Welcome to the fourth edition of our Network newsletter! This newsletter is intended to keep you up-to-date on Celtic Friends members and on the activities on the Network over the past month. Please, read on, as this issue is packed with helpful and useful information for each one of you.

Our membership is continuing to increase rapidly. We now have five hundred and four members! Thank you everyone, for your support!

Featured Members of the Month

In every issue, we feature those members of our network who have contributed, in some way, to our network, as well as the Celtic Community as a whole. We have provided each of you with the opportunity to voice your opinion by casting your vote for the person you think we should feature. You can cast your vote in the Round Table group. We appreciate your input!

This month our featured members are:

Ingrid Houwers - better known online as ‘GrayWolf’ is one of the leading Celtic artists in Ireland. She does Children and Adult illustration and design work, and is interested in reviving Celtic art with own unique style. Ingrid draws, paints, and designs in a wide variety of mediums from 2D artwork, to gold and silver work. In April, after many months of hard work, Ingrid launched her new website called ‘Imbas Creations’. There, she sells some of the most unique pieces of Celtic influenced items, including various art prints, apparel, and her own line of jewelry, known as the ’GrayWolf’ collection, which is available world-wide through the PeterStone company. Ingrid does full custom commissions and because of her love for designing, she truly puts her heart and soul into everything she creates.

Brian Wright - is a Cornish artist with a natural talent and is self-taught in the art of Pyrography. Brian takes his inspiration from the natural beauty of Cornwall and the Celtic, Pictish, and knot work designs found on ancient head stones and stone crosses throughout the UK. Over the years, he has created a variety of pieces, but now he makes many of his designs into Tablemats and Coasters. After burning his design into wood, the finished artwork is scanned, printed and laminated to give the finished coasters a heat resistant and wipe clean surface. He then applies a cork back to them and sells them in local stores, as well as on his new website, celtic-knotwork-coasters.

Brian's other interests include beach art and field art. He finds the northern Cornish coast to be the best location for his beach art because it is easily viewed from a cliff top. The field art is done by using a mower to create a design, usually on a steep hillside. These are temporary works of art, but that makes them even more special and magnificent.

Lisa O’Neill - is the owner of Celtic Jewellery & Gifts, a premier online jeweler based in Dublin, Ireland. She set up her store in 2005 in order to give people a comprehensive choice of Celtic Jewelry. Her company specializes in Celtic Wedding Bands, Irish Wedding Bands, Celtic Jewelry, Mo Anam Cara (Soul Mate) Jewelry, the original Celtic Warrior Range and much more. When a customer enquires about the history of an item, or where the inspiration came from for a particular piece, Lisa will tell them, in some detail, everything behind it. She is also able to give the meanings of Celtic symbols and translate Gaelic phrases inscribed on her jewelry. She can also design custom-made pieces.

Lisa’s interest in Celtic jewelry began when her youngest girl was born and she really preferred to be able to work from home. Her family had just purchased a jewelry manufacturing company and her husband suggested that she start a website selling the products online. Lisa has since done a lot of research and draws her ideas from the beautiful Irish countryside and her love for all things Celtic.

Dawn Downey - has been a radio announcer for the last fourteen years with programs such as, Caring and Sharing, Slightly Sacred, and general format. She now presents a Celtic music program on Sunday evenings called Celtic Connections, on community radio 99.7 FM in Brisbane, Australia. Dawn is always looking for new music to play on her show and is very interested in finding new artists.

Dawn is a retired nurse and the child of Irish parents. She has lived in Australia for thirty-nine years. She and her partner Keith were recently engaged during a balloon flight over the beautiful city of Brisbane. It must have been a romantic and wonderful experience. We extend our Congratulations to Dawn and Keith on their engagement and upcoming wedding!

Gareth Davis - is a musician who does vocals, plays guitar, and bodhran in a band called Celt Check. Located in the Seattle area, the band performs both Celtic and contemporary songs in either an acoustic or amplified venue. Gareth has been performing for audiences in one way or another since he was 10 years old, whether performing in a popular musical, such as “Oklahoma” or “Camelot”, or doing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. He's half Irish, 1/4 Scots & 1/4 Welsh. Whenever he's asked about his heritage he just says; "I'm a Celt!"

Gareth developed a love for Celtic music from his Grandparents and is proud to carry on the tradition, performing at Folk life Festivals, Scottish Highland Games, Renaissance Faires and Special Events. He is a musician of Celtic descent who enjoys learning about his Celtic heritage and is currently trying to start a recording studio for local musicians like him.

Lawrance Chadwick - is a radio presenter with Noosa Community radio 101.3 FM in Queensland, Australia, where he broadcasts Celtic influenced music. The name of his program is also Celtic Connection, a title that he and Dawn Downey have in common. He enjoys promoting Celtic news and music both locally and internationally.

