This year I was lucky enough to be involved in two SALA Exhibitions, with my focus being on the Tree of Life paintings I create. The biggest exhibition, SALA @ The Brae - Dawesley is set up in an old heritage stone barn. Truly a stunning work in itself. With the amazing amount of space available, I decided I wanted to make a sculptural piece to tie in with my paintings. I do have an Irish heritage and have always been drawn to all things Fae, so when I came across the images above I knew I had discovered my sculpture.

I walk most days and have the privilege of being able to wander through a native reserve on the outskirts of town. This was the perfect place to find the branch from a fallen tree to craft with. Also a lover of recycling, the repurposed Sari silks I found were the perfect pieces of colour to wrap my tree with. Some fancy wire wrapping, a bit of paintwork, some charms and the tree was born. I did have a lot of fun, and believe it or not, it probably took me around a week to create. It is quite a reasonable size 70cm across by 66 cm high. And I think it looks fantastic, very me!

The Faerie tree is usually found alone in the middle of a field or on the side of a road. You will also find Faerie trees at ancient sites or holy wells around Ireland. It was believed that faerie folk could easily bless someone or cast bad luck over them, and this gained the ‘wee folk’ a lot of respect. Irish people take the superstitions of Faerie trees very seriously. Even today in Ireland the Faerie trees still carry a lot of superstition. While many Irish people no longer believe in faeries, they will avoid disturbing the Faerie trees as it is said to bring bad luck to those that do. In fact in 1999, there was even a delay in building a motorway for over 10 years because people didn’t want to harm one of the faerie trees. The faerie tree was eventually incorporated into the landscaping of the bypass so it would not be affected by earth-moving.

You can read more about this story using the link below, and you can come and see the tree in person every Sunday 10-3 right through until Aug 27th at The Brae - Dawesley

irishcentral.com/culture/myth-stories-irelands-fairy-tree