Exhibition of selected works from Irish Craft Portfolio by Design & Crafts Council Ireland

crafts council of ireland / royal hibernian academy

furniture / troscán shane holland jewellery / seodra sonja landweer basketry / caoladóireacht alison fitzgerald ceramics / ceirmeacht alison kay glass / gloine alison lowry metals / miotal cara murphy glass / gloine catherine keenan ceramics / ceirmeacht deirdre mcloughlin jewellery / seodra eily o’connell furniture / troscán fergal o’leary ceramics / ceirmeacht freda rupp jewellery / seodra garvan traynor ceramics / ceirmeacht jack doherty ceramics / ceirmeacht jennifer hickey basketry / caoladóireacht joe hogan

an atelier project www.atelier.ie

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

basketry / caoladóireacht alison fitzgerald ceramics / ceirmeacht alison kay glass / gloine alison lowry metals / miotal cara murphy glass / gloine catherine keenan ceramics / ceirmeacht deirdre mcloughlin jewellery / seodra eily o’connell furniture / troscán fergal o’leary ceramics / ceirmeacht freda rupp jewellery / seodra garvan traynor ceramics / ceirmeacht jack doherty ceramics / ceirmeacht jennifer hickey basketry / caoladóireacht joe hogan glass / gloine karen donnellan glass / gloine karl harron basketry / caoladóireacht kathleen mccormick furniture / troscán klimmek & henderson textiles / teicstílí liz nilsson glass / gloine louise rice ceramics / ceirmeacht mandy parslow ceramics / ceirmeacht michael moore glass / gloine michael ray jewellery / seodra rachel mcknight wood / adhmad roger bennett glass / gloine scott benefield

metals / miotal cara murphy glass / gloine catherine keenan ceramics / ceirmeacht deirdre mcloughlin jewellery / seodra eily o’connell furniture / troscán fergal o’leary ceramics / ceirmeacht freda rupp jewellery / seodra garvan traynor ceramics / ceirmeacht jack doherty ceramics / ceirmeacht jennifer hickey basketry / caoladóireacht joe hogan glass / gloine karen donnellan glass / gloine karl harron basketry / caoladóireacht kathleen mccormick furniture / troscán klimmek & henderson textiles / teicstílí liz nilsson glass / gloine louise rice ceramics / ceirmeacht mandy parslow ceramics / ceirmeacht michael moore glass / gloine michael ray jewellery / seodra rachel mcknight wood / adhmad roger bennett glass / gloine scott benefield

glass / gloine karen donnellan glass / gloine karl harron basketry / caoladóireacht kathleen mccormick furniture / troscán klimmek & henderson textiles / teicstílí liz nilsson glass / gloine louise rice ceramics / ceirmeacht mandy parslow ceramics / ceirmeacht michael moore glass / gloine michael ray jewellery / seodra rachel mcknight wood / adhmad roger bennett glass / gloine scott benefield basketry / caoladóireacht alison fitzgerald ceramics / ceirmeacht alison kay glass / gloine alison lowry

CCoI@RHA_2013_560x240mmwrap_FA_Layout 1 17/12/2013 09:39 Page 1

An exhibition of selected works from

Irish Craft Portfolio

Royal Hibernian Academy 28th November – 2nd December 2013

paper / páipéar textiles / teicstílí calligraphy / peannairaeacht ceramics / ceirmeacht jewellery / seodra glass / gloine metals / miotal furniture / troscán basketry / caoladóireacht wood / adhmad paper / páipéar textiles / teicstílí calligraphy / peannairaeacht ceramics / ceirmeacht jewellery / seodra glass / gloine metals / miotal furniture / troscán basketry / caoladóireacht wood / adhmad An exhibition of selected works from

Irish Craft Portfolio RHA Gallery, 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2

28th November – 2nd December 2013

crafts council of ireland / royal hibernian academy

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

Irish Craft Portfolio actively works to grow the reputations and potential of craft makers across all major disciplines of contemporary craft. Selected by an international expert panel, the programme currently features almost 100 of Ireland’s most renowned makers working in the following disciplines: Ceramics, Jewellery, Glass, Metals, Paper, Textiles, Calligraphy, Furniture, Woodturning and Basketry. This capsule exhibition is curated by Patricia Clyne-Kelly and features work from 27 makers. opening hours

