Artworks with buried depths

You could say Rosemarie Langtry is down to earth.

Her artistic journey began a quarter of a century ago as a mother of young children who needed some space for herself and joined a women’s group. Since then the Offaly woman has been on a path that has seen her become a professional artist with her own studio and count a renowned New York artist as a mentor. Most recently Rosemarie opened her solo exhibition ‘Rooted to the Land’ at Cavan County Museum, Ballyjamesduff on Saturday afternoon.

“We did art and ceramics and I just loved it,” recalls Rosemarie of the first course she signed up for in Ballynahown, when she was around 35 and her children were old enough to give her a breath of freedom.

“It was a great thing for me - at that time there was no internet, no online classes, no anything. You couldn’t really go anywhere. It was a really important part of communities in those days.”

Having piqued her interest in art she progressed to Moate Business College where Rosemarie first dabbled in abstract art as she tried to capture the essence of subjects such as seaweed and potholes. Potholes the Celt wonders?

“It was probably the water and the reflections in the potholes that really caught me. I also love the texture and the depth and the surrounding, so I would have used rice and moss to give the idea of a pothole - but it was abstract.”

A degree in Fine Art from GMIT followed, from which she graduated in 2014. During that course she was urged to check out the work of New York artist Michael David.

“I just loved his work and I said at that time, ‘God I’d love to work with him’.”

Her wish has come true during Covid. Rosemarie counts herself “very lucky” to have had a one-to-one mentorship over Zoom with Michael David, whose work is exhibited in the Guggenheim.

His mentorship helped Rosemarie develop this body of work that’s exhibited in the Eden Gallery in Ballyjamesduff and runs until the end of November. The pair discussed her love for old material - bleached wood, rusty objects which helped Rosemarie make a connection to her youth.

“As a child we used to do the turf in the bog, pick potatoes, pin turnips, pick stones - working with your hands in the soil, and I realised that’s how I like to work.

“I call myself a bit of a hoarder because I love to gather and collect stuff. Only then did I realise it was all related to me digging, and weeding, and turning, and saving, and collecting stuff - it’s all related to the process that I love to do in my art.”

The artist’s next move was somewhat unexpected.

“We decided we would bury stuff in the bog and let nature make its mark, because I realised I love marks of nature. Nature kind of paints stuff, either by rain or sun or wind or whatever.

“So I would have brought my art out to the bog, buried it, brought it back, worked on it, went back out... I know you might think I’m mad - I was lucky I wasn’t carried away!

“It was this thing of working with the land, and in the land - mucky, dirty,” she asserts.

The end results are captivating. The works blur the lines between painting and sculpture as they often have material added on, such as bog cotton, or in the case of Ethereal II, a sod of turf.

The exhibition also includes new work such as ‘Marks of Nature’ made this summer using a cold wax medium. It has a more painterly feel.

“Nature is the best artist of all - the colours and the way everything works together. It was more me trying to be nature, but I could never be nature.”

This work is more refined, a quieter composition.

Rosemarie was delighted to have her work displayed in the county museum, particularly since her 86 year old mother Rose Keenaghan is from Ballinagh. Rose, whose maiden name was Brady, was able to at the exhibition opening meaning there were four generations of the family - Rose, Rosemarie, her sons and grandkids. She is grateful for the support of her family and friends in keeping her going. She was also delighted to have Niamh O’Connor launch the exhibition - “she is an amazing artist,” lauds Rosemarie of Niamh.

Rosemarie will visit New York for her 60th birthday this month and will call to meet up with her friend and mentor, Michael David. It’s some journey for an artist who started out in a community meet-up.

“I went full circle - I did a class there, I ended up coming back and teaching art there in the community hall in Ballynahown.”