Everything interesting to artist Constance
Local artist Constance Short can trace her creativity back to her early childhood and attributes her love of art to her parents' influence.
“My mother was very creative and we all did art, painting and plaster craft. She was also great on the piano and sing-songs were a regular thing in our house. All of our clothes were hand made and she was wonderful at knitting”.
Growing up in the school residence at Hackballscross, where her father was headmaster, was also deeply instrumental in her development as an artist and indeed as a person.
“Because we lived in the school residence, home, family and school were all rolled into one and in the long run that gave me a sense that learning was not confined to school but went on for all of your life. School went on 24 hours a day in a very easy manner”.
A self confessed “ideas person”, Constance has carried this early love of learning with her to this very day. “Everything interests me and I find that I am never bored because I am always excited about discovering new things and I got that from my father. I am always excited to discover a new poet, a new writer or simply a new idea”.
In fact it is this very fascination with ideas that has shaped Constance’s career to date.
“Everything I have ever done is based on ideas, even artwork is based on philosophical ideas.”
“My work is quite political, I believe that everything we do affects other people. I feel very lucky that I have an interest in ideas because your mansion is in your head”.
Over the years Constance, who specialises in intricate lino cuts, has produced acclaimed work for renowned galleries both at home and abroad including the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, the Soho 20 Gallery in New York, The Poetry Society, London, and closer to home in the Basement Gallery in Dundalk. She has also worked all over the country, most particularly in Galway Arts Centre and a piece of her work is currently exhibited in the museum in Croke Park.
Having grown up surrounded by creativity and learning, Constance stresses the importance of both in childhood development, “Children should be allowed to be creative. Through drawing and writing we develop our creative abilities. I feel very strongly that children should be able to express themselves as it is essential for their intellectual development.”
“In this rush to get into colleges and universities, young people are forgetting to use their hands and there should be more emphasis placed on crafts and skills before they are forgotten altogether!”
With this strength of feeling it is no wonder therefore that Constance has devoted much of her career to working with children.
“Up until recently I gave children’s art classes here in Blackrock which I thoroughly enjoyed. Back in the 80’s I had the pleasure of working with the National Arts council on completing 40 murals with school children as part of the ‘Paint on the Wall Scheme’ including the one in Blackrock School which I believe is still there to this day.”
Another of Constance’s local public works can be seen at Blackrock’s Community Centre. “The piece on the wall of the Community Centre was commissioned by Father Quinn in the early 80’s and I painted it while the centre was still being built.
“It was the year of the Olympic Games and my father suggested that I base it on the five traits of the Fianna, which I did. My father was excellent at maths and with his help I was able to paint it to the exact scale of the actual Olympic rings”.
Having produced public art around the country, being instrumental in the setting up of the Arts Office in Dundalk and spending three years as the Dundalk Arts Officer, Constance feels strongly on the subject, “It saddens me that so much so called public art is put up in Louth.
“Comparatively speaking the standard is poor which is wrong when there is so much opportunity to create original artwork”.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Dundalk
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
