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JOHN G RYAN Writer/Artist/Designer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John G Ryan, a professional creator for over 35 years, was an architectural, theater and engineering draughtsman, model maker, stage and set designer, graphic and interior designer and is now an artist and writer.

He exhibited extensively and in some of the most prestigious galleries, The Solomon, The Apollo, The Oisin, The Blue Leaf and The Bridge in Dublin, The Green Lane in Dingle and The Osborne Studio Gallery in London. He had many one man exhibitions including ‘Behind the Scenes’ of Brian Friel’s play Wonderful Tennessee at the world famous Abbey Theatre, 'Eclectic' on line at the Apollo Gallery, ‘A Journey’ at Boyne Art Studio and ‘Behind the Scenes of The Four Courts’ at Distillery Buildings, Dublin. He took part in many group shows including an exhibition of Irish Artists at the Hon Lok Yuen Club Hong Kong.

He produced the graphics for three winning National Civic Awards 1980, '81 and '83. In 2002 he was joint winner of the coveted Omni International Art Award USA that was won by Picasso, Braque, Mondrian, Lichtenstein, Miro, Kandinsky and Warhol in 2001 as part of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC collection.

Some of Ireland’s most famous figures had their portraits painted by the artist including author and play write Brian Friel whose portrait hangs in the National Writer’s Museum, director Patrick Mason, acclaimed thespians Donal McCann, John Kavanagh, author Billy Roche and many more.

Ryan’s works hang in some of the most prestigious personal collections both nationally and internationally including Emperor Aikihito of Japan, The Vatican, world famous actors Pierce Brosnan and Terence Stamp, international sports stars Stephen Roche and Packie Bonner, freedom fighter and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela, T V and radio presenters Pat Kenny and Eamonn Keane and An Taoiseach’s (Prime Minister of Ireland) Office, also the National Collection, Central Bank, the Bar Council of Ireland, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mayor of San Jose, Meath Co. Council and Meath Chronicle amongst others.

He moved to Bective, Co Meath in July 1994 and set up Boyne Art Studio in a converted church. He now exhibits exclusively from Bective.

EXHIBITION OF GRAPHICS                                                                 1979 John Ryan's first exhibition was a display of graphic art in a restaurant opposite the Mansion House, Dublin. It was opened by the Lord Mayor Michael O'Halloran and no works were sold.

EXHIBITION AT ANDREWS LANE THEATRE                                      1991 John Ryan's second exhibition, an exhibition of watercolors, took place in Andrew's Lane Theater organized by John Mould in 1991. The mixed collection included scenes from Wicklow and Dublin, interiors and figures. No dignitary opened the exhibition and it was a sellout.

SHOWING AT THE ABBEY THEATRE                                           Aug. 1992 On the opening night of an exhibition of John Ryan’s recent works downstairs from the Abbey in the Peacock Theater, a painting from which was purchased for the National Collection, poet and writer Brendan Kennelly described the artist as an artistic genius, much to his mother’s surprise.

The artist had produced simultaneously a second collection of 29 paintings for display upstairs in the Abbey Theater foyer a showing of ‘Behind the Scenes of Wonderful Tennessee’. The Brian Friel play had just opened and for the next seven weeks played to packed houses before transferring to Broadway.

Director Patrick Mason gave John Ryan permission to sit in on rehearsals of the play that was due to be opened in two weeks at the Abbey Theater. By the time the play opened he had completed a set of pastel and water color paintings of behind the scenes of the production that included portraits of the actors and the key figures of the production team.

This exhibition is now shelved at Boyne Art Studio.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE FOUR COURTS                      Nov 2003 John Ryan began work on The Four Courts in order to have a record of this historic building and an insight into the daily comings and goings within the hallowed confines of a unique, historic institution, much of which is visually unaltered for several hundred years. The artist produced nearly 300 drawings and sketches of the many scenes as they unfolded before him in his excursions to the Four Courts for over a year.

