Naomi Seki's first task when she arrived in Leitrim two months ago was to buy herself a chainsaw.
The Japanese sculptor cannot speak much English, but she managed to convince a local hardware dealer that when it comes to chainsaws, she's quite an expert.
Naomi's next stop was a nearby forest, where Coillte obliged by letting her choose some felled oak and elm to work on. The fruits of her labour, both simple and striking, can now be seen at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre in Manor hamil ton. "It's amazing to watch her. She can use a chainsaw like a surgeon's scalpel," says centre administrator Robbie McDonald. Naomi took up residence at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre in October having won a fellowship to study in Ireland. Her 14-year-old son enrolled at the local school.
The Leitrim Sculpture Centre has been growing in size and reputation since it was set up three years ago by local artist Jackie McKenna, whose sculpture of two women sitting having a chat with shopping bags at their feet has become a landmark at Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge.
She started by restoring the house where her parents had lived on Manorhamilton's Main Street. With funding from the County Enterprise Board, the Arts Council and IFI, the centre is continuing to expand and the adjoining premises have also been acquired. Both workshop space and living accommodation are provided.
The centre, which focuses on stone carving, also has a training function and aims to teach the dying skill of stone-working. A FAS course has been running at the centre since 1996 and 14 students are currently enrolled. It is taught by Jackie and Wexford-born sculptor Seamus Dunbar.
He says art colleges cannot equip people with all the skills they need, particularly in stonework, where seven-year apprentices were common in the past. "We always had a dream of setting up a training establishment because we felt that we didn't get the training we would have liked - we had to learn the hard way."
He learned the trade on jobs such as the restoration of the Custom House in Dublin. "This knowledge has been passed on to me, and the people who passed it on will soon be gone. I feel at this stage that it is an important responsibility, because we have become the repository for a whole tradition of hand-working skills."
The course, he says, suits artists who are trying to broaden their skills and those who are going though the difficult period of trying to establish themselves as artists after leaving college. A number of places are reserved for local people.
In an area suffering from depopulation, the centre is also bringing much-needed life to the town. Two Main Street premises are back in use and at least 13 artists have bought houses in the area in re cent years. "I am not saying that arts will solve the problems of the north-west, but with a cluster of artists you can enhance an area and make it more attractive. We have seen it happening in Temple Bar and in west Cork," says Robbie McDonald.