Kathryn Mary Crowley Writer & Visual artist, Ireland.'s Avatar

Kathryn Mary Crowley Writer & Visual artist, Ireland.

@kathryning.bsky.social

Creativity ✨ Mentoring ✨ Workshops ✨ Training ✨ https://kathrynmcrowley.com/

217 Followers  |  160 Following  |  85 Posts  |  Joined: 14.08.2024  |  3.1014

Latest posts by kathryning.bsky.social on Bluesky

Do you work in Ireland's creative sector? Check out these FREE creative therapies. I work with this brilliant organisation (not as a therapist), and highly recommend the services. We need and deserve this. Enjoy! #wellbeing #visualartists #music #dance #drama #Ireland #music #freetherapy

27.11.2025 11:16 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Supporting child safety in Ireland Content warning The post refers to a man convicted of possessing child pornography images. The face of a man found with images of child abuse, prosecuted in a Tralee court recently, has been widely circulated. I am glad that Kerry's Eye published a report. Rage is in the air, of course. This morning, when a lot of people posted comments online, I thought about how anger is an energy, and wrote " 

Supporting child safety in Ireland

Content warning The post refers to a man convicted of possessing child pornography images. The face of a man found with images of child abuse, prosecuted in a Tralee court recently, has been widely circulated. I am glad that Kerry's Eye published a report. Rage…

26.11.2025 19:50 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Ocean art project: Foinse by Kathryn Mary Crowley. Read more at www.KathrynMCrowley.com
YouTube video by Kathryn Mary Crowley Ocean art project: Foinse by Kathryn Mary Crowley. Read more at www.KathrynMCrowley.com

5 days to go! I am upcycling plastic nets, used to wrap fruit and vegetables, as part of my ocean art project. Maybe you have some to share? www.youtube.com/shorts/HCIkv... #ocean #recycle #microplastics #environmentalart #visualart #Ireland #Foinse #trá #water #uisce

25.11.2025 09:16 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Underwater scene featuring a green sea turtle. Painted in watercolour, mixed media, and pen on thick, 500gsm card. My original art 24cm X 23cm.

Underwater scene featuring a green sea turtle. Painted in watercolour, mixed media, and pen on thick, 500gsm card. My original art 24cm X 23cm.

A Green sea #turtle ended up in Ireland, thousands of kilometres from home and shivering her tail off, last Winter. Here's her story, my new art, and a #poem that I wrote from the perspective of a turtle back in 2022: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/11/24/t... #art #ocean #sea #Ireland #Canaryislands 🌊🐢🎨

24.11.2025 11:55 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
I am holding a painting of a turtle wit lots of blue and green tones. I have added rocks and sea plants. A pink and blue fish can be seen emerging from under a rock. Text reads "80% complete now. https://kathrynmcrowley.com/"

I am holding a painting of a turtle wit lots of blue and green tones. I have added rocks and sea plants. A pink and blue fish can be seen emerging from under a rock. Text reads "80% complete now. https://kathrynmcrowley.com/"

Day of the turtle.

Watercolour and pen on paper.

It's 80% complete now. A4 size approx. kathrynmcrowley.com/art
#ocean #sealife #originalart #handpaintedart

19.11.2025 14:09 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fibromyalgia recovery stories are in short supply: I have one to share. An update about my book in progress.

Hello, the online MECFS & LongCOVID Action Forum on October 30th will be 4am Irish time, so I can't attend. I'd love to listen back. Will audio be recorded that I could access later, please? I'm editing a book about fibromyalgia. kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/09/15/f...

27.10.2025 15:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Hello, I can't read the text on the flyer, and wonder will this be shown online too?