Included were scenes of the extensive Law Library, Central Office, the Barrister’s Tea Room, the Cryer's Desk, the Supreme Court, the Round Hall, the Snug and the Creche etc. The working life of Judges, Barristers, Solicitors, the Tip Staff and other staff is uncovered with candid observation and detail. In November 2003, having spent a further six months preparing the paintings, the exhibition was opened in Distillery Buildings and sold out shortly after.

A JOURNEY AT BOYNE ART STUDIO                                       Sept 2004 In 2001 the artist staged a major exhibition at Boyne Art Studio. 'A Journey' was a collection of 50 oil paintings. Also included were 50 sketches and anecdotes, memories from the artist's childhood and life that celebrated the first 50 years. Most of the paintings sold during the exhibition. The rest sold soon after.

DUBLIN AND THE FOUR COURTS                                          Oct 2010 A major exhibition 'Dublin and the Four Courts' took place in Ormond Meeting Rooms. Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, opened the exhibition. His speech and that of the artist can be viewed below.

HISTORY OF BECTIVE The history of Bective dates back to mythological times. Close-by is the River Boyne from where stories of Fionn Mac Cumhail and the Salmon of Knowledge originated. The character Corigonus in the writer’s first book, The Wisdom of Oracles, was inspired by the Salmon of Knowledge. Clady Bridge, said to be the oldest bridge in Ireland, is located nearby where the Clady River enters the majestic River Boyne.

Upriver is Bective Abbey built in 1150. It was the second Cistercian Abbey in Ireland after Mellifont, was founded by Murchadh O’Maelsheachlainn King of Meath and housed up to 35 monks and 50 lay brothers. King Henry VIII closed the abbey in 1537 during the suppression of the monasteries.

A quote from Wart’s Annals ‘the last abbot John Englishe was found to be in possession of a church, hall and cloister with certain chambers and other buildings, together with 205 acres of arable land, 7 of meadow and 33 of pasture in the town land of Bective, being the domain of the Abbey, also a water mill and fishing weir all valued at £19. 6s. 8d. as well as other land valued at £61.11s. 8d.

The body of Hugh De Lacy is buried here (his head is buried in St Thomas’ Abbey Dublin). In 1639 Richard Bolton, the cruelest soldier in Cromwell’s army took over Bective and it remained in the Bolton family for 200 years. Lady Diana Spencer and the current princes royal, William and Harry are descendents of the Bolton family.

In 1851 another descendent, also Richard Bolton, built Bective Church. The wall memorial in the church describes him as ‘a good landlord, a kind and generous friend, a tender and loving husband who built and endowed this church to promote the worship of God’. The famous Cork architect Joseph Welland designed this cut stone Victorian building in a plain Gothic style complete with bell tower, buttresses, arched windows and crypt. It was later owned by The Church of Ireland and sold to John Ryan in 1994. The artist converted the church into Boyne Art Studio. He opened Art Now Gallery, as the extended gallery to the studio with master artist Tony McGrath in Navan in 2009. He now operates from Boyne Art Studio, Bective, where both the Wisdom of Oracles and the Mystic Moses were written. LOCATION Boyne Art Studio is located near where the River Clady meets the Boyne. Close-by is Bective Abbey at the center of the Boyne Valley, halfway between the market town of Navan and the heritage town of Trim. King John’s Castle, Trim was built in the 12th Century and used as the backdrop for Mel Gibson’s film Braveheart. Bective is four miles from the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and is within easy reach of the Neolithic Site of Newgrange 3,200 BC.

ORACLES OF AN ARTIST / BOOK LAUNCH          PRESS RELEASE 3-8-2011

There’s a painting of his in the Writers Museum in Parnell Square, a portrait of Brian Friel that was painted in the rehearsal room of the Abbey Theatre twenty years ago. He loaned it to them when he realized they hadn’t got a portrait of our greatest playwright.

