Do you ever stop to think how an item you use on a daily basis evolved?  Take the humble chopping board for example. 

​Having most likely evolved from a functional slab of wood used by our ancestors, (yes right back to the cave men and women) to the ever more decorative and multi purposeful ones we have in our homes today.
 
The chopping boards in modern day use come in a variety of shapes, sizes, materials and colours. What started off as a functional piece of wood quickly progressed to become a kitchen essential, designed specifically to cut meats, vegetables, and fruits.
 
The most noticeable difference between the chopping boards of the past (mostly wood) is the variety of materials from which they are manufactured, they include plastic, glass and bamboo.

As some of you may or may not be aware, a couple of months ago I launched my own giftware range.  The increase in demand for more readily available quality products by my clients lead me to doing lots of research 'a year's worth', with lots of business management courses, self improvement courses etc. 

Anyhow, in short, I launched my range of aprons to start with and more products will be launched in January.  I don't think I was prepared for how well the aprons were received, so a massive thank you to everyone who bought one or more.  The feedback has been fantastic!

And as I had planned in my head from the very inception of launching giftware that I wanted to be able to give back to Charity.  I have managed to do that, so again I thank you. On each handwritten individual label I said I would contribute a portion of the sales profits to my charity of choice, The Donkey Sanctuary of Ireland.

​Well I am delighted to announce that I have managed to adopt four more of their eleven donkeys. It is my pleasure to introduce Lorcan, he was the first one I adopted and captured my heart straight away, it's not hard to see why. Lorcan was signed over to the Donkey Sanctuary in 1995, he was only a year old, very thin and his ears were flopped over the front of his head. Their investigators discovered that Lorcan had been chased by youths into a barbed wire fence and had nearly ripped both of them off.  Lorcan is a fellow Galwegian.

The sale of aprons led to me being able to add two more adoptees to my care and I selected with great difficulty Mary and Nollaig, to me their name and lead up to Christmas just caught my eye and heartstrings.

Shortly after Mary was born her mother died, she was just three weeks old, the Sanctuary veterinary team took her into their care and one of the team bottle fed her around the clock until she could feed from a bucket. Her best friend is Roma another rescue donkey.

Nollaig is a very special donkey, in December 2012, The Donkey Sanctuary responded to a query from a concerned member of the public about a neglected donkey in Cork. On investigation, their team found a male donkey in a very wet field with no access to shelter or adequate feeding. His hooves were so badly overgrown that he could barely walk and movement was very painful. As a result of being left out in the elements, Nollaig was suffering from a painful skin condition called rain scald.
They took  him into care and began intensive treatment. As it was almost Christmas, they named him Nollaig Irish for Christmas. 

On Tuesday 18th December, I was able to adopt two more donkeys, I had been looking and couldn't decide between Richie or Roma and went back and forth on numerous occasions to see which one I could add.  Much to my delight more aprons sold and I was able to add both donkeys.

Richie, orphaned when he was ten days old after his mother died from blood poisoning. His owners were desperate for our help. Sanctuary staff made an urgent journey in the snow to rescue him and bring him back to the sanctuary where he required round the clock care. Despite his hard start to life he has grown into a handsome and well loved donkey.

Roma, another Galwegian donkey, I couldn't resist.  Roma was a young foal when she went into the Sanctuary care after a dramatic rescue.  One of the welfare advisers discovered Roma stuck in a water filled hollow in a bog, she was treated for shock and hypothermia before she was carefully moved to the sanctuary.

This was the response I gave to a question a couple of months ago, when I launched my new eco-friendly giftware range. To me my answer made total sense, but not to those who don't know me or my background. They wanted to know more.......Why Donkeys???

This is how it all began, well, some of the story anyway, it's hard to write a short story about the launch of a product with a lifetime of experiences behind it's coming to fruition. 

When it comes to animals I have what some may describe as ‘a serious addiction to any kind,' no matter what the species, I love them all!  I cannot say I truly know where that passion comes from, only that I was born with it and it is imbedded deep in
​my heart and soul. This love was intensified by my upbringing in the heart of Connemara in the West of Ireland, which serves as a constant source of inspiration for my pieces. ​

My artworks are reflections of love, of passion, of respect, it is about the animals I portray, how their short lives here affect us so profoundly and without whom we would not have accomplished so much in history. I see my work as a tribute to them and a reminder for us, where would we be without them?

