An Irish Sheep and a Lesson in Community
Cónaí I nGlas
Living in Green
Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a workshop in Mulranny, Ireland. Every morning, I would head out for a walk with my camera, soaking in the beauty of the landscape and the quiet rhythm of life along the coast. It was on one of those walks that I met this sheep.
Sheep are everywhere in Mulranny. They roam freely across the hillsides and along the roads, each one marked with a spray of color so the local farmers know which sheep belong to whom. To a visitor, they all seem to belong to the landscape itself.
One afternoon, I was riding with my students and our driver, Colum, who is a sheep farmer. As we traveled down a country road, he spotted a lamb wandering where it shouldn't be. He immediately called another farmer and said, "One of your lambs is in the road, you'll need to come quickly." After hanging up, he turned to me and simply said, "We have to look out for one another around here."
That moment stayed with me. It seemed to capture something essential about the community spirit of rural Ireland.
When I returned home, I knew I wanted to create a collage inspired by the sheep I had photographed. My favorite part of the process was building the texture of the wool. I gathered every interesting white paper I could find—doilies, handmade papers, fiber papers, feather prints, book pages, splattered rice papers, and gel prints. Layer by layer, I worked to capture the tangled, weathered texture of sheep that spend their lives outdoors on the rugged Irish landscape.
The background became a story of its own. I incorporated an abstract collage section at the top, along with layers of green leaf prints and stencil work applied directly to the wood panel. The result feels to me like a memory of Ireland itself—lush, layered, textured, and full of life.
From the photograph captured on a quiet morning walk to the many hours spent building the wool and background, this piece became a true labor of love. More than a sheep portrait, it reminds me of a special place and the people who call it home.
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