Midland Arts

Mission Statement

"Midland Arts Education Programmes aim to help all our students and mentors, beginners and professionals, to move into a different space, a space where different rules apply; rules of rhythm, colour, line, form, movement, melody and harmony. In such a space, learners will feel free to 'imagine' what they can 'create' and find new ways of experiencing the Arts in engagement with their communities, neighbours and society."

Since 1980 Westmeath VEC has sponsored a Midland Arts Education Programme. The programme is funded through the Further Education Section of the Department of Education and Science. The Arts Education Officer, Shane Brennan, develops, oversees and monitors a range of Arts Education Programmes throughout the five counties of Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon and Laois. 

Many of these are projects designed to enhance and enable access to the Arts for people suffering various forms of disadvantage.

Recent Arts Education Projects

Project 'Re-vision' for example 2005-2008 (celebrating diversity through Photography) was funded through the EU Socrates programme and offered a forum for the sharing of images on the web between selected groups in six European Countries, Ireland, Romania, Finland, Turkey and the UK. (www.revision.eu.com) .

Project 'TAPE (Transgenerational Arts/Cultural Platform in Education www.tapeeurope.org ) 2008-2010 is helping a group of ex-miners and interested younger people in Co. Roscommon to share life and arts experiences with each other, guided by professional artists and musicians. This project also involves intergenerational groups in Lithuania, Sicily, Estonia, Turkey and Poland. 

Visual Arts Provision

The 'Atelier', emerging-artists programme, begun in 2009, uses a work experience model and offers young artists the experience of intensive immersion in the world of the professional artist: Alternating engagement with their own work and the work of the professional host artist, students learn to cope with issues of discipline and  loneliness, while exploring the atelier journeyman model of skill acquisition. The teaching sructure involves: a) Elements of making a painting  b) Drawing and measurement c) Colour theory/seeing colour/tonal relationships, using the vehicle of still life d) developing compositional relationships between objects e) Developing visual impact and working with oil paint. This week long programme is offered at Midland Arts, Kinnegad and at other Midland Centes.

Other Visual Arts workshops available for groups on request include:-

•  Impressionism Weekends:: Intensive technical work followed by field work: Voyage into the world of impressionism/practical education in colour mixing /brushwork/visual tension/reviving the impressionist way of seeing

• Advanced painting workshop – still life painting – open to very serious painters - composition / colour studies/ oil with acrylic under-painting

• Watercolour techniques

• Weekend Drawing & Watercolour Course for prospective Architecture Students: Understanding light and shade/perspective/sketching

• The photographing of Art work for professional artists

• Advanced Life-drawing

Specialised Art Courses directed by 'Kevin Flood'  http://www.kevinfloodfineart.com/

Spring/Summer 2010

• Dramatic Cliffs & Coastal Scenes - Oils/Acrylics -20^th 21^st March

  To paint this subject successfully it is helpful to use a palette knife and brush technique. Rocks & cliffs will afford us the opportunity to explore the use of the palette knife while the movement of the sea and clouds are best interpreted through simple open brush work.

  Atmospheric Skies the source of light & mood - Watercolour/Pastel - 10^th & 11^th Apr

  Under a large watercolour sky a simplified landscape or coastal scene will look most impressive. The emphasis in this course will be using wet into wet techniques to capture dramatic skies. I will demonstrate how to increase the sense of depth in a painting by using ariel perspective when painting the sky.

  The course will also cover techniques for painting various cloud formations. By referring to the work of the old masters I hope to show the central role the sky plays in creating a sense of light in a landscape painting.

  Rivers & Waterfalls in a West of Ireland Landscape - Oils/Acrylics -

  8^th, 9^th, & 10^th May

  This course will cover many aspects of painting water including creating a sense of movement through carefully rendered edges. Techniques for painting rocks. Ways to simplify complex areas to increase the visual impact.

  Trees & Buildings in the Landscape - Oils/Acrylics - 22^nd & 23^rd May

  Learn to paint realistic foliage and interpret greens successfully in oils. This course will also cover techniques for rendering stonework and some information on simplifying perspective.

  Sicilian Landscape - Oils/Acrylics - 19^th , 20^th & 21^st June

  This course will mainly concentrate on the various aspects of capturing the strong colourful Sicilian sunlight.