Thursday: Launch at 6.00pm Friday: 11.00am – 7.00pm Saturday: 11.00am – 7.00pm Sunday: 2.00 – 5.00pm Monday: 11.00am – 5.00pm

For further information on the Craft Council of Ireland’s Irish Craft Portfolio programme please contact: Ciara Garvey Development Manager, Collector & Tourism Programmes Crafts Council of Ireland, Castle Yard, Kilkenny e: ciara@ccoi.ie / t: (056) 779 6137

basketry / caoladóireacht

glass / gloine

Alison Fitzgerald

Alison Lowry

alison fitzgerald makes hand-woven baskets using sustainable methods and materials. She works with locally grown willow and natural bark colours, and without the use of fossil fuels or electricity. She was first drawn to the medium after moving to Northern Ireland in 1980. Noticing the long, slender, brightly coloured willow stems on the shores of Lough Neagh – once a flourishing centre of basketry – she was inspired by their lightness, beauty and pliability.

alison lowry’s practice is inspired by her long-standing interest in textiles and clothing. She is fascinated with the way fabric preserves the essence of its maker, with traces of the wearer becoming entwined in its warp and weft. Seeing clothing as a second skin, inextricably linked with personal narrative, Lowry’s glass objects examine how the physical object acts as a vessel for memory.

Fitzgerald’s work is influenced by her background in botany. Working with several varieties of willow, she experiments with shape and pattern, while retaining a robust, tactile functionality in all her pieces. She specialises in frame baskets such as the sciathóg or potato basket, emphasising the ribbing and playing with subtle gradations of colour. Fitzgerald established Greenwood Baskets in 1985. She lives and works in Co. Tyrone.

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Alison Kay alison kay’s sculptural ceramic objects take their inspiration from various sources, ranging from the human body to plant forms to car designs. Kay allows these ideas to percolate through her practice, transforming and abstracting them to create distinctive forms and patterns. Kay’s current work relates to the tradition of the vessel. Clean delineation, sharp outlines and well-defined curves create tautness and volume in her forms, each made with an opening to reveal part of the interior. Kay aims to integrate surface and form, creating objects that are contemporary, yet ancient and timeless. The pieces are coil and slab built using white raku clay, then gradually scraped back and attentively worked to achieve symmetry in the form. Layers of coloured terra sigillata are applied and then buffed to a shine. After firing, adhesive paper is placed on the surface in patterns or stripes. The vessel is then smoke fired so that the surface blackens. As the paper is peeled away, the colour beneath is revealed. The piece is then polished with wax to a rich fine sheen. Kay attended Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design, specialising in Ceramics, and went on to study with Harry Horlock-Stringer in London. She is based in Dublin.

Irish Craft Portfolio

Her connection to fabric and embroidery originated with family heirlooms. She cites a set of white work garments, hand-made by female relations, and an embroidered christening robe which has been in her family for over a hundred years, as inspirations for her work. Investigating her links with family, both present and past, Lowry considers the precarious and delicate nature of life. Seeing similarities between the transitive nature of birth and death, she explores the human subject in terms of its fragility and vulnerability in these states. Lowry graduated with a BDes Art & Design from the University of Ulster in 2009. In 2011 she was awarded a two year placement at the University of Ulster as part of Craft Northern Ireland’s Making It programme for craft business development. She is based in Belfast.

crafts council of ireland

glass / gloine

Catherine Keenan

metals / miotal

Cara Murphy cara murphy utilises traditional silversmithing techniques to create innovative and sculptural tableware. Focusing on how pieces interact with their setting, she challenges the established knowledge of silverware by creating work which does not have an obvious purpose. Functionality becomes open to interpretation and is created through the users own participation and involvement. In her forms, she aims to create a sense of movement, both physical and visual, whilst still remaining cognisant of the sense of ritual and ceremony linked to the use of silver. Inspired by the natural environment, she sees the table setting as a type of landscape from which objects emerge and grow. Murphy trained at The Glasgow School of Art, Scotland and the Royal College of Art, London. She is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and works mainly to commission. She is an Associate Lecturer in Silversmithing & Jewellery at the University of Ulster.

