Category / Art and Photography

by shannonchance

Dublin Castle and Chester Beatty

None of my guest have been able to get into Dublin Castle, although I had the chance to see it last September, on Culture Night.  I’ve finally figured out why it’s closed to tourists.  This year Ireland is the president of the EU.   The Castle is being used for all sorts of formal ceremonial event.  Therefore, it’s closed to the public until June 30.

A tourist to Dublin will find the best view of the castle from the mort side, looking south from the garden in the front of the Chester Beatty Library.

The Chester Beatty is still open and offers one of the most fascinating places to visit in Dublin.  To access it, you have to go around the west wall of the castle and through the side gate.

Patty, Kitty Lee, and I visited the Chester Beatty Library and saw fragments of the Bible that date back to 150 AD.  These are some of the oldest pieces of the document in existence in the world. While at the Beatty Library, we also saw a temporary exhibition of paintings including one that Patty has always admired, The Gleaners.  It was painted by Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton in 1854.  It’s from the period when artists were trying to record the daily life of laborers and the hard reality they faced in the mid-1800s. We could have spent much longer in the exhibits as we had very little time in the non-Christian collections on this particular visit.

The Library’s website explains:

Described by the Lonely Planet as not just the best museum in Ireland, but one of the best in Europe, the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin is an art museum and library which houses the great collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts assembled by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). Its rich collections from countries across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe opens a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. Chester Beatty Library was named Irish Museum of the year in 2000 and was awarded the title European Museum of the Year in 2002.

Egyptian papyrus texts, beautifully illuminated copies of the Qur’an, the Bible, European medieval and renaissance manuscripts are among the highlights of the collection. In its diversity, the collection captures much of the richness of human creative expression from about 2700 BC to the present day.

Admission to the Chester Beatty Library is free!

This beautiful garden is nestled between Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty Library.
This is the back side of Dublin Castle. It’s best view most visitors to Dublin will get this year since the Castle is closed.
Kitty Lee, Patty, and I caught a glimpse of it on our way to see the exhibits at the Chester Beatty Library.
by shannonchance

A Dubliner of All Trades

Today, I needed to purchase a new external hard drive so I could download photos for you.  On the way to the computer store, I ran into Brendan Lynch.  He ran the musical performances I attended at the Arlington Hotel with Esther, Kitty Lee and Patty.  He also owns The Horse Shoe, located where Capel runs into Bolton Street.

Brendan had the door to his shop open and the sounds of an Irish banjo filled the air.  I stepped into the tiny space, introduced myself, and learned a bit about Brendan’s past and present work.

Turns out Brendan is an artist, photographer, musician, performer, music teacher, instrument trader, city planner, conservation expert, and business owner… a Renaissance man in my book.  As he’s also a history buff, I told him about Fergus Whelan’s book, the planners I’d come across when visiting the former parliament building, and the tour I took recently with DIT’s Gavin Buggy.

I heard music coming from The Horse Shoe as I passed by today…
…so I stopped in to chat with Brendan Lynch, the owner…
…who also plays weekends at the Arlington Hotel’s traditional music and dance show.
Brendon is an artist, musician, and city planner specializing in conservation (though there’s no funded work in that vein for him to do today).
Brendan lent me a book about the Liberties (the area around the Dublin City Council building). We reminisced of grand buildings no longer in Dublin, and those that need restoring…
…like this one on Henrietta Street…
…used in films today…
…that I visited…
…on a February 6 tour of “Lost Dublin”…
hosted by DIT’s Gavin Buggy.
Gavin talked about losses incurred in the building of the Dublin City Council chambers…
…and showed us what the district around Dublin City Council looked like in medieval times.
by shannonchance

Music Video of Dublin

According to artist Matthieu Chardon:

Dublin is one of the most amazing city in Europe, thanks to the people, raw landscape, warm atmosphere, history, culture and parties. Ireland in its all is even better.

He shot this time-lapse footage of Dublin in November 2012 and edited it in December.

It gives an authentic taste of this city.  I love it!

by shannonchance

Gaiety with a Love-Hungry Farmer

Shannon Chance, Kitty Lee Layman, and Patty Asplund after the Love-Hungry Farmer.

Shannon Chance, Kitty Lee Layman, and Patty Asplund after the Love-Hungry Farmer.

 

Nose-bleed seats at the Gaiety Theater.
Kitty Lee Layman and Patty Asplund in Dublin…
…enjoying an excellent theater production.
by shannonchance

Bakery Window

A drizzly day in Dublin….

Reflection in Bakery Window on Lower Baggot Street. (Copyright Shannon Chance 2013.)

Reflection in Bakery Window on Lower Baggot Street. (Copyright Shannon Chance 2013.)

by shannonchance

Dave Chance Downtown: Renovation Update

Dave’s been hard at work with renovating his new studio. It’s going be used for business activities today, so he had to get the project to an adequate level of readiness.  Still lots to do, but it’s looking great!

Here’s what his wall framing and floor moving projects look like:

Wall with rigid insulation and furring.

Wall with rigid insulation and furring.

Wall with electric lines, batt insulation, and wall board.

Wall with electric lines, batt insulation, and wall board.

Wall taped for spackle and painting.

Wall to the right taped for spackle and painting.

Floor moved for today's auditions.