   

  For more detailed information on the above courses, please call 0449357417

PORTFOLIO PREPARATION COURSE for transition/leaving cert students or anyone wishing to prepare a portfolio for college

Midland Arts (Co. Westmeath VEC)
Old National School, Kinnegad, Co Westmeath


This new course which will run from September 18th 2010 to the end of February 2011 on Saturday mornings – each session lasting from 10am – 1pm

Subsidised Cost for the course
200 Euros. Spaces will be limited to 10 persons

Course Tutor
The course tutor will be Geraldine O’Reilly who is a practicing artist as well as an experienced art teacher. For 10 years she worked as course tutor at Ballyfermot College of Further Education on their one year course in Art, Design and Portfolio   She has worked as lecturer in Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design and tutor in painting, drawing and printmaking in the Education Dept, National College of Art and Design.

Duration
The course involves studio work over 18 three hour sessions.
It will enable the student to develop drawing and observational skills and to explore creativity and personal expression through a range of creative processes including, painting and drawing and mixed media. Some printmaking will also be included.

The course will help the student to develop a personal project and to explore ideas and make their portfolio suitable for third level requirements. All the projects will be broad enough to allow students to develop a portfolio suitable to their particular interests – Fine Art, Design, Fashion, Animation etc.

Course Content
Drawing and Painting covering colour, texture, tone and form using a variety of media such as paint, pencil, charcoal, ink, pastel.
Developing an ideas notebook
Printmaking – exploring basic printmaking and developing a series of finished prints.
Developing a personal dimension to the artwork.
Apart from the actual teaching the tutor will also advise and mentor each student through individual tutorial sessions.

For further information or to enrol phone 087-9231106

............................................

Music Provision:

Westmeath County Music Scheme, which has been running successfully for 30 years, providing quality instrumental tuition for all age-groups, is now being developed and expanded imaginatively through several new music education initiatives.

One of these is the 'Kindermusik Outreach Programme' which is a collaborative venture between the VECs and County Council Arts Offices of Westmeath, Longford and Offaly. This programme aims to introduce adult guardians together with their 'little ones' to the world of music and music literacy. This has been running successfully now for three years in over 12 centres and is set to become an important foundation in the development of future regional and local music education networks

Other music initiatives come collectively under the 'Musicmakers Outreach Programme' where emphasis is placed on 'Group-Singing' and 'Specialised Instrumental Tuition' at various schools and centres in the region. The long-term aim is to develop templates for greater community participation in music making and the performing arts and to increase the involvement of young people and adults in accessible Community Music Programmes, as well as choirs, ensembles and orchestras of excellence. A new Orchestra - LIR Youth Orchestra was formed (January 2004) at Midland Arts and 2006 saw the formation of the first Midland Youth Orchestra with an inaugural Summer-school at Mullingar Community College and a debut performance at the Cathedral of Christ the King Mullingar in September 2006. The orchestra has continued to expand its membership and repertoire and has now peformed twice at the NCH, Dublin and the Whitla Hall Belfast, as well as hosting a week long visit of the Jugend Sinfonie Orchester, Bremen in summer 2008. The MYO in turn made a very rewarding return visit to Germany Summer 2009, where the two orchestras once again worked and played together. It is hoped in the near future to form a resident professional Midland Chamber Orchestra which will have a teaching remit in addition to providing regular performances in the region. 

Special Workshop Notices:

In collaboration with Hilltown House, Castlepollard, (www.hilltown.ie ) Midland Arts helped develop a series of workshop/residencies in Electro-acoustic music (beginning July 16th &19th, as part of this year's Hilltown New Music Festival). A day of Contemporary Dance with the Legitimate Bodies company was also held at Hilltown on Sunday, Sept 27th.

Similar events are being planned for Summer and Autumn 2010

Anyone interested in these projects can contact Shane Brennan, Arts Education Office

Other Evening Classes, Courses and Workshops run to date have included:-

• Creative Writing
• Contemporary Art
• Screenwriting
• Film-production
• Drama Studies/Stage Skills
• Music Appreciation
• Decorative Arts
• Architecture
• Contemporary Dance
• Laban Community Dance
• Photography Fetac Level 5
• Photography for Beginners
• Life Drawing
• Glass Art/Stained Glass
• Water Colours and Oil Painting
• Wood-Carving, Sculpture

If you wish to discuss involvement in these or any other arts courses/projects, either as student or teacher/ facilitator, please feel free to call or write to:

Shane Brennan, Arts Education Officer,
Midland Arts,
Old National School,
Kinnegad,
Co. Westmeath
Tel:  044 9379040  Mob:  086 1734626
Fax: 044 9379040
E-Mail: midlandarts@westmeathvec.ie

Regular ongoing Courses & Workshops available at Midland Arts, Kinnegad