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

catherine keenan produces distinctive brightly coloured blown glass vessels. Her practice is informed by a preoccupation with colour and pattern which she explores through experimentation with a range of techniques, observing the seemingly endless possibilities of each. She is particularly inspired by the liquid nature of the material and the organic development of spherical forms. Keenan was originally attracted to the medium by the physical rhythm of working with glass. As a very immediate art form, glass work requires great dexterity and swift, confident gestures in order to produce elegant, expressive forms. In order to manipulate molten glass at 1100Ë&#x161;C thorough planning and preparation are required, as well as the support of a skilled assistant. Keenan strives to create pieces that are bold in their simplicity, belying the complexity of their construction. Her recent Eye Candy collection includes a series of patterned vessel forms with vibrant contrasting colour overlays and carved lenses. The Eye Candy pieces come in a range of combinations, including red and mint, and orange and green, blues, yellows and purples. Keenan studied glass at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and later at the International Glass Centre, West Midlands, UK. She is based at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart, Co. Down.

Alison Kay

Dappled blue vessel, ceramic, 27 × 50 × 14cm photographer: cyril byrne

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

Alison Lowry

Blueprint ( for living) II, screen printed cast glass, 20 × 119 × 3.5cm photographer: christopher martin

Catherine Keenan

Eye Candy, Dark Purple and Yellow Striped, blown glass, 20 × 14 × 14cm photographer: david pauley

crafts council of ireland

Irish Craft Portfolio

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Deirdre McLoughlin deirdre mcloughlin’s work is imbued with an intense physicality and dedication to perfection of forms and surfaces. Her making process is demanding. Using subtle glazes and meticulous coil building techniques, her abstract ceramic forms undergo an intense process of polishing and repeated firing. Timing is key – she typically spends a number of weeks on the skillful execution of any one piece.

jewellery / seodra

Eily O’Connell eily o’connell’s practice is concerned with processes of creation and mutation, with a particular interest in disruptions in the order of nature. Combining materials such as silver and glass, her jewellery objects often borrow the appearance of recognisable organic matter. On closer inspection, each piece reveals a more complex design and construction.

McLoughlin’s work has the capacity to disarm the viewer. Some objects, while having the appearance of clay, are like stone to touch – the silky smooth textures are achieved through a rigorous process of diamond polishing and firing at extremely high temperatures. Others contain surprises or secrets, such as tiny semi-precious gems, often resembling pimples, deftly placed in the airholes. Finding value in imperfection and ambiguity, her sculptural ceramic works have been described as having anthropomorphic, zoomorphic or biomorphic qualities. In her adept manipulation of the material, McLoughlin combines abstract and figurative allusions into one defined shape.

O’Connell gathers an assortment of natural forms and materials for her pieces, including wood fragments, pebbles, claws and gemstones such as amethyst and tournaline. Through the process of casting, she amalgamates these into ever-evolving hybrids, playing with ideas of counterfeit, mistaken identity and sleight of hand. O’Connell explores the ability of man to alter the course of nature, and the consequences of exercising that power. In this way, she strives to create a sense of a lurking sinister presence whilst maintaining a carefully contained chaos.

McLoughlin received a BA from Trinity College, Dublin. She subsequently moved to Japan to work amongst the Sodeisha Group in Kyoto, Japan. She has been based in Amsterdam since 1988 and regularly lectures in art colleges throughout Ireland.

O’Connell graduated from the National College of Art & Design, Dublin in 2008 with a BDes in Metals. She is currently based in Dublin.

