Clare Breen

We have all lost a special, special mind. I wanted to say how special he was and that I think teaching is a kind of friendship. I think he gave so many people the thought tools to care for and understand themselves and to offer friendship and empathy to one another. I am sure he changed many, many people's lives. Just walking through town with him was to see someone people love, and someone who loves people interacting with the world. He inspired students and advocated for friendship. Rest in peace Noel

Beautiful venue at Mulranny Arts Centre to have the last event of Wilderland. Celebrating the finished artworks: Flower Féilire with @kasia.kaminska and @clarelbreen ; Stone Shelters with @maryconroyart and Teach Ialtóg with @lauranifhlaibhin Many thanks to @elharringtonceramics , mastermind of the Wilderland project and @killala.woolcraft for incredible work with natural dyes. Such a pleasure to have spent this special time with communities around the @wildnephin_official

Flower Féilire project installed in Mulranny Arts Centre for the final event of Wilderland. #materialsmatter #cyanotype #naturaldye #celticcalendar

Incredible work by participants in The Great Carlow Folklore Resurrection Project, led by @costume.amie.egan @visual_carlow We worked with groups to explore the folklore and stories of Carlow and came to 6 characters that Amie made costumes for - A Cailleach, A Seanachaí, King Labhraidh Loinsigh, A Scallion Ater, the Last Wolf of Carlow and An Buile Suibhne, or Mad Sweeney. Details were collaboratively made with participants includ8ng cyanotype, drawings, embroidered patches and applique. These are made with incredible care and enthusiasm, with the infinite inspiration of the Samhain season. #samhainfirefestival #samhaincostumes

Absolutely gorgeous weekend in Enniscoe, Co Mayo for the Autumn Equinox. Some tasty food: foraged dandelion and dock bread; dandelion, nettle and clover quiche; apple and blackberry cake with elderberry tonic supporting some trojan sewing work by Annie and Linda. The Flower Féilire pieces are nearly finished, backed with beautiful naturally dyed linen: birch leaf, fermented birch leaf, hawthorn, alder, fermented alder and bogmyrtle. Launch of the Flower Féilire project and big reveal of all the artworks on Saturday 8th of November 💙💙💙 These workshops are the last in an epic year of projects as part of Wilderland in the @wildnephin_official #autumnequinox #materialsmatter #creativeiteland

Breastfeeding week, a time to reiterate that every woman should have access to free breastfeeding support 24/7 at the beginning of her time as a new mother to learn and troubleshoot and get confident. Breastfeeding is healthcare for mothers and babies. My breastfeeding journey was tricky at the beginning, I think most people have their struggles and it's never a one-size-fits-all solution. Luckily for me, my mother is an angel lactation consultant, and she can help you too. Go to her sexy new website, made by my sister @lizziebreen1 and get some help/ have a prenatal class during your pregnancy to collect some colostrum and get confident with your partner/ have a troubleshooting chat when you're going back to work or coming home from the hospital. Etc.etc. Breastfeeding is one of the most incredible experiences of my life ❤️ Lactation-with-aideen.com #nationalbreastfeedingweek @la.leche.league @irishhealthservice @hse_mychild

For the Flower Féilire project we spent an incredible weekend in the @wildnephin_official visitors centre in Ballycroy, exploring the meadow of native wildflowers to celebrate the harvest festival of Lúnasa. This area has only been planted for biodiversity in the last few years and it is teaming with life; they're growing oats for winter food for small mammals and birds, flax and an abundance of grasses and wildflowers for pollinators (not to mention the trees and hedgerows!) Spot the frog in the meadow in slide 2. After the flower gathering walk, we ate tomato gazpacho with foraged yarrow pesto; yarrow, blackberry and pumpkin seed bread; nettle seed oatcakes and elderflower cordial. We finished the day by printing the next series of 30 cyanotype panels for the Flower Féilire textile works. On Sunday we hosted a fabulous team of seamstresses, Annie, Linda, Bernie, Breege and Anne Marie who planned the panels with us and ironed and sewed pieces together for their final configuration. This was the most exciting workshop so far, as we see the months of work coming together: collecting wildflowers of the park, gathering and pressing them, and cyanotype printing them. We are so excited to share the finished artworks in October. We'll be busy working away until then, but if you'd like to join the last walk, or join the sewing group, drop us a message here. Last walk will take place in the bog at Tarsaghaun on 24th August. We'll be collecting the last beautiful plants to add to the finished work. Thank you everyone who has worked with us so far on the Flower Féilire project! #wilderland #flowerfeilire #lúnasa #celticcalendar #WildNephinNationalPark #irishwildflowers #cyanotype

