It’s a tradition in TD HQ to anticipate and delight at the receipt of annual calendars from the Irish Design Shop and Sea Studio. Féilire Focal – Tír & Timpeallacht (Calendar of words – Land & Environment) is a collaboration between Achill-based artist Antic-Ham of Redfox Press and Manchán Magan to produce a calendar, “inspired by the sky, sea and earth.”
We discover Sleabhac in Eanair (January), “a type of seaweed that looks like long black hair on a woman, but thicker”, a Spútaí in Lúnasa (August), “misty with gently rain, or drizzling” and Saighdiúirí in Mí na Samhna (November), “the phalanx of little, red sparks that rise in the fire when it is poked.”
It’s an education and a visual thrill.
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Meanwhile, Niall Meehan has been capturing the story of a year in the sea.
Taking in the likes of The Captains in Skerries, Doldrum Bay in Howth and Mousehole in Cornwall, Meehan says, “My aim has always been to shoot experimental images from the perspective of the swimmer. I want to help more people connect with the sea through these images and to appreciate the powerful, healing properties of our most beautiful resource.”