Floor moved for today’s auditions.

by shannonchance

Birthday Surprises

Who ordered the rain?

Who ordered this weather?

Wow!  What a day!

It’s my birthday; the 43rd one of my life.  Besides the weather, great things happened!

#1) I awoke to great news: I’d been invited to review a manuscript for a special edition of JEE (a different edition than the one we’ve written for).  I’m hoping this is a good sign.  Apparently the editors though I was sufficiently competent to be part of their rigorous peer-review process.

#2) My aunt Kitty Lee and her friend Patty Asplund arrived fresh off the plane. This is the first day Kitty has ever spent outside North America!!!

Shannon, Kitty Lee, and Patty.

Shannon, Kitty Lee, and Patty.

#3) Mom woke up in the middle of the night (Pennsylvania time) to call and wish me a happy day.

#4) I put Kitty Lee and Patty on the hop-on hop-off bus and headed for sushi with my colleagues. Little did I know they’d planned a birthday lunch. Sima *baked* a gluten-free cake using truffles, chestnut flour, butter, and cream. Amazing!!!!  The sushi was awesome too.

#5) My replacement bank card finally arrived. YAY!!!!

#6) I visited the former House of Parliament (now owned by the Bank of Ireland, a long story that I’ll save for another day).

Sima, Brian, Gavin, and Shannon.
Birthday cake alla Sima!
Blowing out my (4)3 candles!

I got a fabulous tour of the most historic room by Phillip and Jeremy.  I’ll return again to learn more from John and Sean. And Jeremy will copy some information for me to pick up. While I was there, I met a group from Northern Ireland. They’d all been police (some representing loyalists and some representing nationalists — in other words, on both sides). In any case, they’d have been the ones “keeping the peace” while the men I met in the Cobblestone were out in the past *not* “keeping the peace.”

William of Orange

William of Orange

Phillip told me the stories depicted on the tapestries hanging in the hall.  The victor of the story was William of Orange. Three years after the event depicted, King William and his wife (Queen Mary) chartered the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Where I earned my PhD!  Philip said that Mary was much more important in all that than William. I said that’s why we have t-shirts that say, “Mary and William.”

#7) The bus was right there when I stepped out of the Bank, ready to whisk me back to my apartment.

#8) The post had safely delivered birthday cards and a package from each of parents (my Mom, and my Dad and Step-Mom).  It’s wonderful to be remembered.

#9) I got word that our photo show is on!  The title is

Inter-changes: Interpretations of Ireland by Three Virginians
Photographs by US Fulbright Scholar Shannon Chance, Dave Chance & Glen McClure

#10) Kitty and Patty have sweet-talked the hop-on bus driver into delivering them to my doorstep.  I am telling you: Patty is a charmer!!!!  She’s a seasoned traveller — and a former missionary — who has a way of touching people’s souls.  I’m glad she’s here to help Kitty Lee learn the traveling ropes!

We’ll be out for #11 soon!  I’ll let you know how it goes (they are likely to crash soon…).

A model of the Bank of Ireland building.
Shannon Chance in the Bank of Ireland.
Bank of Ireland’s former Parliament chamber.
by shannonchance

Upcoming Photo Exhibition in Dublin

I’ve got an exhibition of reflection photographs in the works for spring. It’s to occur during May at Notre Dame’s O’Connell House on St. Stephen’s Green.  Tuesday, I met to plan with Notre Dame’s Lisa Caulfield and Joseph Stranix as well as Fulbright’s Joanne Davidson.  I showed them some examples of my work and, thankfully,  got enthusiastic response. 🙂

It’s a big, beautiful space and I look forward to filling it with images.  It’s so much space, in fact, that I am hoping to include my two favorite photographers in the show. (I’m seeking final approval for that.)  I’ll keep you posted as plans progress.

It’s a gorgeous space, and I though you might enjoy seeing it pre-show:

Lisa and Joanne reviewing my photos from a past exhibition.
The view toward O’Connell House (it’s on the right, Marrion Square is to the left.)
Plaque inside the O’Connell House.
The fabulous and welcoming O’Connelll House.
I can hang photos in the entry hall…
…and the two large rooms on the first floor (that’s the second floor in American terminology).
A view of the two rooms.
View from the back room.
I’m not using this room, but I wanted to show it to you. So beautiful. The back wall is hung in “salon style.”
by shannonchance

Dave-i-tivity

Demolition at 616 High Street.

Demolition at 616 High Street.

My constructions of the week mostly involve educational ideas. I completed initial drafts of two conference papers, submit one of them, and today started drafting a third. I have decided that last fall was my “warm up” period and now it is time to hunker down for a little while and produce a host of papers about various aspects of what I learned.

Back home, Dave has been constructing physical things at his new studio. He removed some case work that didn’t suit his needs and he has purchased the materials needed to insulate and construct a new wall surface over the existing concrete block wall on the east side of the main studio space. In the construction biz, we call this “furring out” the wall.  Dave will be able to hide the currently exposed electrical wiring inside the new wall and it will make a much nicer surface for displaying photos.

I’m happy to report that he didn’t hurt himself in the demolition. It sounds like there were some close calls in that he decided to do the work all by himself. Let’s wish him luck in his “furring” job today… and me on my drafting….

Materials for Dave's rebuild.

Materials for Dave’s rebuild.