I cannot explain the how's and why's, when I see something I just know it's going to be an artwork, it just flows. That is another of life's mysteries not everything has an explanation, it just happens.
​
So, now onto the Why Donkeys?

The West of Ireland is my home; I grew up and worked in the countryside and Hills of Connemara. The boreen’s, landscape and especially the animals are the source of my artistic inspiration; the West is a place that lives in my heart and soul. 

I know how harsh and how gentle the West can be, with her bog lands, uneven terrain and quick changing weather; you are embraced warmly on a fine day and whipped to shreds when the weather turns. Ever changing and rewardingly beautiful, our landscape is always dotted by animals, mostly sheep, cows and of course, donkeys. That’s not to say there aren’t horses, there are, and that is story for another day, The Connemara Ponies of Western Ireland.

As a child I grew up on a farm where the only horse, a beautiful Connemara pony was strictly used for working, she pulled a cart, ploughed the fields and carried loads, but was never ridden, much to my disappointment. All I wanted to do as a child was to ride horses and to care for animals. 

One of my friend's from a well to do family had two fat ponies grazing in her field, a show pony she had outgrown and the "new" pony to replace him. No one else was really allowed to ride them only her, that didn't stop me gazing longingly at them from over the garden wall, dreaming!  Our parents and grandparents were pretty strict when we growing up and you were punished if you disobeyed rules, so we never did sneak off to ride the ponies, besides the fact you would have to tell the priest in confession! Which terrified us more than a good hiding!
​
Anyway, another friend in the village had a donkey called Dottie, occasionally we would get to sit on her if she wasn’t working on the bog or let loose down the field with the cows. A beautiful brown shaggy haired donkey, Dottie was small in stature in comparison to a Connemara Pony or the Irish Draughts that lived in the next field, but she was still considered huge in the eyes of a child, and to me she was the next best thing to a horse. 

 ​​I remember fondly how she would bray loudly with delight when she heard us chattering walking up the laneway, our arms laden with freshly pulled carrots (plucked from my grandfathers veggie patch). She eagerly awaited our arrival at the gate, her long hairy ears twitching back and forth and her soft grey muzzle rested over the top of the gate, keenly nuzzling for treats.

​Her huge brown eyes peeking out under a heavy fringe of tousled hair. I was besotted with her eyes and eyelashes and how she lit up at the sight of carrots coming towards her eagerly awaiting muzzle. Standing patiently as we climbed the gate and clambered up onto her back, the she would amble slowly around the field while being enticed by the reward of a juicy carrot.
​
Dottie never went faster than a walk, only once did we manage to get her to break into a brief jog throwing carrots ahead of her down the field. She jogged off with me on her back and came to a sudden unexpected halt, at that point somersaulted over her head and crashed into a rock, it was a good lesson for us all. We never did try that again!

As long as the supply of tasty treats lasted Dottie was happy to entertain us, once she finished them all she would lower her head as if to say, that’s it I’m done, off you go now. It was here the seed of love for donkeys was planted and grew, my fascination with these humble, gentle eyed creatures could only grow, she was no noble steed, but she looked after us and made us smile.

When she wasn’t in the mood to entertain us she would head off up the field head down ignoring our calls. She taught us patience and respect. Even while she ignored us her long ears flopped back and forth listening to everything we said. 
So there in a nutshell is a little bit of the influence of animals in my work. Dottie was the first donkey I fell in love with, who also taught me some valuable life lessons. She was a huge influence along with all the other animals that have been in my life.  
​
Donkeys are reminders of our heritage and our past, their place has evolved throughout history from lowly agricultural animal to a symbol of peace, currently our beloved donkeys can often be forgotten and end up neglected.  Which is why I have created a range of sustainable giftware that gives back a portion of  my profits to support the Donkey Sanctuary of Ireland.

   

From MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011
Guest Artist: Rachel Dubber

Interview with Linda L. Martin an American artist and advocate for the Sand Wash Basin Mustangs. At the time of this interview I was living in Cape Town, funny what you find when you are tidying up and had completely forgotten about.  Please enjoy.

​About my work.
My portfolio consists of mostly oil paintings, photography and occasionally sculptures.  My work has been exhibited in Europe, China and South Africa and is included in collections in Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy, Spain, China and South Africa.

