This month's Alumni Spotlight interview series features Alyssa Coffin, Individual Study Abroad, 2013 Hometown? Currently residing in Providence, RI Three words that describe you? Thoughtful, quiet, ocean Why you chose BCA? More than I could’ve realized I needed a semester to explore and play in whatever direction or theme I found myself compelled, to rediscover that “need” that makes the drive behind our work honest and unavoidable. It was a chance to break away from fulfilling assignments and discover my personal language. The small intimate setting, open format, interdisciplinary approach and collaborative mindset of BCA, not to mention the idyllic landscape, seemed like the perfect place to break away from the drudgery of my art education. Describe your work when you came to BCA and how it progressed during your time there? When I came I was an illustration major, so primarily a representational painter. I was a perfectionist performing the completion of assignments in the style I felt illustration ought to look like. Upon beginning the semester at BCA, I very quickly began to move away from this into more and more conceptual three-dimensional work as well as dance performance, and film. Once I got a taste of the purity of myself translated into these mediums I had previously been afraid of, I couldn’t get enough. Briefly describe the work you do. I make mixed media sculpture, painting and installation using various materials and objects to create visual metaphors. I explore the technical rendering of an illusion, in relationship to the abstract, history-laden surface of a tangible material. By converging these elements the work speaks to the abstraction of thought and human experience through imagery that is universal and concrete. What are you passionate about? Well, I’m passionate about visual communication of course! But specifically I’m passionate about uncovering meaning ¬– both the beauty and the dark, painful realities– that most people in their day-to-day lives glaze over and then bringing them into a deeper encounter with these realities. I’m always digging or stripping or breaking in some sense with my work and in my relationships in this search to uncover. What is your daily ritual for art making? I’m still working on the daily part. The hustle of being an artist doesn’t always leave room for that, but I am always seeing things and collecting visual memos with photographs. This usually happens the most on my frequent walks. My conceptual ritual is to free-write about each piece I’ve made after it has been finalized. I learn so much about my work and myself in this process. Daily journaling and reading something inspirational or relevant to my current work are vital to my practice. What advice do you have for current students? Play, seriously. Whatever you do don’t let fear and the need to perform or produce rule your making. The artistic process must be driven out of a personal need to create. Follow your curiosities, embrace your preferences, however obscure or strange they may seem, look deep inside yourself as a unique creation and then lovingly tend to every thread your find there and follow it out into the world… http://www.alyssacoffinart.com/about/

Face painting and sharing delicious home made apple cider at the Ballyvaughan Farmers market today as part of the Burren Winterage festival!

Apple Cider making with Dr Eileen Hutton in her "Art of Daily Living" class... in preparation for a special event on Saturday morning in Ballyvaughan village with students and staff taking part in the Burren Winterage Festival. We will be giving out warm cups of this delicious nectar while face painting lots of cows, burren flowers and some scary halloween spooks too!

We had very productive and engaging mid term crits this week! Here are a couple of highlights...

Please join us on November 1 for our next Wednesday Session featuring comic artist legend, Brendan McCarthy. The talk begins at 11:00 in the Lecture Hall and is free and open to all. Brendan McCarthy studied Painting and Film at Chelsea school of Art under the celebrated British Pop Artist Patrick Caulfield. Brendan is one of the UK's most gifted graphic novelists. His ground-breaking comics of the early 80s (Strange Days, Skin, Rogan Gosh) as part of 'The British Invasion' paved the way for comics’ increasing popularity in Hollywood. He was also one of the pioneers of computer animation, creating the visuals for the 90s computer animated TV series ReBoot, the first long-form digital narrative that preceded Pixar and Dreamworks' later successes. He has spent more than 20 years working in Hollywood, and is the co-writer and a designer on Mad Max Fury Road. More recently, Brendan has created new graphic novels including Spider-Man Fever (for Marvel), Solo (for DC Comics) and Swimini Purpose, The Zaucer of Zilk and Dream Gang for independent US publishers. A best-selling retrospective collection of his classic comic book work was released last year, The Best of Milligan & McCarthy. http://artbrendan.com/

Shadows of the Earth Paintings and Drawings by Patsy Connolly November 2 – December 1, 2017 The Gallery | Burren College of Art | Newtown Castle | Ballyvaughan | Co. Clare OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, November 2, 6 – 8 PM FREE and Open to ALL You are warmly invited to join us for the opening reception of Shadows of the Earth: an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Burren-based artist, Patsy Connolly. The works in this exhibition express the notion of duality: darkness and light, death and rebirth, consciousness and the unconscious. They underscore the multilayered and mysterious nature of our lives, where spirits, ghosts, ancestral influences, inner voices, and untold stories all have their place and need to be integrated if we are to attain some semblance of wholeness. The exhibition will be opened by Mary O’Flaherty. Artist bio: Patsy Connolly’s paintings and drawings are semi-abstract, symbolic, and reflect the inner landscape of feeling, imagination and personal narrative. A keen interest in Jungian, Archetypal Psychology & Alchemy finds echoes in the work, which draws on Unconscious Symbolism, Myth, Dream motifs. She completed a BA in Fine Art in Galway in 2015, has taken part in workshops and master classes at the Burren College of Art (BCA), Lodestar School of Art, New York Studio School, St Ives School of Painting, West Dean and Schumacher Colleges of Art, UK, and has undertaken residencies at Cill Riallaig, and BCA. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Royal Ulster Academy, The Visual Carlow, Burren College of Art, De Valera Gallery, Ennis and The Court House Art’s Centre, Ennistymon. She has a doctorate in Molecular Genetics, and worked previously in research and education. For further information please visit: http://burrencollege.ie/exhibitions/shadows-earth CONTACT General enquiries can be directed to Lisa Newman lisa@burrencollege.ie or + 353 (0) 65 707 7200

Undergrads - Come join us in the Burren next Spring! Applications for our Spring 18 semester Study Abroad program are being accepted through October 31. For more information on how to apply, visit http://burrencollege.ie/college/individual-study-abroad-admissions-fees.

