Why Anne loves artistic lifestyle in idyllic Rossmore
Artist Anne Harrington Rees, pictured with Flynn.
Although West Cork-based Anne Harrington-Rees always wanted to be an artist and was accepted into an art college, her family said she wouldn’t be able to make a living from art.
To appease them, she got a degree in landscape horticulture, studying at NUI Galway for the first year before moving to Dublin to complete the course.
There was some drawing involved. When she graduated, Harrington-Rees moved to the UK to teach horticulture in the College of Suffolk. There, she met a Welshman, David Rees. When he moved back to Wales, Harrington-Rees, after nearly four years in Suffolk, followed him.
There, she studied design crafts, in which she has a Higher National Diploma. The couple are now married, living in Rossmore, where Harrington-Rees works as an artist.
She says that in order to make a living from art, it’s necessary to diversify. “I have various streams. I make fibre sculptures and I run workshops.”
Harrington-Rees’s sculptures are inspired by naturally occurring forms, folklore, architecture and vessels. She has created work using relief printing techniques. She designs and sells homeware, tote bags and art work, featuring bold colourful images.
She is also a certified green sketching trainer. Always interested in how art and nature can help with healing, Harrington-Rees has “firsthand knowledge of this.”
She suffered from fibromyalgia which is chronic pain due to an imbalance in cortisone.
“When it started with me, I basically couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t close my fingers to form a fist and I couldn’t lift my arms over my head. I couldn’t drive. It was horrendous. One doctor put it down to the fact that I had played a lot of sports and did a lot of heavy lifting when I was doing landscaping.”
Now, the pain has eased with occasional flare-ups occurring. “You learn to live with it and you know what you can and can’t do.”
Harrington-Rees eats organic food, goes to bed early when she feels tired and spends as much time in nature as she can, walking her dogs and listening to the birdsong rather than being plugged into a podcast.
A contact sent Harrington-Rees some references to books including a green sketching handbook by a climate scientist, Ali Foxon. Foxon’s new baby had trouble sleeping so she spent a lot of time with him outdoors which helped him to nod off. Having been depressed, Foxon’s mental health improved.
She did some research and wrote her handbook, to help people get out into nature and reconnect with it through doodling. Harrington-Rees trained with Foxon online and gained certification.
It’s all about observing nature through focusing on it and drawing what is in front of you.
“It’s not about learning to draw. It’s about observing through doodling. Some people doodle when they’re in a meeting. With green sketching, it involves going out and trying to find something that catches your eye, looking for the beauty in what is around you. A lot of people will draw what they think they see rather than what they actually see.
"Green sketching is a way of focusing on what is in front of you. People often say they can’t draw. But if you can draw a line on a piece of paper, you can do the sketching because everything is made up of a series of lines. They might be swirly lines or jagged lines. You join those lines to really focus. You’re letting your mind go with it. You’re not worried about other stuff.”
Harrington-Rees says the finished product does not matter. “You don’t have to show it to anyone. It’s about getting out and trying to build a relationship with nature. People don’t realise how much we have lost over the years. By getting to know your natural environment, hopefully you’ll grow to love it and want to protect it.”
For Harrington-Rees, Rossmore is an ideal place to live. “It’s very quiet where we live. It’s close to where my roots are too.”
Originally from Kilkenny, the artist’s grandfather, Con Harrington, was a teacher on Whiddy Island. He moved from there to Kilkenny where he met the woman who became his wife. Con Harrington’s parents were Patrick Harrington and Hannah Harrington (née McCarthy). They ran a shop and a pub in Bantry.
“My dad went to UCC and played hurling there. He could be the only Kilkenny man who has Cork County club hurling medals and Kilkenny hurling medals.”
Harrington-Rees is glad she has settled in West Cork. “Rossmore is known for theatre but there’s a lot more to it with artists and musicians based in the area. A group of us recently had an exhibition in Cnoc Buí in Union Hall. My near neighbours, Rossmore Pottery and three artists and myself joined forces and we’re open to having more exhibitions together. It’s lovely to be part of the community.”