24.10.2025 12:23 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
"She built dollhouses to catch killers—and her tiny crime scenes revolutionized how police solve murders. In the 1940s, while most women of her social class were hosting tea parties and serving on charity boards, Frances Glessner Lee was hunched over a workbench with tweezers, constructing perfect miniature murder scenes. Born into one of Chicago's wealthiest families in 1878, Frances had everything society said she should want—money, status, a "proper" marriage. But what she actually wanted, she couldn't have: her family refused to let her attend college. Women of her class, they believed, didn't need education. So Frances got married, raised children, and lived the life expected of her. But she never stopped learning. She read medical journals. She studied forensic science. And she waited. When her husband died and she inherited a fortune, Frances was finally free. She was 52 years old. Most people that age are thinking about slowing down. Frances was just getting started. She had become fascinated with a problem plaguing American law enforcement: crime scenes were being botched. Evidence was contaminated. Clues were missed. Detectives would walk into a scene with a theory already in mind and see only what confirmed their assumptions. Innocent people went to prison. Guilty people walked free. The cause? Poor training and sloppy observation. Frances decided to fix it—with dollhouses. But these weren't children's toys."

"She built dollhouses to catch killers—and her tiny crime scenes revolutionized how police solve murders. In the 1940s, while most women of her social class were hosting tea parties and serving on charity boards, Frances Glessner Lee was hunched over a workbench with tweezers, constructing perfect miniature murder scenes. Born into one of Chicago's wealthiest families in 1878, Frances had everything society said she should want—money, status, a "proper" marriage. But what she actually wanted, she couldn't have: her family refused to let her attend college. Women of her class, they believed, didn't need education. So Frances got married, raised children, and lived the life expected of her. But she never stopped learning. She read medical journals. She studied forensic science. And she waited. When her husband died and she inherited a fortune, Frances was finally free. She was 52 years old. Most people that age are thinking about slowing down. Frances was just getting started. She had become fascinated with a problem plaguing American law enforcement: crime scenes were being botched. Evidence was contaminated. Clues were missed. Detectives would walk into a scene with a theory already in mind and see only what confirmed their assumptions. Innocent people went to prison. Guilty people walked free. The cause? Poor training and sloppy observation. Frances decided to fix it—with dollhouses. But these weren't children's toys."

"The "Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" were meticulously crafted dioramas of actual crime scenes, built at a scale of one inch to one foot. Each took months to construct, and every single detail mattered. A two-room apartment where a woman lies dead. The tiny calendar on the wall shows the correct date. The miniature clock is stopped at the exact time of death. There's a crease in the bedspread where someone sat. A window is open—but only by half an inch. There's a broom leaning against the kitchen wall. The bathroom door is ajar. Blood spatters, smaller than pinheads, mark specific surfaces. Nothing was accidental. Every object was a potential clue. Another scene: a man hanged in a barn. The rope fibers are authentic. The knot is tied in a specific way. His body position tells a story—but is it suicide or murder? Look closer. Check the height of the beam. Measure the distance from the stool. Could he have reached that knot himself?"

"The "Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" were meticulously crafted dioramas of actual crime scenes, built at a scale of one inch to one foot. Each took months to construct, and every single detail mattered. A two-room apartment where a woman lies dead. The tiny calendar on the wall shows the correct date. The miniature clock is stopped at the exact time of death. There's a crease in the bedspread where someone sat. A window is open—but only by half an inch. There's a broom leaning against the kitchen wall. The bathroom door is ajar. Blood spatters, smaller than pinheads, mark specific surfaces. Nothing was accidental. Every object was a potential clue. Another scene: a man hanged in a barn. The rope fibers are authentic. The knot is tied in a specific way. His body position tells a story—but is it suicide or murder? Look closer. Check the height of the beam. Measure the distance from the stool. Could he have reached that knot himself?"

"Frances hired carpenters, but she did much of the work herself—sewing tiny curtains, knitting miniature blankets, mixing paint to create realistic blood spatters. She studied actual cases, visited real crime scenes, and consulted with medical examiners to ensure accuracy. She created twenty of these dioramas, each one a puzzle, each one based on real deaths. Then she did something extraordinary: she convinced the New Hampshire State Police to make her an honorary captain in 1943, becoming one of the first women to hold such a position. She used this authority to create seminars where detectives would study her miniatures, learning to observe without prejudice, to preserve evidence, to think scientifically. "Convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell," she would say. The seminars became legendary. Detectives would spend hours examining each scene, debating theories, discovering clues they'd initially missed. A cigarette ash in the wrong location. A door that couldn't have been locked from the inside. A bullet trajectory that didn't match the suicide story."

