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Many of our gallery artists have been working hard to create pieces on the theme of "Soul Spirit" where they have been left to interpret the theme in any way they wished. On the night we will be extending a very warm welcome to many new artists joining the gallery.

We will be introducing a permanent feature of a small wishing tree in the gallery so we ask people to bring along a ribbon to tie to it and make a wish!

 

 Apart from being surrounded by beautiful art, this promises to be a fun event. When we ask the question what feeds the soul ...many might answer, food, wine, art, friendships, laughter, music and dance. So with that in mind we plan to light the bbq have some bellydancing and a music session! This is one of those evenings not to be missed!

The fourth Culture night at PURPLE RAVEN ART gallery had a huge attendance this year with a bus pulling up at the gate to let people off from Mullingar at the start of the night. Woodcarver Richie Clarke had three magnificent wood sculptures on display and he put the finishing touches on the Salmon of Knowledge while people watched him work…including the resident cat. All three sculptures will be on display at the ploughing championships.  Artist Morgan Gibbs had an audience around him from the second he put up the easel until he left at the end of the night and people were fascinated observing him paint.  ‘The Valley Singers’ (Delvin) gave a great lively performance. They meet every Friday night for rehearsals and new people are very welcome to join.  Amanda Rogers, despite not feeling well, entertained us with a beautiful bellydance.   At July’s Strong Women exhibition the gallery introduced a Trad Music Session to their line-up of events and they ended up being the most talked about feature of the night. They are a group of friends from the Athboy and Clonmellon area, who have been playing together for years.  They were asked back and were joined by a few of the locals and they were brilliant.  They have promised they will return to the gallery anytime.  I would like to thank most sincerely everyone involved in making culture night a success .The support is very much appreciated.  It is lovely to see faces with huge smiles, where people are enjoying themselves and to hear the familiar sound of laughter when friends and neighbours meet. We seem to be left with some LOST PROPERTY items after every event.  The last event a set of false teeth were found on the lawn. This time we have a coat, a car and a blonde toupee!

 

  Purple Raven Art Gallery will launch a new exhibition on July 12^th. Entitled ‘Strong Women’ the exhibition will honour the struggles of ordinary woman with 35 pieces of work from a broad range of artists including Roisin Duffy, Jennifer Farley  and Morgan Gibbs.

Gallery owner and artist Hazel Revington-Cross planned the exhibition over the last four months, in order to celebrate the struggles of women including those who have lost children, fought cancer, survived spousal and parental abuse or battled with depression. “There is a sisterhood among women, where they gather around in hard times and support each other and give each other strength. This exhibition will be a celebration of the strength and support we find in each other throughout our lives,”.

The exhibition will run from July 12^th until August 12th, and entry to the gallery is free. Artists from around the country have been creating pieces expressed through paintings, photography, sculpture and mixed media to fit this theme.

The work includes Photography by Adrienne M Finnerty which were taken in third world countries and she captures the beauty and strength of these women despite their living conditions; A mosaic of the goddess ‘Eos’ by Dawn Aston who received a silver medal for her garden design at Bloom this year, and also a charcoal drawing by local artist Brendan Leavy from Athboy Co. Meath which features a portrait of Mother Theresa.

As the gallery strives to bring art to the everyday lives of the community, this has been reflected in a collage of inspirational women who were nominated through social media. The gallery encouraged their Facebook followers to help create a piece of art, by sharing images of inspirational women on their Facebook page. The collage also includes drawings from children at St Patrick’s National school, of women who have been an inspiration to them.

One woman and close friend of Hazel’s, Kim Doyle from Kells Co. Meath, was nominated by Hazel because she never failed to continuously laugh and maintain her sense of humour week after week during her chemotherapy sessions in St Luke’s. She is one of the inspirations behind the exhibition and she plans to sing on the night.

The exhibition will be officially opened with a gala event on July 12^th from 7pm until 10pm, and all are welcome to attend. The evening will feature an inspirational speech from Deirdre White, motivational holistic therapist, who will officially open the event and Mary Cully assistant treasurer of Delvin Hospice Homecare, a collage of photographs of women nominated for their strength and inspiration, singing by Siobhan Brady, refreshments, and a bellydancing performance by Amanda Rogers.

Images: Bottom right,  'The Juggler' by Roisin Duffy and above image by Morgan Gibbs from his portraits of the world series.