Art is Just for Me!

I started attending art classes with Claire a few years ago. Since then I have done three QQI awards in Art and Design, Painting and Drawing.

I have enjoyed every single art class that I have ever done. The classes give a lift to my day. It is something to get up in the morning for, a goal for the day. The students in the classes have become friends. It is very important for us to have these activities. Maybe it is because we are older and wiser that we appreciate them.

Since I got married, I have been looking after my children. Like a lot of people, I think you forget about yourself. When I started the art classes, it was an opportunity to do things for myself again

Art was just for me. It allowed me to reconnect with the young girl I once was who loved everything creative. When my mother was my age, I thought she was an old woman. I feel I have lots more to learn and enjoy in life.

I have learned a lot of technical things and really developed my skills. I have made clay models. papier mache masks, batiks, painting using different techniques such as stippling. In drawing, I have learned how to use perspective.

Getting involved in art has also had an influence on my family. When the grandchildren come around we paint together. I think I have passed my love of art onto them. In secondary school, my granddaughter chose art as a subject .They rush to show me the art they have done in school. My husband loves my work; he frames everything and hangs it on the wall. I am thrilled to be involved in the exhibitions Claire organises.

Claire really encourages you to challenge yourself. She helps you create things you never believed you could do before you started out. For example with the stippling, it seemed so difficult at the start but Claire broke it down into easy steps.

Frances Sweeney