"Frances hired carpenters, but she did much of the work herself—sewing tiny curtains, knitting miniature blankets, mixing paint to create realistic blood spatters. She studied actual cases, visited real crime scenes, and consulted with medical examiners to ensure accuracy. She created twenty of these dioramas, each one a puzzle, each one based on real deaths. Then she did something extraordinary: she convinced the New Hampshire State Police to make her an honorary captain in 1943, becoming one of the first women to hold such a position. She used this authority to create seminars where detectives would study her miniatures, learning to observe without prejudice, to preserve evidence, to think scientifically. "Convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell," she would say. The seminars became legendary. Detectives would spend hours examining each scene, debating theories, discovering clues they'd initially missed. A cigarette ash in the wrong location. A door that couldn't have been locked from the inside. A bullet trajectory that didn't match the suicide story."

"Frances was teaching them to see. Her work helped transform forensic science from guesswork into a rigorous discipline. She endowed Harvard's Department of Legal Medicine. She pushed for professional standards in death investigation. She proved that careful observation could mean the difference between justice and tragedy. When Frances Glessner Lee died in 1962 at age 83, she left behind a legacy that continues today. Her Nutshell Studies are still used to train detectives at the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office. Modern CSI techniques—photographing everything, preserving the scene, looking for inconsistencies—stem partly from the principles she championed. The woman who wasn't allowed to go to college became a pioneer in forensic science. The heiress who was supposed to arrange flowers instead arranged tiny crime scenes that saved lives. Eighteen of her original twenty dioramas survive, and they're still as powerful as ever. These aren't dusty museum pieces—they're working tools. Detectives still gather around them, still debate what happened, still learn to look past the obvious and search for truth in the smallest details. Because Frances Glessner Lee understood something fundamental: the truth is in the details. Not the dramatic ones. The tiny ones. The overlooked ones. The clue everyone walks past because they're too busy looking where they expect the answer to be. She proved that miniatures can solve murders. That dollhouses can teach justice. That a woman in her fifties with determination and resources can change an entire field. And she proved that it's never too late to start the work you were meant to do—even if the world spent decades telling you it wasn't yours to do."

"Frances was teaching them to see. Her work helped transform forensic science from guesswork into a rigorous discipline. She endowed Harvard's Department of Legal Medicine. She pushed for professional standards in death investigation. She proved that careful observation could mean the difference between justice and tragedy. When Frances Glessner Lee died in 1962 at age 83, she left behind a legacy that continues today. Her Nutshell Studies are still used to train detectives at the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office. Modern CSI techniques—photographing everything, preserving the scene, looking for inconsistencies—stem partly from the principles she championed. The woman who wasn't allowed to go to college became a pioneer in forensic science. The heiress who was supposed to arrange flowers instead arranged tiny crime scenes that saved lives. Eighteen of her original twenty dioramas survive, and they're still as powerful as ever. These aren't dusty museum pieces—they're working tools. Detectives still gather around them, still debate what happened, still learn to look past the obvious and search for truth in the smallest details. Because Frances Glessner Lee understood something fundamental: the truth is in the details. Not the dramatic ones. The tiny ones. The overlooked ones. The clue everyone walks past because they're too busy looking where they expect the answer to be. She proved that miniatures can solve murders. That dollhouses can teach justice. That a woman in her fifties with determination and resources can change an entire field. And she proved that it's never too late to start the work you were meant to do—even if the world spent decades telling you it wasn't yours to do."

"In the 1940s, while most women of her social class were hosting tea parties and serving on charity boards, Frances Glessner Lee was hunched over a workbench with tweezers, constructing perfect miniature murder scenes."

24.10.2025 05:35 — 👍 6    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

NYU Abu Dhabi is recruiting a 3-year Postdoctoral Associate for a Computational Social Science project on the coevolution of ingroup bias and group boundaries.
For more details and to apply, please visit: apply.interfolio.com/173544.