Irish Craft Portfolio

crafts council of ireland

furniture / troscán

Fergal O’Leary fergal o’leary designs and manufactures elegant and practical furniture with an understated modern aesthetic and a focus on high quality finish. He produces a wide range of work, from functional domestic objects to high-end bespoke pieces. For O’Leary, furniture is for life and for living. He draws inspiration from Scandinavian design, specifically interested in the clear connection between function and form, and the harmonious integration of ergonomics and use value in a piece of furniture. O’Leary works with a variety of timbers including oak, ash and walnut, as well as complementary materials like opaque glass. His current collection includes the maryjane chair, handmade in solid oak, and the spectrum console table made from over 50 individually finished pieces of timber. O’Leary founded Horizon Furniture in 2008. He lives and works in Cork.

jewellery / seodra

Garvan Traynor

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Freda Rupp freda rupp is primarily concerned with form and with the material effects of erosion and time. The marks on her vessels are suggested by cracks and fissures in rock surface and the debris that becomes lodged there. Rupp sees these marks as a visual record of the rock’s history. She is interested in the cracks and patterns that develop around them; and in their ability to suggest images and evoke feelings and memories. Rupp’s ceramic pieces are unglazed and intentionally nonfunctional. Her practice is informed by the relationship between the textured appearance and tactile quality of the finished object. Her current works are hand-built from white stoneware clay using various combinations of slabbing, coiling and moulding. Each piece is carved, multi-fired and sanded. Before the last firing, Rupp embeds white porcelain pebbles in the carving to create the distinctive marks that characterise her vessels.

garvan traynor makes original one-off jewellery pieces in silver, gold and platinum. His work aims to challenge the creative and technical boundaries of jewellery making, informed by a crossdisciplinary approach and an interest in contemporary political discourses. Traynor works with a focus on high quality craftsmanship and simplicity, subscribing to the view that simplicity of form is not necessarily simplicity of expression. Traynor’s recent work responds to his home and work surroundings and features elements of architectural and industrial form. He is especially interested in the universality of fundamental design principles that apply across all fields of practice. Rather than the creation of sculptural objects in isolation, Traynor views his work as a practice engaged with contemporary design narrative. Traynor studied at the University of Ulster and undertook an apprenticeship with Trudi Van Schriek Goldschmiede on graduation, based in Maastricht. He founded his practice in 2005 and is currently based in Belfast.

Rupp studied sculpture and ceramics at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and went on to study ceramics at Canterbury Christchurch University, UK. She lives and works in Co. Waterford.

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

Fergal O’Leary Horizon Furniture

Spectrum console table, various timbers, various finishes, 2 × .82 × .35m photographer: roland paschhoff

Garvan Traynor

Closed Circuitry (CCTV brooches), silver, various dimensions, 150-170 × 20mm photographer: rory moore

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

Deirdre McLoughlin

l-r. I am too, 19cm L, chocolate/ I am too, 32cm L, gray/ I am too, 19cm L, white. All high fire ceramic, diamond polished photographer: rob bohle

Freda Rupp

White Carved Bowl, white stoneware clay, 8 Ă&#x2014; 31cm photographer: aaron jay

crafts council of ireland

Irish Craft Portfolio

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Jennifer Hickey

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Jack Doherty jack doherty creates questions the vernacular of functionality, creating objects which subtly interconnect with domestic space and daily life. He aims to challenge traditional rules of refinement and containment. According to Doherty, his sodafired vessels can be solitary and contemplative or ceremonial; for everyday use or for special occasions. Archetypal forms from history are touchstones in his practice. His work explores the subtle purity of porcelain and more recently, the opposing robust qualities of stoneware. He works with one porcelain clay, uses one slip and carries out one single firing. The forms are thrown, then carved and shaped. Copper carbonate is added to the slip as the colouring material. His firing process involves spraying a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and water into the kiln when it is at a high temperature. The resulting vapour is drawn through the kiln chamber where it reacts with chemicals present in the clay, creating a rich patina of surface texture and colour.

jennifer hickey’s practice is concerned with themes of fragility, weightlessness, translucency, rhythm and movement. Working with porcelain and bone china, her ceramic sculptural forms explore the discipline and delicacy demanded by those materials. She is interested in the Japanese aesthetic of simplicity, one which connects spirit to nature. The natural properties of clay are intrinsic to her completed pieces which often have an organic or sensual sense. Hickey’s most recent body of work involves sewing wafer-thin parts of porcelain together or meticulously stitching them on to tulle. The physicality of the making process allows a different kind of consciousness to be expressed through the completed forms. As the pieces progress spatially, they gain in strength and energy from the repetition in their making. Hickey graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2002 with a BDes in Ceramics.