Lawrance spent the first half of his 65-year life encircled with Celtic crosses in Scotland and the north of England. He has an interest in military history and warfare and is a regular writer to the local newspaper. His other interests include the home brewing of whiskey for the last 40 years.


These members, in their own individual way, have sparked interest with their works, brought us together as a culture and have left a mark that will likely be recorded in history. If you would like to be featured in upcoming months, there is more information about this under MORE tab, Get Featured.

Be Sure to Invite Your Friends

The Celtic Friends Network is a growing community and you can help our site grow even more by inviting your friends. By clicking the Invite tab at the top of every page, you can invite your friends individually, or you can import your address book from any of the following emails: Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or AOL Mail. Otherwise, you will have to do this manually through your email service.

Spread the word by making use of the links to “Digg” and “Stumble Upon”. These are found under the subheading: “Help Others Find Us!” located near the bottom or middle right of each page, depending on which page you are on.

If you own your own website or have a profile page on other social sites, such as MySpace for example, you can help make our site more visible by posting one of our Network Badges there. These Badges can be found under the MORE tab (Link to Us). Alternatively, they can be found near the middle or the bottom right of each page, depending on which page you are on. Simply click “Get Badge” link. For more information on how to use the Badge, please request a tutorial under the HELP tab (tutorials).

Remember, this is your network and we sincerely hope that you will help make it more enjoyable for yourself, and for others members, by inviting your friends and referring others to our site!

Network Store

Come check out the new items that we have added to the Celtic Shop! The pages are continuously being updated and new products are added daily. If you would like your products featured there, please contact us.

The range of products being added to the store continues to increase. This month’s additions include Statues and Figurines ,Tarot cards Tarot cards , Banners, Flags and Pendants , Sun Catchers , and Celtic Trinket Boxes . Please check back regularly as the Network Store is updated daily!

Events

If there is an upcoming event that you would like to have featured, please click “Add Event” below the Events section on our homepage, or hover your mouse pointer over “My Profile” and select “New Event”.

Odarka plays Celtic Harp
Do not miss the opportunity to experience the beautiful Celtic harp music of Odarka Polanskyi Stockert. She plays Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 at Café Monet in Millburn, NJ through June 28, 2009.

NAFCSC Annual Convention 2009
The North American Federation of Celtic Supporters is holding their annual convention in Las Vegas, NV, June 8-14 2009. For details, please see the brochure.

Potomac Celtic Festival:
This event is to be held once again on the picturesque historic green near the Morven Park Mansion and Museum, in Leesburg, VA, June 13-14 2009. The festival will include continual music and dance from many of your Celtic favorites, juried crafters and specialty import vendors, 2000 years of Living History reenactments, storytelling in the grove, workshops, children’s activities and crafts, food and drink, the authentic pub tent, and all of the family-fun that has become synonymous with PCF!

Gathering of Eagles, Spiritual Unity of Tribes:
Don’t miss four days of sharing, teaching, and great energy at the Free Spirit Campground in Sturgis, SD, June 25-28 2009. This event is open to everyone; people come from all walks of life, from all over the world, from many faiths. You can listen to speakers at the arbor where the fire is; have a lunch meal with everyone else; be in a sweat or purification lodge; join a men’s or women’s circle; enjoy being out of town, near the base of the beautiful Bear Butte outside of Sturgis, SD, USA.

Featured Groups

Celtic Music: Celtic music is a huge part of the Irish culture. Jenny Fedei created this group for those who share the love of good music. It is a place to discuss your favorite artists and to learn and share what you know about Celtic music today. Jenny and her husband are involved in web casting and are interested in bringing the best Celtic music to the airways.

Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids | OBOD: This group was created for the members of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and for those people who are interested in taking OBOD courses. It is also a place for the curious to ask questions and learn more about Druidry.

Celtic Art: This group was designed for people interested in discussing Celtic art. The group was just recently added and is already a big hit with over thirty members.

We Care About Your Safety!

Your privacy is important to us. We would like to remind you that we have provided added safety measures in an effort to keep the information that you provide to us, specifically your personal email addresses, private. This means that no one, except the administrator, has access to him or her.

When you would like to send private messages to your friends on the Network, you may do so from your friends’ profile page (Send a Message). When you send the message, it goes to their inbox here on our site, as well as to their personal email inbox. They can reply to you from their inbox here on the site, however, your personal email address is not displayed anywhere! The only way another member of the Celtic Friends Network can get your address is if you provide it to him or her personally, or post it in a comment.

We would encourage you to use every precaution necessary, to protect your personal email addresses. If someone asks you for your address, be very sure that it is a person that you can trust. Giving out your email address to anyone online can be a very dangerous thing. We sincerely care about the safety of our members and seek to make you aware of the dangers of giving out your email address.

Thank You!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as we continue to develop the Celtic Friends Network. We are a very diverse Celtic community. Many people have gathered here for bringing together the various facets of our culture. We hope that this Network provides a place for you to spread your knowledge and for others to learn from it.