A Co Fermanagh artist has had to come up with an innovative way of continuing her passion for painting.
Caroline Dilworth has always had an artistic side, but had to reconsider her craft after developing arthritis in her hand, meaning she couldn’t hold a brush for long without pain.
However with the help of some friends she found she was able to paint on very small objects such as items of jewellery.
Irvinestown woman Caroline then turned that unique form of art into her own business, Les Papillons, where she sells her work on jewellery, crockery and other items.
Caroline first developed arthritis after a period working at a stables in Scotland, but she knew she had to find a way to find her craft again.
“The problem of working with horses was you do a lot of damage to your hands and I started to get arthritis and I couldn’t paint,” Caroline told MyFermanagh.
“I had an operation which was only semi-successful. I have to paint because I would have a very busy mind.
“I used to paint massive big pictures of horses and landscapes, now I can’t hold a brush in my hand without getting a painful electric shock.
“But with small brushes and small movements, I can paint on a very small areas and then get it blown up
“It’s very good for your mental health to sit and paint, it’s almost like meditation to me.
“I started painting very small objects then because that’s what I could manage, little things only a couple of centimetres each.
“It took me a while to work out what to use and how to refine it, and how to make it durable.”
Caroline said she took the advice and help of local artists in order to turn her craft into a fully-fledged business.
She added: “I joined the Omagh Craft Collective, and they supported me to give me advice as to how to run my business.
“With their bringing me on and getting my confidence up, I started selling in different shops then.
“I now have a work room in Irvinestown and I’m developing a website as well.
“It’s going well and now I’m self-employed and I hadn’t worked in 10 years before that.
“I love the art and crafts community in our county because everybody is approachable and super helpful.”
