Elderly artist who came to Co Meath following a dream searching for studio to work in
A 76-year-old artist and philosopher who came to Co Meath following a dream he had in Nepal is looking to find a local studio-living space he can base himself in and resume his work that includes creating ornate stained glass windows infused with symbols and messages from the spiritual and mythological world.
English-born Zenon Merlyn Michalak, who lived in the US for 50 years and who has travelled the world, is currently living in a tent close to the Hill of Tara where he has become something a tourist attraction in his own right following his arrival there five weeks ago.
The elder says he is "grounding himself" at the Seat of the High Kings after years of travel and engaging with its many visitors as well as making trips into Navan with the help of generous locals and the bus services.
Zenon's glass artistry, conceptualised by his fascination with the mythology of Merlyn, King Arthur and the Grail Story is truly unique. Each stained glass series, he says, encapsulates a mythical journey into "sacred realms".
Speaking to the Meath Chronicle in a recent interview, Zenon describes his stained glass artworks as "the perfect medium" with a career collection back in the US believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now Zenon, who left a comfortable life in the US to live in a field at Glastonbury in England, spend time in the temple-rich Kullu Valley in India and the Himalayan wilderness of Nepal before coming to Ireland, is hoping he can find a studio-living space where he can make silks and fabrics based on his stained glass work that people can hang as banners and can affordably buy "and be touched accordingly by their messages".
"I'm hoping someone in this community that I've come to love can assist me with finding a space where I can ground myself and properly resume my work. I feel a deep connection here with Tara and Navan and Co Meath and if the people want me here, I'd love to stay."
He acknowledges that living in a tent in a makeshift camp not too far away from the Hill of Tara, is a situation long term that cannot be a way of life for a man heading for his eighties.
Navan Cllr Alan Lawes has been offering support and provided him with hot food and beverages but is concerned that finding suitable accommodation through the traditional channels for the 76-year-old artist may prove difficult.
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