Doherty graduated from the Ulster College of Art and Design in 1971. He subsequently worked as a studio potter at the Kilkenny Design Workshops and is currently Lead Potter and Creative Director at The Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall.

basketry / caoladóireacht

Joe Hogan joe hogan was initially attracted to basketmaking because he wanted to grow his own willow, the raw material for most of his baskets. His practice allows him the opportunity to live rurally and to be involved in the entire process, from growing the material to making the finished object. His home and landscape have had a profound influence on the style and diversity of his work, encouraging him to explore and develop new designs based on old traditions. Hogan makes functional baskets and values the repetition and the fluency it develops. He has become increasingly interested in making non-functional or sculptural baskets, many of which involve the use of finds of bog wood from an area of wild isolated bogland near his home. Some of these baskets involve the use of twigs from birch, bog myrtle, catkins, lichens and other wild material. Hogan is prompted by a desire to develop a deeper connection to the natural world and reawaken a sense of wonder. Hogan works from his studio in Connemara, Co. Galway. He teaches basketmaking skills and has written two books on the craft, Basketmaking in Ireland (2001) and Bare Branches, Blue Black Sky (2011).

Irish Craft Portfolio

crafts council of ireland

glass / gloine

Karl Harron

glass / gloine

Karen Donnellan karen donnellan makes sculptural objects in glass that reflect her interest in the concept of chi, or energy flow, and its potential for healing. The circle, understood as a symbol of perfection, divinity and enlightenment, is a key reference point in Donnellan’s work. She is especially interested in the circle as it appears in the Zen eñso, the ‘Flower of Life,’ and in Tibetan sand mandalas. Donnellan cites the writings of Alex Grey and Agnes Martin, the cultural heritage of Ireland, and the practices of Reiki and meditation as key influences on her work. Much of Donnellan’s recent work derives from a single vortex-shaped wooden form, based on the auric field. Her method is intuitive and meditative, treating the repetitive nature of the work as a mantra. In this way, she aims at the harmonious integration of process and product, in order to imbue the work with healing energies. In the repeated practice of visually and materially transforming the vortex object, Donnellan sees a metaphor for the perpetual motion of universal energy. Karen Donnellan graduated with a BDes from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2009 and gained an MFA in glass from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York in 2011. She is now based in Edinburgh.

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karl harron’s glass practice relates to processes of alchemy. He is particularly interested in the symbolic potential of the vessel. In containing and preserving materials, both precious and commonplace, the vessel is at once a sacred and a functional form. Harron’s current work is inspired by volcanic eruptions that took place in the Arctic Circle four thousand years ago, and resulted in the creation of tephra. From the Greek word for ash, tephra are micro-shards of glass that exploded into the atmosphere, eventually falling to earth and coming to rest on peatlands across Ireland. Incorporated into the growing bog, they lay for years awaiting discovery. Harron’s work aims to mirror these atmospheric events. Through the practice of kiln-forming, slumping, diamond engraving and finally firepolishing, he echoes the material effects of heat, gravity and elemental erosion. His delicate, textured vessels evolve over a period of up to thirty days each, every one striving to reveal the alchemy at work in its creation, and to represent the relationship between landscape and man. Harron studied Art and Design at the University of Ulster, Belfast. He established the GlasStudio in Newtownards, Co. Down in 1985.

Joe Hogan

Bog pouch, willow rods and bog pine, 33 × 76 × 34cm photographer: joe hogan

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Karl Harron

Migration Artefact #0513, Reactive Bullseye glass, 245 × 145mm deep photographer: brian rutledge

Jennifer Hickey

Untitled, Porcelain, 34 × 26 × 8cm photographer: muiris moynihan

crafts council of ireland

Irish Craft Portfolio

furniture / troscán

Klimmek & Henderson

basketry / caoladóireacht

Kathleen McCormick kathleen mccormack creates baskets using natural materials and colours, with a particular emphasis on shape and function. She comes from a long line of craftspeople and cites her Native American, French and German heritage as key influences on her practice. McCormick makes a range of basket forms including log baskets, laundry baskets, trunks and fishermens’ creels. She uses a variety of materials in her pieces, combining bark work with her own home-grown, hand-harvested red willow. McCormick also designs and produces colourful patterned rugs and wall hangings from homespun wool. She places a high value on traditional crafts, but occasionally experiments with more contemporary techniques and forms.

