This summer, Art Department Head Ms. Lorri Deyer and Lower School Art Teacher Ms. Val Trimarchi accompanied ten Upper School students to Cow House Studios, an art farm in southeast Ireland. Editor and Website Manager Reed D. ’25 and I detailed our experience in this article, but we also wanted to share the experience of the ten other participants. Below will be nine student and teacher testimonies accompanied by Ella’s photography of the trip in the gallery above.
Ms. Lorri Deyer: “Cow House offered a lot of things but really it was restorative. That was the greatest part to me. I keep wondering the reason—was it all the outdoor time walking, swimming, wow those fields, or…uninterrupted time to make art, or even the food. Someone else cooking amazing, healthy food every meal cannot be underappreciated. But it was really all those things combined. What an amazing experience.”
Belle Z. ’25: “I really appreciated the fact that the dairy in Ireland was not as inflammatory as the dairy in the United States. They cooked us meals every single day with all natural ingredients, which was amazing and it tasted so friggin’ good. Yeah, and they gave us lots of time to do art and explore different mediums. So, I loved that, too.”
Ellie L.-S.’25: “The trip this summer to Ireland was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. The special thing about this program was that I got to combine one of my passions, art, with something else I find interesting—travel. I also loved how unique this trip was in the way that we got to live on a farm and really experience the beautiful, natural side of Ireland—so different than anything you could find in the U.S. Being in nature without distractions also helped me create and expand my art in a way I haven’t been able to before.”Ximena: “Going to Ireland was a really fun and cool experience, especially since I have never traveled outside of North America. Traveling to Ireland also helped me be able to step out of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed the ability to just spend every day (all day) creating art and being surrounded by nature.”
Ximena A. ’25: “Going to Ireland was a really fun and cool experience, especially since I have never traveled outside of North America. Traveling to Ireland also helped me be able to step out of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed the ability to just spend every day (all day) creating art and being surrounded by nature.”
Bellamy S. ’24: “The trip was excellent in terms of the art I was able to create. Being surrounded by the countryside and animals was the best part, not to mention the excellent food. I felt the healthiest I’ve felt in a while, physically, and I loved examining my own artistic process alongside that.”
Mena J. ’26: “For me, Ireland really changed my mindset about how I spent my time. Not being able to have my phone constantly with me, and having the freedom to wake up whenever I wanted to or create as much as I felt like really inspired me to make more conscious decisions about my lifestyle at home.”
Mason K. ’26: “It was a really great place to make art because we were surrounded by nature and many cats. One of my favorite things is how much free time we got every day to do work ourselves, which allowed us to wander around outside, to run and be free to see the whole landscape. The whole place, from the teachers there to the group of Westridge students was very welcoming and everyone was alert to remember everyone’s needs. The teachers were really helpful in giving us demonstrations by hand and always went around to each person to help them.”
Micah M. ’25: “Aside from having the incredible opportunity to explore Ireland’s cities, towns, countryside, and wildlife with a wonderful group of Westridge peers, being at Cow House Studios allowed me a supportive, collaborative place to explore what my art is and experiment with what I wanted it to be. “
Alex S. ’24: “Spending 10 days at Cow House in Ireland gave me the time and space to explore my love for art. Not only did the physical farm inspire me, but so did the support of our group, chaperones, and art teachers. I will forever cherish that time as a reminder of how invigorating creating art is for me.”