☀️✨🌼✨☀️ Solstice celebrations at Letterkeen @wildnephin_official as part of the Flower Féilire project led by @clarebreen and @kasiakaminska This special midsummer gathering began with a mountain heath habitat hike led by the inimitable Michael Chambers - sharing stories of how this landscape has been shaped by humans through history, for better and worse, and introducing us to the native plant life along the way. We met Alder, Rowan and Willow reclaiming their place amongst the Spruce and Rhododendron; Foxgloves, Sheepsbit and Birdsfoot Trefoil growing along the river trail, and up on the hillside Sundew, Bilberry, Heather, Bog Myrtle, Bog Asphodel and St. John's Wort were popping their heads through the carpet of purple moor grass. Although small in number, their very presence proves that, if given the chance and a little help, nature will finds its way back. Back at the Brogan Carroll Bothy we made cyanotypes with the plants gathered during this Bealtaine season - paper prints for people to take home and fabric pieces which will be made into a collaborative textile artwork. We also enjoyed some tunes and dancing and later shared a feast of summer greens pie and pesto, wildflower bread and cookies and elderflower champagne with fellow Wilderland artists @elharringtonceramics @maryconroyart @joanna_hopkins_art and @betty_gannon The intense summer sun is quickly bringing on the harvest season and we look forward to our next gathering for Lúnasa. Please get in touch if you'd like to join for a walk or workshop, help gather and press plants, or work with us to stitch the final pieces together. You can also visit wilderland.ie for more info on all upcoming events. @wildnephin_official @creativeireland @mayoartsservice @north_mayo_heritage_centre #wilderland #wildnephinnationalpark #creativeclimateaction

@kasia.kaminska and @clarelbreen just got back from a wonderful @wilderland.ie workshop in Ballycroy for the Bealtaine walk as part of the Flower Féilire project. On each of the Celtic festivals, Solstices and Equinoxes we host walks exploring the different habitats of the Wild Nephin Park, collect flowers and press them in community presses. We use these flowers to produce cyanotype prints of all of the plants we collect. These will be brought together at the end of the project, on Samhain, in a large textile artwork representing a Féilire or calendar of the plants of the park. We also gathered fresh hawthorn flowers for Bealtaine and served hawthorn drinks alongside nettle spanikopita, nettle pesto and nettle and hawthorn cupcakes. Please get in touch with us if you'd like to be involved in the project, we're also looking for people to work with us on stitching the final piece 💙💙💙 #wilderland #WildNephinNationalPark #CreativeClimateAction #ClimateNeedsCulture  @creativeireland @wildnephin_official @mayoartservice @north_mayo_heritage_centre

Clare and Kasia are celebrating Bealtaine tomorrow at Ballycroy Visitor Centre in Co Mayo with a cyanotype workshop and a hedgerow walk as part of the Flower Féilire project. On Bealtaine eve, also know as Nettlemas, Lá Fhéile na Neantóg we collected nettles and made food, cakes and tarts and pesto for our workshop on Saturday, celebrating the abundance of the hedgerow and ditch and the stingy power of nettles. We picked flowers and left them on our thresholds to welcome in the Summer. The excerpt on the last slide came to us from the @nationalfolklorecollection via @wildawakeireland We didn't beat each other with nettles but we did explore the flavour of nettles, their medicinal qualities and got a few stings along the way. Bealtaine marks the beginning of Summer and we are so excited to continue the Flower Féilire project through the rest of the year, collecting flowers in our community presses and using them to produce a cyanotype calendar of the flowers of the Wild Nephin Park. @wildnephin_official @creativeireland @mayoartservice @north_mayo_heritage_centre #wilderland #WildNephinNationalPark  #CreativeClimateAction #climateneedsculture

Join Wilderland for a creative workshop and gathering to mark Bealtaine and celebrate Mayo Day together. During this creative workshop artists Clare Breen and Kasia Kaminska will guide us through cyanotype sun-printing and we will work with pressed plants and wildflowers collected to create beautiful blue images on fabric. These fabric pieces will be included in a large-scale cyanotype* artwork and calendar of Mayo's indigenous plant life for the Flower Féilire project - a year-long plant gathering and collaborative cyanotype project led by artists Clare Breen and Kasia Kaminska as part of Wilderland. This is also an opportunity to meet and chat with fellow participants of the Flower Féilire project. We invite everyone to bring a wild food dish to add to a potluck lunch to share at the end of the workshop and to celebrate the brighter half of the year with seasonal food, refreshments and seed sowing. You can find some sample wild food recipes on the Flower Féilire recipes page on our website. New and returning participants welcome! FREE entry. Places limited, booking required. Please book your place on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/bealtaine-gathering-workshop-tickets-1335411314189?aff=oddtdtcreator This free event is part of the Wilderland public art and climate action project, funded by Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund. Find out more on our website, link in bio or go to https://wilderland.ie/ #wilderland #WildNephinNationalPark #CreativeWorkshops #cyanotype #MayoDay #MayoDay2025 #bealtaine #CreativeClimateAction #ClimateNeedsCulture @wildnephin_official @materialsmatter.ie @clarelbreen @kasia.kaminska @creativeireland

Thank you to old friends for inviting and hosting and celebrating the friendship and care of a house passed through friends over years. It was a good place and a fun place. @stephane.hanly @profesh_moriarty @ruth_a_clinton @suz.walsh @jamesohaodha @eilo8 #breadfellowschats