Person to Person: 'I'm a morning person, the possibilities of every day taunt me'

Tell us about yourself;

I grew up with pencil and paper ever within my reach. Throughout my childhood, image-making through the act of drawing was my normal. My dad, Pat’s studio was always an area of fascination for me and I loved watching him work with clay, whether it was throwing pots or making sculpture, it was, to me, hypnotic. The ease with which he created was beautiful.

I grew up in a wonderland, it’s clear to me now and I’m sure that I knew it even then; our home, the garden, my dad’s studio, wherever his sculpture was placed or wherever his drawings hung, were for me a constant source of curiosity and awe.

My granny (my mum’s mum) was incredibly creative. She took up painting and collage in her 60s and some of her pieces remain a firm favourite for me.

At 14, I jostled with the idea of studying accountancy but with a change of school came a change of heart and I returned to my roots. I studied painting and happily found myself in theatre design. I loved it. It was exciting and the effervescence of those in the theatre world was energising. However, unfortunately, all that came to a sudden end because of an unexpected, near fatal, health crisis.

In 2018, having spent a dozen years working with horses, I returned to college, to do a masters in fine art. It was a ‘sink or swim’ moment for me. I thought if I immersed myself in a 12 month masters degree, I might stand a chance of changing my life’s potential for fulfilment in the arts as I always hoped.

I was due to go to New York on a residency in the spring of 2020. Covid happened and a global pandemic was declared on March 12, international air travel halted, borders closed across the globe and the residency was cancelled.

To this day, I still pinch myself, for in July, 2020, I met Michael. Since then we haven’t stopped creating, be it the home in which we live, or the space in which we work, or the way in which we live and work. It’s forever evolving. Our created environment and Michael’s unfailing support is what has given me the space and time to untangle some knots and help me on my creative way. It’s all a process.

Where were you born?

In West Cork, Bantry hospital, I was possibly one of the last babies to be born there.

Where do you live? Currently I’m living and working in Coachford, Co. Cork.

Family? My family is small. I have one older brother, Simon, whose creative talents excel in the areas of fashion and food. Pat Connor, my dad, is an artist best known for his ceramic sculpture, he’s also an incredible draughtsman, painter and printmaker, needless to mention his excellence as a dad.

My mum, Adèle Connor, is best known for Adèle’s: a bakery, restaurant, café and shop which she opened in 1984 and ran for 22 seasons. She was among the slow food pioneers in the early years who helped put West Cork on the Great Food Map. For a number of years before she opened Adèle’s, she and her cousin Valerie sold all sorts of delicious delicacies from a converted Volkswagen van which had a spot reserved on Main Street, Schull, every Saturday and Wednesday. I still remember the queues.

I was surrounded by great food, great cooks and great artists since the beginning so it’s hard not to pick a few things up along the way. ….and since meeting Michael “the family in my life” has trebled in size.

I think it’s really important and it’s really lovely to be connected to future generations. I am lucky to have those connections also with some very special friends that are more like family to me. The mentionable importance of these connections to the future lies within the personal loss of my only child, Jacob, shortly before his premature birth and the absence that materialised for me as a result.

Best friend? I have many great friends scattered far and wide; to call any one of them a best friend would be a slight to another within my handful.

Earliest childhood memory? My strongest memory is that of being forgotten and standing alone on the roadside whilst family and all the fun had travelled to where we were all supposed to be. I volunteered to go and buy a Toblerone for my parents’ friend Paula. We were all spread across three cars on a great adventure held together by something just short of chaos. 

With eight children, two sets of parents, and Paula all travelling along, without a care in the world, in the sunshine, Johanna and Toblerone wouldn’t be missed until they all had arrived at the beach, if even then, or perhaps it was when Paula’s craving for a chocolate pyramid caused her to remark, ‘Where’s Johanna?’ 

It seemed like an eternity. Guess what? I cried.

Where was your most memorable holiday? Austrian ski holiday in 2016. My first time skiing. I absolutely loved it and came home with a first-place ‘gold’ medal.

Your signature dish if cooking? That depends on who you ask. Michael would say ‘gambas pili pili prawns with pasta’, my dad might say my buttered eggs (the way granny did them), my mum might say my pasta vongole - following an afternoon cockling in Crookhaven. I find a dish is never the same twice; it depends on so many variables, as described so poetically in Like Water For Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel.

Favourite restaurant? In my past, Shiro in Ahakista. In my present, due to the convenience of it combined with our love of sushi, when we’re in town and need a fix, we would pop into Wabisabi on Oliver Plunkett Street. Otherwise, if meeting with others for lunch, the long-standing clear favourite would have to be the Farmgate in the English Market.

Last book you read? The last book is the book I’m currently reading , Singularity by John Banville.

Last album/CD/download you bought? Goodness me, I couldn’t say…

Favourite song? My most played I would imagine is Declan O’Rourke’s Galileo. It also accompanied my entrance on our wedding day.

Do you have a pet? Yes. A dog called Toast. He’s shaggy, has big personality, always looking for adventure, born into a litter of one. He is, in a word, for a dog, very strange. Fussy eater, doesn’t really like dog company, doesn’t know how to play with other dogs, and he’s retiring. He’s now 15 years old and hard of hearing. He is known and loved by many. He especially loves Michael; I think he recognises the similarities. They’re quite a picture of camaraderie in Michael’s red van.

Morning person or night owl? Morning person. The possibilities of every day taunt me.

Your proudest moment? I’m not very good at picking the proudest this, or my favourite that… life is filled with many incredible moments. However, one of the very big defining moments in my life was getting my first opportunity to design at the Abbey Theatre. I was 25 and it meant the world to me.

Flann O’Brien’s At-Swim-2-Birds was adapted by Alex Johnston, directed by Jimmy Fay, designed (set and costume) by me and with lighting design by Paul Keogan. It was a fantastic production, a sell-out at the first and second runs, I still to this day believe the production should have gone to New York.

Spendthrift or saver? Saver.

What makes you happy? The simple things in life: sharing my life with Michael, our families, our friends, our work, our garden, being by the sea, good food, good company, and a horse called Sox.

How would you like to be remembered? Often (I have a childhood fear of being forgotten).