Sunrise after #Ophelia left our shores #allsafeandsound #lifeisbacktonormal #lifeisgreat #lifeisart

Due to the continued status Red Warning and advice from the bodies responsible for public safety, the Burren College of Art, Newtown Castle and grounds will be closed tomorrow reopening on Tuesday. No faculty or staff will be in attendance. Please stay at home until the storm passes. The school bus will not be running in the interest of health and safety. For any issues, please call Robert on 086 3210976 https://www.facebook.com/irishtimes/posts/10155134427856158

In the first installation of our new Alumni Spotlight interview series, we ask MFA graduate Mollie Douthit a few questions about her experience during and after BCA: Hometown? Grand Forks, ND Three words that describe you? Cold, observant, and wry Why did you choose BCA? I wanted to attend an MFA program free from urban life where I had time to myself. Describe your work when you came to BCA and how it progressed during your time there. When I came to BCA my work was in two places, painting from photos and painting from life. I committed to painting from life during my first semester and from that choice my work has continued to develop. Preferred medium or media? Oil paint. Briefly describe the work you do. My subject matter is autobiographical, and I paint from life. The language of paint is equally important to me as the subjects. What are you passionate about? Honesty, privacy, and respect of time. Where do you find inspiration? Mainly in my daily life, and that fluctuates I don’t consider anything off limits for a subject. What is your daily ritual for art making? This changes, it might start with cleaning or mixing paint, or sitting waiting. The most important thing is to have patience and quiet. What music do you listen to when making work? I prefer silence and the heightened quiet I find when I paint. What artists or writers are inspiring you most these days? I’ve been looking at a lot of Bonnard’s work recently, and reading James Schuyler poetry. Can you tell us about any current or upcoming exhibitions? I currently have an exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon, up through October 21. What advice do you have for current students? Listen to yourself. Mollie Douthit – MFA 2014 http://www.molliedouthit.com/

Please join us for the next two Wednesday sessions (Oct 11 and Oct 18) at BCA featuring our Emerging Irish Artist Residency Award recipients discussing their work. These talks will take place at 11:00am in the Lecture Hall on the Burren College of Art campus, and are free and open to all. Sarah Wilson Born in Monaghan, Ireland (1991). Sarah completed her studies in Fine Art at Loughborough University. Since then she has taken part in residencies in several countries and has been shortlisted for two London based awards ‘The Young Contemporary Purchase Prize’ and the Graduate ‘Works in Print’ Prize. Most recently, Sarah has received a Distinction in her Fine Art Masters from the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. Currently, she continues to exhibit both at home as well as internationally. Ciaran Doyle Ciarán Doyle is an artist based in Dublin. His work observes Edge-lands and awkward spaces in Dublin, focusing on forgotten spaces at the sides of railway tracks and motorways that are hidden away from the main streets and walkways of Dublin. He primarily uses painting as his medium but often uses sculptural processes and model making to explore his subject matter further. In June 2015, Aidan Dunne mentioned Ciaran’s work in review of the three Dublin College's Degree shows in The Irish Times: "There were painters of note at all three shows... At NCAD, Ciarán Doyle’s amalgams of photographs, drawings and paintings of anomalous urban spaces, utilitarian, contingent and shabby, but oddly beautiful, also stood out." (June 12, 2015) Laura McMorrow Born, Ireland 1986. I studied at Limerick School of Art and Design (2008) and hold a Masters Degree in Fine Art from The University of Ulster, Belfast (2012). There is a pseudoscientific aesthetic to my work, which has been influenced by sci-fi films and b-movies. With recent developments in the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in film making, I find myself drawn to the craftsmanship of cinema history. Helena Monteiro Filmmaker, photographer and editor Helena Gouveia Monteiro was born in Lisbon in 1991. She received her MFA from the Villa Arson National Art School in France in 2015 and lives and works in Dublin. She co-founded STEREOEDITIONS independent publications and EST experimental music project.

Ballyvaughan is my pot of gold. (Ella and I had a lovely hike behind the college this afternoon) #luckoftheirish

Sunny morning at the college #BCA

The sun is out today #bca #castlelife #ireland #newtowncastle

Morning walk #burren #bca #ireland

#fbf #magic9planets #watercolour

Missing this cozy work space too much

2016's greatest hits: Yung Midas

2016's greatest hits: living here for weeks

Stunning image for this year's Christmas message @burrencollegeofart #burrencollegeofart #christmas #burren #timespaceinspiration

it's strange that I can see this picture from months ago on my phone and smell the laundry detergent we used, I can feel the breeze that came through the windows in the room we slept in and how it was chilly enough to wear a sweater. God do I miss it. It's strange how memories work.

I woke up to this view almost every morning, I'll be back for you, Ballyvaughan 🌳🌿

my angel matching with my book✨ insanely grateful to have this beautiful soul in my life ✨ see ya in 3 weeks ✌️🏼