Joanne & Colin

I held onto this Dress Portrait for a bit too long. It was so special in many ways.
It was commissioned by a friend who trusted me with her story, so patiently answering all my questions. The dress itself was made by Alice Halliday, whom I can now call a friend, though I did not know her when Joanne and I started talking about the commission.

The Dress is made from repurposed materials and the detail in it is breathtaking. Alice is a real live fairy creating magic out in Skibbereen, West Cork. You should take a look at her website www.alicehalliday.com. All her clothes are ethically made. I had heard of her and finally met her at a Christmas Crown making workshop in Pink Moon Cafe in Cork City. I signed up so I could meet her because I knew I wanted to work with her. To cut a long Irish story short, we arranged to meet with her friend, a photographer, Kate Bean www.katebeanphotography.com who took all these beautiful images of my work and process. Coincidentally Kate had taken the photos of the wedding for which I did the next Dress Portrait. The strands of connection here in Cork are wonderful. And we have worked on other projects since then.

Joanne, who’s big open beautiful heart is reflected in the centre of her Dress Portrait, and is represented by a pale early morning sun, kindly agreed to let me post some of her wedding photos to her lovely guitarist Colin. I particularly love the image of Joanne and Colin sorrounded by the Cork naked bike cycle. The cyclists happened to be in UCC as the two came out of the Honan Chapel. Because of this I knew that blue would be a central colour in the piece and later discovered that blue featured in the flowers and other details of the wedding.

This dress really worked with me. They all do, but there was so much detail in it, it was so easy. I love how the leaves of the birch tree are woven into the fabric. The flowers in the top section are the same flowers as are found in Joanne’s daughters dress, her actual dress. The leafy shapes in the sun looked to me like they were becoming birds, flying towards a hopeful future.

All the trees in the image are those Joanne planted with her father, who builds Currachs, the fishing boats from the West of Ireland. Her vintage red mini is in there too, even if it’s not on the road right now, and this woman prefers to sit on the top of a tree, rather than inside a beautiful and ornate cage.

Other symbols are more personal but I can’t wait to share a few pots of tea again with this amazing woman.