Castletown House car park area foliage.
What a joy to facilitate National Drawing Day 2019 in Castletown House, Celbridge, in Co Kildare on behalf of Kildare County Council Arts Office. Castletown House was built in the 1720’s and is a stunning location to work in at any time of the year and today, 18th May, is a delight. It has wonderful parklands, wildlife and the river Liffey. Castletown House is Ireland’s earliest and finest Palladian house and certainly worth a visit.
National Drawing Day in Ireland is a day set aside to explore drawing, in all its formats, by attending sessions which take place country wide. These are for all ages and abilities and are free of charge to the participants. As a facilitator of this event you get to connect and engage creatively with lots of different people, those who come specifically to attend, those who are walking the dog, those who have just competed the local park run, those on their way to the coffee shop and grandparents keeping children entertained. All very interesting people with varied levers of interest in art however they all have a go at making their mark, from age 2 years upwards.
This little video sums up the essence of the day. I had set up 4 creative stations which encouraged those with a curiosity to try different forms and levels of mark making, all with an element of fun and joy.
Earlier that morning I had attended my granddaughters first Communion. I returned to her home later that day to continue to celebrate with all the family.
Ava’s First Communion
With sincere thanks to National Drawing Day in Castletown House funders, Kildare County Council Arts Office.