What and Why do I paint animals?
The images I select to paint affect me emotionally, which I believe they must do, in order for it to take life on a canvas.  Years spent with horses also help in getting the feel of the horse on canvas or molded in clay.  The image must convey the freedom, beauty, strength and majestic qualities of the subject.  I love my oil painted horses to be free, unhindered by tack or riders, free from any constraints and always, if possible, in motion.  

For this guest artist exhibition and interview the requirement was to paint a Mustang. Not having access to Wild Mustangs or the availability of images, the issue was solved by the generosity of John Wagner a passionate American Photographer whose work I truly admire.  After contacting John, I was given permission to paint one of his photographs.

Why did you choose to paint this image?
This oil painting is of a Mustang called Apache; approximately between 3-4 years old, he is a "satellite stallion" in a Mustang herd called Brave's Band.  John kindly informed me that Apache is a satellite stallion, which is a full adult stallion that is allowed to hangout with a Band that already has a lead stallion. Usually the satellite hangs out away from the main Band. The satellite serves a purpose, sometimes he is a challenger, an extra pair of eyes, and so the lead stallion can stay closer to his Band.

Apache is very aggressive, he picks fights with Brave all the time and any other stallion close by. Apache may be small but he is very assertive and determined. Something about this image grabbed my focus and attention, maybe it was the wide open space, the rugged and free horses or just the whole spirit of freedom.  I just knew it had to become a painting. 

Brave's Band lives in Sand Wash Basin Horse Management Association in Northwestern Colorado, on 160,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management Land, 250 square miles of Freedom to roam where they want. The land is so huge that the Wild Horses don't even scratch the surface.

May The Wild Horses Run Free forever....and keep touching our hearts and minds.

Kind Courtesy of Linda L.Martin and John Wagner.

​When Tracey Donaghey of Irish Country Magazine asked me to reveal the best places in my hometown, I couldn't help myself sharing the fabulous places on my doorstep in Galway. ​Feel free to read the interview and see the images of some of my favourite places to hang out.

​A few were not included as a lady must have some secret hideaways!  

The view from the Corrib Tea Rooms, I love having breakfast here and watching the wildlife on the weir.

It's lovely early in the morning sitting across from Long Walk, taking in the sights and sounds, a little bit of nature and nurture to be had right at this spot before hitting town!  A stroll on the banks of the River Corrib is not to be missed either, plenty to see along the way.

It is easy to get sidetracked in Galway with so many lovely shops, cafes and restaurants to visit, the view from Papa Rich Restaurant in Born is fabulous and not to be missed!  After being well fed and watered, there is nothing nicer than a walk on the banks of the River Corrib, I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful city.
​

While work is still ongoing behind the scenes for the upscaling of my business, normal daily life goes on.  I am sure many of you have this same issue.....What's for dinner Mom?

Some days I wish someone would invent a pill we could eat instead of making dinner, it would solve so many problems!  I’d eat salad and whatever I find in cupboard, but when it comes to feeding family, that just won’t do.

​​Firstly shopping bag round up begins, I can never understand where they all disappear too it’s like washing socks, one at a time they always leave home!  Bags loaded into the back of the car I head up the road to the grocery store with thoughts of culinary delights in store for the family and the shopping list securely placed in my bag, I’m still a pen and pencil kind of person and I like lists.

Up and down the aisles I trundle shopping list in hand when my mind goes completely blank,  ‘What on earth are we going to eat?’ echoes in my head, like no other thoughts are suddenly home, someone just turned off the lights. 

​How does that happen and I can’t be the only person that happens too. Yes sometimes I plan a menu, sometimes, however that plan changes when no one else wants to eat the same thing, so what do you do? Improvise?

​There are more improvised shopping days than planned menu days, when that happens it can be dangerous. I walk around scanning the shelves, fridges and freezers, ‘hello I’m here’, but nothing happens.   Filling the basket with a few items from my usual list, that won’t add up to a dinner.  Lingering in the meat department as if awaiting divine intervention, as if suddenly the mind of a chef would possess me and I could magically whip three key ingredients into a luscious meal that would satisfy the hearty men in my household.

​Filling the basket as I wander along the aisles and peeking into the other shoppers’ trolleys to see what they are taking home, you never know something might inspire me.  Nope nothing, now in slight desperation I call the hubby and ask ‘what would you like for diner love?’ the reply comes swiftly,  ‘I don’t know, surprise me!’  Well that didn't help!  So being a good Irish woman and mammy I play it safe, I grab the only things that I know they love, after all they are Irish men. 

 So spuds, two veg and meat it is then, shopping done.