After spending time at the Blasket Island Centre, we got to go visit Maria Simonds-Gooding at her home and studio.
Maria Simonds-Gooding was born in India, to an Irish mother and English father. She spent the first six years of her life in India, and was very much given free roam, with a very loose education system. Today, she credits those early years with fostering her love for remote places. Her family eventually returned to Ireland and she grew up in Country Kerry, and, after completing an arts education at the Bath Academy Corsham in 1968, she moved to the Dingle Peninsula. Today, she lives in a renovated cottage, overlooking the Blasket Islands.
Maria was amazingly kind, and invited us all into her house. She asked us about our studies, and told us about her own life. Our conversation ranged over many different topics, and we got to hear about much of Maria's views on art and several of her stories about her past. Listening to her was fantastic. She was incredibly enthusiastic and eager to talk to us, and a very expressive, energetic, and intense speaker.
Maria Simonds-Gooding was born in India, to an Irish mother and English father. She spent the first six years of her life in India, and was very much given free roam, with a very loose education system. Today, she credits those early years with fostering her love for remote places. Her family eventually returned to Ireland and she grew up in Country Kerry, and, after completing an arts education at the Bath Academy Corsham in 1968, she moved to the Dingle Peninsula. Today, she lives in a renovated cottage, overlooking the Blasket Islands.
Maria was amazingly kind, and invited us all into her house. She asked us about our studies, and told us about her own life. Our conversation ranged over many different topics, and we got to hear about much of Maria's views on art and several of her stories about her past. Listening to her was fantastic. She was incredibly enthusiastic and eager to talk to us, and a very expressive, energetic, and intense speaker.
Maria's work includes pieces of many mediums, though she is most famous for her prints. These range from representational to abstract, and she explained to us that what she wanted to focus on was the idea of people's love for life, and their determination, especially when faced with hostile, difficult environments. Her current work is fully abstract-expressionist, with large, geometric prints, as well as the printing plates themselves, made of steel and aluminium. Most of her newer work is made in two parts, with one plate for ink and another for color. The two plates are run through the press one at a time, to create a unique print with color and depth. I very much enjoyed these works, especially the way they focused on the lives of people getting by in harsh places.
We got to see some copies of her older work as well, including a series of prints about Fungie, the Dolphin who resides in Dingle Bay (like the image above). These were very playful, happy prints, and helped show her love for the Dingle Peninsula and its traditions, including the newer ones.
We got to see some copies of her older work as well, including a series of prints about Fungie, the Dolphin who resides in Dingle Bay (like the image above). These were very playful, happy prints, and helped show her love for the Dingle Peninsula and its traditions, including the newer ones.
Talking with Marie was wonderful. She was full of enthusiasm, and enjoyed teaching us about her life, inspirations, and ideas. I can say without a doubt that she is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. There are people in this world who you know are connecting with you, and you can feel that they are passionate about sharing this information with you personally, and Maria is one of those people. It's hard to explain what it was about the conversation that made it so poignant, but this is certainly a conversation I will remember for years to come.
After our lovely talk with Maria, we stopped by the Gallarus Oratory. This is a sacred space, built sometime between the 6th and 9th century. Josh wrote a lovely research post about it, which you can read here for more details on its history and build.
I thought that this was a very cool experience. Getting to see this sort of architecture up close was really cool. We studied many different parts of ancient architecture like this in art history class, and I enjoyed seeing what we'd learned about as it was applied to real life. Things like the alignment of buildings with the sun and controlled pathways all played a part in this building, which was very cool to see.
I thought that this was a very cool experience. Getting to see this sort of architecture up close was really cool. We studied many different parts of ancient architecture like this in art history class, and I enjoyed seeing what we'd learned about as it was applied to real life. Things like the alignment of buildings with the sun and controlled pathways all played a part in this building, which was very cool to see.