He Was Irish
It’s not a new idea - that from time to time the Irish can be a bit dramatic sometimes experiencing conflicting highs and lows. The ages old saying, “the great Gaels of Ireland, the men the gods made mad – for all their wars are merry and all their songs are sad, sums it up, even if overstated - not ALL our songs are sad. But Yeates words have the ring of truth to them, especially as applied to his fellow writer, James Joyce. In this design I’ve taken a sort of Victorian/Gothic approach to the shamrock, a la Edward Gorey and contrasted it with a lovely, flowing hand crafted script with intertwined glyphs reminiscent of the old knotwork. When I had finished, I was thrilled, but then upon further reflection, I’d have to admit that I have mixed feelings... but then, isn’t that the point?
On super-soft ring spun cotton in black, white and green on charcoal. Back has cascading shamrocks falling from the left shoulder – or did they jump? |
Being Irish is enough
In Portrait of the Artist, Joyce speaks through Stephen Dedalus…
“This race and
this country
and this life
produced me,
he said. I
shall express
myself as I am."
A marvelously poetic way of expressing what every true son and daughter of Ireland knows deep within their heart of hearts – being Irish IS enough. |
I forgive you for not being Irish
Every St. Patrick’s Day someone rolls out the old chestnut –“there are 2 kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who want to be”. Sounds grand, but if you look around, you’ll see some people who are definitely NOT Irish trying to behave like they THINK the Irish behave. It’s pathetic. And sad. To want to be so badly what you can never be. It’s a situation that can’t be fixed – it’s in the blood. So, it seems to us that some special dispensation is in order to ease their suffering. So, being sons and daughters of the Emerald Isle, it is within your purview to extend those soothing words you’ve heard so many times yourself – absolvo te. (I forgive you.) |
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