Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!

This year Belfast City Council pulled out all the stops and put on a four day festival for Saint Patrick's day and I was drafted in to do origami and papercraft workshops for three days.

 

We made shamrock badges, hairclips, necklaces and origami shamrocks and four-leaf clovers with kids from one to a hundred (more or less) and it was great craic, the only thing problem being that I was kept so busy that I hardly got a chance to take many photos or indeed to take part in some of the amazing other traditional crafts that were on offer.

 

I hope you all rose a glass for luck on Sunday, wherever you were in the world.

Happy Birthday Hubby

 

For Danny's 36th birthday we hired out this amazing little cinema in Comber, just a few miles away from Belfast.

 

The Spence brothers have built two 1940s style cinemas just down the lane from one another, using materials reclaimed from local cinemas as they were refurbished or closed.

 

 

Look at the beautiful interior! A friend who was there with us remarked that the place reminded him of the Regal cinema in Limavady that he'd grown up going to, and it turns out that the seats came from that very cinema! Northern Ireland is a very small place.

 

 

We watched pretty much the best film ever made, 'The Princess Bride'.

Haven't seen it?

Inconceivable!

 

 

 

Happy birthday husbando.

 

 

Creative Change video

I detest seeing myself on video but talented film maker El Porter-McCullough made this short film about the lost & found exhibition at PS2 project space so I thought I would share it with you. For some reason I'm rocking back and forth throughout the video like a complete loon, so please ignore that and appreciate the way El has filmed through the viewfinder of my old Hasselblad camera and added a split-screen effect.

See more films by El and a wealth of information about arts events and exhibitions in Northern Ireland on the creative change NI website

Lost & Found workshop

The lost and found exhibition at PS2 will be finished this Saturday and after then I promise to blog about something, ANYTHING else, but for now, here is a post about the free papercraft workshop we had there on Saturday.

About 10 people squeezed into the space to learn how to make newspaper pompoms and some origami designs. It was great to actually get people using the space. Afterwards a few of us hung out for a drink and a natter. How I wish this were my permanent home in the city.

Thanks to all the lovely people who came down - to the old friends and the new friends I made.

Read all about it.

Here is some shameless self-promotion! On the morning of the opening of the lost & found show, a photographer from local newspaper 'The Irish News' called round to take a picture of the exhibition. So here I am pretending to look through some records.

This is what the blurb says:

LOST AND FOUND:

Photographer Maeve Henry relaxes in the PS2 gallery space which she has
 turned into an overcrowded living room full of things she collects from

charity shops, skips, derelict houses and other places where

people might not think to look. Her project entitled ‘Lost and

Found’ will be on display until April 28. Members of the public

are invited to bring their own collectables to be part of the

exhibition. Visit www.lostandfoundbymaeve.blogspot.co.uk or

www.pssquared.org for more information

Lost & found exhibition opening.

And straight on to the opening! It was such a great night and really busy with lots of friends and family there as well as both of the late night art tours visiting the show. The room certainly felt cosy then!

There was even spontaneous dancing to Otis on the record player.

Thanks to everyone who came down. It's open all month and I'm planning a craft workshop and a couple of intimate get togethers down there. Stay tuned for details.

On the home stretch

It's been quite a day. We made great progress in the space today though there are still a couple of little bits and pieces to do before the clamouring hoards arrive tomorrow evening. It feels nice and cosy though.

BUT this morning I moved a ladder, forgetting that there was a hammer on top if it and it fell, pointy end down onto my head. And THEN I closed my finger in a car door and I now have a half blue nail. I'd show you photographic evidence but I'm concerned you may be eating at the moment.

One has to suffer for one's Art, doesn't one?

Lost & Found - the exhibition!

There's some very exciting news here at Lost & Found. I'm having an exhibition next week! It all happened very quickly. A few months back a man called Peter who runs the fantastic PS2 project space on Donegall Street in Belfast emailed me after coming across this very blog. He asked if I'd like to have a lost and found exhibition all about collecting, recycling and how we all have different ideas about the beauty and value of the objects we have around us.

Skip forward to last week when I was told that there was a spot open for my show in April - two weeks later! Luckily I work at the University so I have two weeks holidays for Easter. Isn't life wonderful. So it's all go and very busy and exciting but I wouldn't have it any other way. The next few days will be spent packing up most of the contents of my home to bring down to the space, then I'll spend a few days putting the collections all together.

I'd love people to add items to the project (you can have them back afterwards) - they might be old photographs you find in a second-hand book, a shopping list found on the street or your favourite vintage find or beach combing treasure.

There really is treasure everywhere!

There will be an opening night on Thursday 5th April which coincides with the fabulous late Night Art when all the galleries in Belfast open late and there's free wine to be had! It's always a good night, so please call by if you're free. The exhibition will be there until the 28th april. 

Click here for more information on the PS2 website.

Origami class at the Crescent.

Last weekend I led an origami workshop at the Crescent Arts Centre with eleven lovely ladies. I learnt a couple of new designs - a little fox that's simple enough to do with kids and a butterfly, and I was invited to do an origami class in a school in a couple of weeks, which  is nice!

There's a paper party decoration class on next month too if you may fancy learning how to make decorations for a party or wedding. Click here to book a spot through the Crescent Arts Centre. The class costs £16 and is on Sunday 1st April.

Selling our wares at St.George's market

For the last couple of months I've been working with a charity called the NOW project who work with adults with learning difficulties, helping them get into employment. We've been doing weekly craft workshops and today we had a go at selling the fruits of our labour at the Friday variety market.

Joanne and trainees Marie and Jacqueline behind our stall.

We made a reasonable profit for the charity and had a great time meeting some of the other traders at St.George's, a covered market which has been trading since 1896. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the 6 O'Clock start.

We're selling button hearts, jewellery, vinage teacup plants and cake stands. If you happen to be in Belfast we'll be there for the next couple of Fridays.

And I'll leave you with a picture of this amazing old lady I spotted at the market. Everything was pink even down to her scarf, earrings, ring and lipstick. Class.

Today's finds

I haven't done a post about my finds in ages but rest assured that my thrifting is unabated. Here are a couple of little beauties I've picked up recently - the Hornsea biscuit jar may horrify anyone who was around in the seventies but to me it's pure retro good ness.

The little Scottish watercolour is unsigned but really quite acomplished I think. I just did a quick count though and I now have 30 framed pictures in our living/dining room alone. Perhaps it's time to start rotating the collection, before I become one of those hoarders you see on TV who can't even get into some of the rooms in their home. 

And this little plant isn't found so much as made. I volunteer one morning a week with an organisation called the NOW project (http://www.nowproject.co.uk/)  and last week we planted these mini cacti and succulents like this one into old teacups that I collected. I just love how the design of this cup echoes the shape of the plant so this one came straight home with me.

If you happen to be from round these parts we'll be down at St George's market in Belfast next Friday morning selling all the goodies we've made over the past few months. We'd love it if you came down to support the charity.

Christmas in Belfast

After Christmas morning in Portstewart Danny and I drove up to Belfast to join his sister Lucy and her husband Kenny (in matching jumpers) for dinner with the rest of the family.

There was a second round of present giving and general feelings of mirth.

Dan's mum bought me this amazing moving Santa who for some reason also takes photos. I love it!

Dinner ensued.

Lucy's newly decorated dining room had its first outing. Classy.

After dinner we went to Bangor to visit the niece and nephew. One of which we then put in a bag.

Lucy, her brother Michael and the first of the next generation, Lily.

Thanks everybody for a perfect Christmas.