24.10.2025 10:09 — 👍 4    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 0
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The conversation about the book “The Reinvention of Science” that will take place on Tuesday the 28th (18:30 UK time) will be broadcasted. Get free tickets in go.uv.es/S9LaQ1j to receive the link for streaming. More about the book, including a booktrailer www.worldscientific.com/worldscibook... 🧪🔭⚛️

24.10.2025 11:02 — 👍 5    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

You meant well, no problem! :)

23.10.2025 06:01 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Thanks. We're all learning as we go, right? The word 'Queen' makes me feel queasy, but I know you mean well.

22.10.2025 11:24 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Peach sky, clouds, and an orange sunset glow over the sea. The sun is reflected in water at the edge of the sea as waves foam on the shore. Photo taken by Kathryn M Crowley in County Kerry, Ireland, 2025.

Peach sky, clouds, and an orange sunset glow over the sea. The sun is reflected in water at the edge of the sea as waves foam on the shore. Photo taken by Kathryn M Crowley in County Kerry, Ireland, 2025.

My fibromyalgia book is slowly coming together, yippee! It has taken 3 years to get this far. If you'd like to read an excerpt, please get in touch via my website. Here's some background info: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/09/15/f... #invisibledisability #fibromyalgia #mentalhealth #selfcare #writing🥗🧪🫁📝

22.10.2025 11:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Hello from Irelnad Alexis, will you tell me more about Chronic Market, please? Who owns it, what is it, and where is it based? I'm editing my book about fibromyalgia this month. Cautious about who I send my details to via docs. Thanks.

21.10.2025 14:47 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
I am holding brown envelopes that contain used plastic netting. Behind me are heather covered hills and a few trees.

I am holding brown envelopes that contain used plastic netting. Behind me are heather covered hills and a few trees.

Thanks to everyone who sent me more nets! The upcycling continues. I'm reusing plastic nets that are (still, sadly) found on fruit and vegetables. I'm also reading /learning about micro plastics and neuroscience. Read more here: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/07/10/f... #plastic #oceans #upcycling ♻️🧪🍂#art

21.10.2025 12:24 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
A wheel shapedesign made from stones, shells, twigs, and an apple on a sandy beach.

A wheel shapedesign made from stones, shells, twigs, and an apple on a sandy beach.

Samhain is approaching, and I was thinking about the celtic wheel on the beach as I gathered materials the other day. A little apple came in on a wave, which was a lovely surprise.

#Samhain #landart #nature

20.10.2025 17:45 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A group of adults are looking towards a hedgerow as a man gives a talk about ecology. He is pointing at long Montbretia leaves.

A group of adults are looking towards a hedgerow as a man gives a talk about ecology. He is pointing at long Montbretia leaves.

'Uisce', instigated by @erikahanna.bsky.social, was a great triad! I enjoyed a talk on the historical impact of rain in #Ireland and much more besides today (Erika Hanna), foklore and history snippets (Tom Dillon) and a biodiversity walk by the river Feale (Barry O'Donoghue). #history #biodiversity

19.10.2025 17:29 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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The Autumn slide Autumn has arrived to the northern hemisphere. I love the colours of this season and the crisp air, even if my body feels more stiff lately! Autumn brings challenges to some. We’ll have less …

The Autumn Slide. New blog post: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/10/18/t... #chronicpain #fibromyalgia #sleep #wellbeing #Autumn 🧪🍂

18.10.2025 14:34 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Mandala Autumn leaves

Mandala Autumn leaves

Love colour? I post prints of my nature art to buyers worldwide, plus small, personalised gifts and mixed media paintings. Prices range from €30-€600. I'll be adding more to my website in the coming days: kathrynmcrowley.com/shop/ #art #landart #paintings 🎨☘️🍁♻️🖌️✏️📚

16.10.2025 13:12 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Chamomile flowers, a magnifying glass, and paper. Designed by Kathryn M Crowley.

Chamomile flowers, a magnifying glass, and paper. Designed by Kathryn M Crowley.