International Artist John G Ryan lives and works in a converted church at the center of the Boyne Valley in Bective, Co. Meath around the corner from where the writer Mary Lavin lived. In 2002 he was joint winner of the coveted Omni International Art Award USA. The previous year the same award was won by Picasso, Braque, Miro, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Warhol and Lichtenstein as part of the collection of the National Gallery of Art Washington DC. He is well known for his works commissioned for some of the most prestigious dignitaries such as Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Roche, Emperor Aikihito of Japan, Pierce Brosnan, President Ronald Reagan and An Taoiseach etc. He now operates exclusively from his own Boyne Art Studio, Bective.

For the past two years the artist has turned his attention to writing his first book that affords the reader with insight into the way he views life. There is an artist in us all and although this is very evident when we are children, most of us lose contact with that side of our personality thus changing the direction of our lives. Ryan sees this change of direction as a major influence in the destructive behavior of our race. Called ‘The Wisdom of Oracles’ the book is a hard hitting and sometimes an uncompromising view of the state of the world and our attitude toward it. The author points to the very foundations of our civilization, such as the Ten Commandments, urging us to take a closer look at their meaning from an innate perspective, thus restructuring and reemphasizing their interpretation and meaning.

Very often we hold onto outmoded value systems and even are prepared to go to war and die defending them rather than face the truth. To be considered wrong is a fate worse than death itself and so we can reason ourselves into accepting the bizarre as being normal, such as starvation, poverty, drug addiction, illness and abuse at all levels.

At his recent exhibition ‘Behind the Scenes of the Four Courts’ held in Ormond Meeting Rooms and attended by judges and barristers, Ryan’s speech pointed to the difficulties for the legal system of reaching the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, through a witness disconnected from his innate self. All our systems religious, government, education and banking etc. experience the same difficulties hence we accept honesty instead of truth, emotions in place of feelings and construct rather than creativity.

The author points out that blame and retribution are not the way forward rather he encourages a close look at our own input and how we can change our attitudes and values that may be earth bound rather than innately connected. This is a very necessary book at this time in our evolution that not alone offers us an understanding of how we arrived at this place since the time of Adam and Eve but brings us hope for the future. Not for the fainthearted, ‘The Wisdom of Oracles’ is a breath of fresh air, a reminder that the game is by no means over. How we as a race deal with the next 50 years is vital to our survival.

The book is aimed at those who see the need for change but may not be aware of the tools they innately possess for the task. Finally it gives us a way of dealing with our conditions and even reversing them to the point where we as a race could be living with a totally different and rewarding outlook on life.

‘The Wisdom of Oracles’ will be launched at 7.30pm on Sept. 8th in the Solstice Art Centre, Navan, Co. Meath.

THE WISDOM OF ORACLES The First Draft The Wisdom of Oracles is John G Ryan’s first book the initial draft of which was transcribed through his innate self during the period of Lent in 2009 starting on the first day and ending on Easter Sunday, the editing process taking a further two years. As an artist he works through his innateness and is aware of continuing this practice in his everyday life.

AUTHOR’S NOTE “As I was growing up I felt estranged, disconnected from my surroundings. I now realize it was because my thoughts, feelings and creations came from my innate world and the vast majority of people begin to leave this world behind them from an early age, rarely returning but choosing instead to operate from a totally different focus. My perspective affords me with a view on life that differs from most people I meet and as a result my value system is based on a different set of awareness to the everyday view. Up to now Art has provided me with an outlet for my expressions and creations. It is time to put my observations onto writing and share them with those who may be interested in discovering a different approach to life. During the short periods from time to time that I too have chosen to step outside my internal world I have made some of the most horrific mistakes, mindless decisions and mishandlings of my life. Most people live their lives in this space outside of their innate awareness and wonder why they cannot get to grips with life, are dependent, doubtful or fearful, unfulfilled, unhappy or ill, are without synchronicity, suffer indescribable pain or have difficulty changing the direction of their lives. This book shows you how, by returning to your innate calling your circumstances can transform to a fulfilling life of joy, health and abundance and how you can take a responsible role in rediscovering your destiny”.