klimmek & henderson design and manufacture elegant and durable furniture. Designed with a modernist ethos which connects form, function and materials, they aim to create unique and timeless pieces of furniture. Working in solid and veneered timbers, they incorporate materials such as metal, stone and glass into. Their current body of work includes a range of cabinetry; precision crafted to exacting standards. The decoration of these pieces has been inspired and influenced by the coastal horizons of County Wexford, interpreted in inlay work, engraving, frosted glass and metal. The results are subtle and evocative. Knut Klimmek graduated from the John Makepeace School for Craftsmen in Wood in Dorset, UK, and subsequently founded Knut Klimmek Furniture in 1986. Klimmek & Henderson was established in 1995. They are based in Co. Dublin and work mainly to commission.

Originally from Co. Kildare, McCormick now lives and works in the Boyne Valley, Co. Meath. She studied basketmaking with Joe Hogan and textiles with Terry Dunne.

Irish Craft Portfolio

crafts council of ireland

glass / gloine

Louise Rice

textiles / teicstílí

Liz Nilsson liz nilsson’s practice blends art, design and function. She creates concept art pieces which use textiles as both medium and subject and regularly works within a formal structure of repeated elements. These occur thematically and physically in her making process. Nilsson cites the circle as a symbolic influence in her work seeing it as a representation of the cycle of life. Using recycled materials, she cuts away from the surface creating open lace-like structures which integrate light and shadow. She incorporates contemporary techniques such as laser-cutting, print, stitching and layering into her finished forms. Her pieces are multi-layered, weaving new and used fabrics together, resulting in highly tactile surfaces. Nilsson is interested in memory traces and the ability to memorise experiences. The layering of her work illustrates repetition, recall and habit and references how memories are instituted.

louise rice produces delicate and lifelike sculptural glass objects with a strong narrative element, often combined or juxtaposed with found objects and other materials. Her work explores the complexity of human relationships in terms of the encounter with oneself and others. Conversation Pieces is a set of interconnected glass speechbubbles inspired by questions of communication and expression. Rice uses a range of hot and warm techniques to produce her pieces. One of these is the patede-verre method, in which a thin glass paste is used, enabling her to achieve the precise and minute detail of her objects. Rice graduated in 1998 with a BA from Edinburgh College of Art, and went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Glass 2000. She continued her studies at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, finishing in 2003. Originally from Co. Armagh, Rice now lives and works in Leitrim.

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Mandy Parslow mandy parslow’s salt-glazed stoneware vessels are inspired by the changing lights and colours of her surrounding countryside. She aims to physically reflect the ‘organic orderliness’ of the agricultural landscape in her work. Parslow’s vessels are formed through gestures of wrapping and stacking, exploring opposing concepts of tension and calm. Her pieces are initially wheelthrown, after which ridges and cuts are made to the clay while still soft, retaining its energy and tension, and enhancing the sense of movement in the altered piece. The clay object is then salt fired to 1300°C in a wood-fuelled kiln. Each piece is assaulted and caressed by the flames – ash and salt vapour moving through the kiln in the intense heat of the firing. The depth of colour and texture evolves and intensifies from one firing to the next, so that the surface of the finished vessel is marked with an authentic record of the flame’s path. For Parslow, this unpredictable process seems to embed the landscape in her work. Parslow completed a BA in Three Dimensional Design, Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art & Design, Wales in 1994. She subsequently established a studio and showroom Co. Tipperary where she is currently based.