Fibromyalgia is tough to endure. It affects women more than men, and I've set up Fibro Wise Women to offer information and tips. The website and Facebook group are free to access. The site will be updated again on October 21st, 2025. Here's the link: fibrowisewomen.com 🧪 #fibromyalgia #health #women

15.10.2025 09:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Writing events in Ireland and online. Autumn-Winter 2025. Open calls for writing, news about my work, and writing events in September and October 2025.

A few writing and poetry events in Ireland and online: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/10/14/w... #writing #poetry #festivals @sourcearts.bsky.social @waterfordlibraries.bsky.social #Waterford #Tipperary #Limerick #Kerry @brianbilston.bsky.social

14.10.2025 10:30 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Saturday theatre and laughter in a Limerick art gallery On Saturday (October 11th, 2025) a sculpture of a girl’s face, carved from wood, caught my eye in Limerick City Art Gallery. Marks along the sides added texture to the piece, and remind me of…

Creativity and craic at the weekend. Thanks to Liam McCarthy @limetreetheatre.bsky.social for inviting me to a fun, hybrid event in Limerick. Here's a blog post about the arty shenanigans: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/10/13/s... #theatre #art #culture #Limerick #Ireland 🎭 🎨 ✍️

13.10.2025 15:38 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Thanks. A few people agree with you! I might go for it, not sure yet.

09.10.2025 17:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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After being on the road, it's lovely to rest up and read for a few days. I'm editing my own book too, and pondering titles.
'Fibromyalgia: a journey to recovery'? Boring. 'Fibromyalgia. A pain in the f#cking arse' isn't quite right either, but I'm getting closer. #writing #fibromyalgia🖋️🧪 #health

08.10.2025 16:45 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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The gift of water. A trip to Ireland’s sunny South-East The beauty of Ireland’s waterways.

The gift of water. Photos and thoughts after my trip to Ireland’s sunny South-East: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/10/06/i... #water #Ireland #conservation #pollution #waterways

06.10.2025 13:56 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I just asked the European Commission whether they would ask for the €50,000 back in this case, as it has clearly been used to develop a military product now contracted to be supplied to the IDF, in breach of Horizon rules.

No comment on the specific case "have to look into it", spokesman says.

01.09.2025 10:50 — 👍 120    🔁 76    💬 7    📌 3
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Grief and art (with neuroscience). Wings and Wonder These portraits were made using pencil, paint, and ink. The series began soon after Winter solstice, 2015. I was in a state of shock and bereavement at the time, and black feathers…

Art in times of grief. Ten years on, here is my reflection: kathrynmcrowley.com/2025/10/03/v... #visualart #poetry #writing #artisticprocess #symbolism #neuroarts 🧪 🎨 🖋️

04.10.2025 11:23 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Dr. Jane Goodall as a child with a stuffed monkey doll that she named Jubilee. Photo from the Jane Goodall Institute.

Dr. Jane Goodall as a child with a stuffed monkey doll that she named Jubilee. Photo from the Jane Goodall Institute.

Dr. Goodall watched young Gaia groom her mother, Gremlin, in 1998.Credit...Kristin J. Mosher/Jane Goodall Institute

Dr. Goodall watched young Gaia groom her mother, Gremlin, in 1998.Credit...Kristin J. Mosher/Jane Goodall Institute

Jane Goodall. What a woman, and what a meaningful life lived! Here's an obituary: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

01.10.2025 19:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Background image shows an open notebook with pen on a wooden table. Text reads: Publishing Your Work - September 2025, Poetry & Writing Submissions - Journals, Competitions, Bursaries, Residencies. www.thisiswordbox.com

Background image shows an open notebook with pen on a wooden table. Text reads: Publishing Your Work - September 2025, Poetry & Writing Submissions - Journals, Competitions, Bursaries, Residencies. www.thisiswordbox.com

Over 150 calls for literary competitions & submissions including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography, & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in September 2025. Please share & best of luck!

www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

10.09.2025 21:40 — 👍 44    🔁 17    💬 0    📌 1

@kathryning is following 20 prominent accounts