“We went on two memorable trips to two separate islands on different days, for example. I always had my notebook with me and collected thoughts and impressions which then later formed into first drafts of poems. A single open sunflower in a sunflower field, the countless swallows nesting in the eaves, their fallen chicks, stories of an earthquake days before our arrival (experienced and relayed by Ciara Hambly), the packed cherry tree in the garden, the harvesters squeezing through the houses of Dampierre, the light from the stain glass church windows kneeling at the foot of the altar etc all these things entered the poems. There was no shortage of images.”

“Taking part was one of the most wonderful experiences of my artistic career to date. Ciara has created a rural French paradise for artists to bask in their creativity. Highlights for me were the nightly conversations over French feats laid out on the red chequered table cloth and my sunny al fresco studio space - I was free to play and write in stereo birdsong.”

“It is the optimum environment for creativity, having the uninterrupted time on a residency to work, it sets you up for weeks afterwards when you go back to your own studio. You develop a great routine of daily practise and the freedom from the normal demands allows the ideas to flow, which means you get back to your own studio with material to start on a whole body of work. I have returned with a sketchbook full of notes and colour studies and loads of watercolour sketches from which to start a whole new series of paintings and am feeling completely refreshed and excited to get started.“

“The time I spent in France gave me two weeks of uninterrupted time to focus completely on my work. It allowed me the space to experiment with new approaches and to consider the materials I was using. Having the opportunity to exhibit with Eamon Colman and Katarzyna Gajewska was something that only happened because of the residency.”

“I was very pleased with the work I got done: several first drafts of poems, collected plenty of source material for down the line, texts and impressions which will germinate into something more tangible in weeks and months to come. Even though we all worked separately, I feel we also worked as a team in terms of encouraging and complementing each other, looking out for each other.”