Jeffrey the cat

I’ve been home for a few days I confess and suffering from some extreme jet lag and also working a lot...
This drawing I made at my friend Una’s house on Aughinish Island (Kinvara, County Galway) is a good place for me to start back up again. It’s a good place for me to begin recording memories and drawings from an inspiring couple of weeks in the west of Ireland.
I spent a day with Una at her old old cottage. In the morning we walked the stony seashore and fields with dogs – there are always dogs – and visited the ‘Shelter’, an art installation there near the old burial ground for unbaptized children. It was created by my friend and teacher Aine Phillips; I think there are one or two others in the country, safe places for children buried far far away from church ground and sentenced to limbo for eternity... It’s horrifying how much power the church wielded over the Irish and how much heartache they inflicted in the process. I understand that the pope has recently done away with limbo... it was that simple.
Well, Una is a bookmaker. She helped me make a beautiful sketchbook, bound with ribbons and handmade paper. I am making another, and another, as I write this. All my friends will be receiving handmade books. Tra-la.
Then we made brown bread with her mom’s recipe. I copied it onto a drawing in my sketchbook and vow to make it every other day at home... luscious.
In the afternoon I took a rest on the sofa by the fire with Jeffrey, left.
Later on we ended up at Greene’s, our old haunt in Ballyvaughan, for pints of Carlsberg. Sitting in front of the peat fire on a cold February night, talking about opportunity, karma and existence. Have I ever been as happy as that?

I’ve brought back lots of drawings and experiences. I remember how simple life can be, and how joyful, and how people-filled.