JOHN Paul O’Donoghue has lived in Bantry all his life.
He has a wonderful family and also has lifelong and severe physical disabilities.
Owing to these, JP has spent many years attending the daytime care of CoAction.
Among his interests, are painting and colours. Since 2014, he has had weekly one-to-one assistance in that field with Tom, a local artist.
Between them, they have developed a way of enabling JP to work on almost any size he chooses, by using board no more than about 45cm wide by any length long (within reason).
This makes it possible for JP to reach all the board, by moving it along, and turning it around, with Tom’s help.
For design and colour, they have arrived at methods which maximise JP’s ownership of these larger pieces.
He makes a design by drawing on a small scale on paper.
Then he looks at a colour chart to choose each colour, the colour is mixed with Tom’s help, and put on entirely by JP. JP is gradually learning to mix the colours himself.
The latest of JP’s ventures, made at the invitation of CoAction staff, required fairly drastic changes in every aspect of the methods, because of the position of the site: a large, round window in the foyer of the centre. A window which also needs to be seen through!
JP had never done Batik, but Tom had. It’s an ancient art-form where liquid hot wax is ‘drawn’ onto fabric, then when the wax hardens, dye is painted onto the fabric. The dye stops when it meets the wax.
The project took roughly ten weeks and JP showed tenacity in getting it finished.
Thanks was expressed to everyone involved and also to JP’s aunt who did a fine piece of sewing to connect the finished fabric to the round tube, which was then attached to the wall by Kieron, the maintenance man at CoAction.
