Solace

Solace is that feeling of calm and comfort, that sense of peace that is all around us when we are open to finding it. Writer and photographer Catherine Drea explores the solace to be found in nature and creativity. She reflects on loss, the cycle of life and the healing power of family and community. She muses on the joy of finding a place to call home, the escape that travel brings and the exhilaration of plunging into our waters - all the while embracing the therapeutic power of observing the ordinary and the everyday. With the passing seasons, her camera captures fleeting moments in nature - the light and lie of the land with its precious wildlife: among them sentinel robins, elusive Irish hares and serene swans. Solace is quite simply a balm for the soul. 'In this beautiful book Catherine Drea explores deeply emotive issues, calms the mind, soothes the soul, and focuses her sensitive lens on the wonders of the natural world.' Alice Taylor, author of To School through the Fields

Catherine Drea is a visual artist, writer and blogger who lives and works in rural County Waterford. Catherine writes a column called 'As I See It' for the Waterford News & Star and a blog on www.foxglovelane.com. A graduate of National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and University College Cork (UCC), she has worked as a graphic designer, an art teacher and a group facilitator. In 1994 she co-founded Framework, a small charitable organisation, which supported community development and equality projects in Ireland. In 2010, after the economic crisis, Catherine and the Framework team began working from home. In 2011 she began to blog about Foxglove Lane, the small patch she calls home, and has won four Irish Blog Awards, including Best Photography Blog in 2018. A lifelong activist, Catherine has been a campaigner in a number of social movements over the years. She remains a passionate advocate of equality, biodiversity and the natural world.