THE WISDOM OF ORACLES by JOHN RYAN

FORWARD by KATE O’NEILL R.P.N./ R.M./ M.A. Psychology

This book is first of all a book of hope for it is confident in the ability of the human race to change for the better. It guides us through a maze of our own misunderstandings, our misconceived intentions and our misguided behaviors through to the core of our own truth. It explores what is truth, what is love and what is creation and makes a clear distinction between for example honesty and truth, emotion and feeling and construction and creation. The very language of the book brings us on a new journey and we engage in a way that encourages us to think from a different angle so that our old automatic reactions are not readily available. We are directed to contemplate the information and its meaning from a new perspective. The book is a strong and sometimes uncompromising comment on our accepted value systems and the manner is which we use them. There is an understanding of how we got to where we are as a race and developed into our current state. The assertion that illness is an unnecessary part of the human condition surely deserves attention. It is certainly worth the risk of increasing awareness of oneself and the happenings to oneself in order to find out the truth behind this interesting theory. There is a challenge to let go of the long trusted structures we have organized to help us understand and make sense of the world in which we live. In the final analysis this book is an invitation to live life simply and with peace of mind. Getting there presents an interesting challenge. We are shown in a step-by-step approach how to get in touch with our innate selves, the basis for developing a fuller understanding not alone of our own human nature but of the universe. The exercises in the book make it useful in practical terms for soulful workshops orientated toward self-discovery and innate development.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the lost explorers of this world. May they one day realize their unique role in the world and their important place in the universe.

NOTES

It is recommended that you read the book from cover to cover rather than taking out sections at a time. The characters, the language and terms of reference are written in a particular style so that the reader does not immediately associate with references in other books of this kind and thus, get caught up in making assumptions around already used, misused and taken for granted terminology that may get in the way of the message of the book. For this reason it may at first be more difficult to engage however, your persistence I guarantee will pay off. It is not necessary to know or learn all the characters and their functions at first because the information is repeated several times throughout the book and will gradually sink in through the process of osmosis. If you wish, you can always refer back to the inside cover and the character descriptions at the beginning of the book in Descriptions of The Two Humans And Their Main Characteristics and later in the sections Journey Through The Cosmos and Capsule until you get used to them but as was already said, this is not necessary. The message in the book is repeated for good reason so that it absorbs gradually into your psyche to help counteract everyday messages mostly through media that we hear and see on a regular basis, messages that can have a subtle but destructive impact on our lives. The book is designed to make you question your attitudes and values and if necessary to change them. For this reason you may resist the message it holds and your brain in particular may present a barrier to protect you from the information. Such words as unnecessary, silly, stupid, and ridiculous may present themselves and your body may even experience boredom, inability to concentrate or tiredness. This is your brain trying to protect you from information that it considers harmful to your already learned attitudes and values. You may need to talk to your brain several times during your reading of the book to reassure it you are not in any danger. If you do not question your values and attitudes, question their beginnings and the reasons why you continually engage them and change those that are found questionable how can you expect the rest of the world to change? You have the power within you to change the world around you. Likewise, by staying as you are, the power you have is to ensure that the world around you stays as it is. This is a clear choice and you engage that choice every second of every day. What each individual does on a personal level affects the world. When groups of people are engaged in a similar activity this has a much more potent effect. When we as a civilization engage the acceptance of poverty in others, of war, of abuse, of separation in its many forms we encourage the existence of those very behaviors. Why do we accept war as a way of dealing with perceived difference? Why is poverty acceptable when it doesn’t affect us directly? Why is untruthfulness accepted as a way of life? By accepting these behaviors we support them and encourage our world to be misguided. The purpose of the book is to encourage you to question your personal safety zone where you, unknown to yourself, accept and encourage dangerous behaviors in yourself and others. The book is designed to bring you past what is called the thinking ability of the brain, past the emotions of the heart and past the physicality of the body to a place where you begin to engage the world through the awareness of your own innateness. From this place real thought is engaged, likewise real feelings and real creativity. You will see how and why you engage the world as you do, how you can change any dangerous patterns you may have unknowingly developed and in the process change your existence to a meaningful, healthy and fulfilling life.