume.  For centuries people brought Meadowsweet into their homes for the same purpose, but they also used it to sweeten jams, wine and beer. It flowers at this time of year through to September so perfect timing for harvest time and gathering hedgerow fruits. The name does not refer to the damp meadows you find the flower in. Meadowseet gets its name from the Mead it was added to, in order to enrich the flavour. I think it...

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Confidence Found at Last. Thank you.

If someone had told me two years ago that I had talent and made lovely things my response would have been, “ Ahh sure it’s not that good.” or “It’s easy. Anyone could do it.” It's called The Imposter Syndrome.  Having pride in my work and accepting compliments is something that has taken me years to come to terms with; to say “Thank you.” instead of feeling embarrassed and wanting to hide. I’ve always painted, but it was never a career option at school. Get an office job. Get a public relations job. Earn a steady wage. So painting remained my hobby.  Painting is good for the soul. It helps organise thoughts, zone out, relax and ease worries. I highly...

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New Lamp Design.

It was the `1970s when they stopped making wooden spools for ribbons and threads, in favour of much cheaper plastics.  In the 70s there wasn't much thought put into polluting. Growing up in Northern Ireland during that time was about entertaining yourself. I loved to play with my Grans' Singer sowing machine. She had three in the house. I'm not sure why. They were riddled with woodworm, but they still worked and I used to sew rags together to dress the (wooden) peg and spool dolls. These memories are where the idea for the lamp bases came from. I spent my childhood playing with dogs, looking for horses and riding motor bikes. My first was when I was 10. It was...

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