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Klimmek & Henderson

C Tables – Oak, Solid oak with a white oil finish, C-in 30 × 40 × 46cm / C-out 30 × 490 × 50cm photographer: knut klimmek

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Kathleen McCormick

3 Log Baskets, willow, hazel and ash rods. l 560 × 560 × 560mm / m 440 × 440 × 440mm / m 330 × 330 × 400mm photographer: ruth foran

Louise Rice

Conversations Series (v), blown glass forms, 50 × 20 × 30cm approx photographer: eunan sweeney

crafts council of ireland

Irish Craft Portfolio

ceramics / ceirmeacht

jewellery / seodra

Michael Moore

Rachel McKnight

michael moore makes handbuilt, abstract ceramic sculptures. Moore’s work draws inspiration from a variety of sources, notably a recent visit to China, where he was struck by the grand architectural ambition and vibrant colours of Beijing.

rachel mcknight designs and produces necklaces, bangles, rings and brooches in plastics and rubber. Her practice is driven by the excitement of sourcing and experimenting with new materials, inspiring her to produce original and innovative sculptural pieces.

Moore’s pieces are highly polished and usually finished in white or red, the natural colours of fired clay. Recent work includes the Dazzle series, incorporating the Grid, Sentinel and Tower sculptures, in which Moore aims to deliberately deconstruct form using surface decoration. This work is inspired by the ‘dazzle’ camouflage technique used by British and US Navies in World War I, in order to disrupt a viewer’s perception of a ship’s location, distance and orientation. Citing Mondrian’s 1910 tree paintings as another key inspiration, Moore sees his Dazzle forms somewhere in between the hard edged, cartoonish decoration of the war ships, and the softness of the intricately painted branches. Moore was born in Dublin in 1968. He graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1990.

glass / gloine

Michael Ray michael ray creates one-off vessels, free-standing sculptural pieces and architectural panels in glass. The sea is a significant influence in Ray’s work, with a particular focus on the microscopic organisms that inhabit it, invisible to the human eye. His current body of work explores diatoms: single cell phytoplankton encased in a wall of silica, the main glass-forming agent. Diatoms occur virtually everywhere water is found and play an important role in the conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen. Ray’s objects reflect their variety, translucency and textural qualities. Working with layered sheet glass and cullet, he casts the material into metal and ceramic moulds several times until the required movement has occurred. He then grinds the surface to reveal the internal structure created in the casting process. The glass is kilnformed into ovoid or spherical shapes, and then cut and polished.

McKnight utilises new technologies such as laser cutting, enabling her to develop intricate designs. She is interested in combining manmade, industrial products with delicate and traditional patterns. Simple and uncomplicated shapes are at the essence of McKnight’s jewellery and she continually explores ways to reproduce these shapes in her work. The work is also influenced by the contrast between transparent and opaque colour. Plastic materials allow her to explore this contrast in detail. McKnight graduated from the University of Ulster in Belfast in 2003.

Ray’s glass forms are intended as a metaphor for the dialogue between what we see and what goes on beneath the surface, outside the range of human perception. Ray graduated in 2008 with an MA in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. He is currently based in West Cork.

Irish Craft Portfolio

crafts council of ireland

glass / gloine

Scott Benefield

wood / adhmad

Roger Bennett roger bennettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bowls, vessels and wall-pieces combine wood with precious metals. His turning employs a precise and demanding making process. He inlays his forms by filling hundreds of individually drilled holes with dots of silver wire. After the metal has been sanded flush with the surface, he applies colour to the wood and finishes with Danish oil. Bennett prefers to work in sycamore, a wood whose paleness responds well to colouring. He uses water-based dyes to enhance and complement the natural figuring of the wood. The refined coloured surfaces of his pieces compliment the constellations and geometric patterns of silver points placed against the finely finished wood. The patterns range from flowing spiral lines to controlled random concentrations. Through the simplicity of his design and the paper-thin quality of his material, Bennett achieves a sense of lightness and delicacy in his finished forms.

scott benefield creates colourful, intricately patterned vessels and tableware that reflect his long-standing interest in Venetian glass. He is particularly inspired by the Venetiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of the essential properties of glass, and the resulting fluidity and transparency in their work. Benefield embraces the material heritage of glass making in his practice, and seeks to create original expressions to add to the conversation. Innovating on traditional Venetian techniques, he creates small rondels of patterned glass which are made into tiles, then reheated and blown into vessel forms. Through the interplay of pattern, rhythm and repetition, Benefieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work aims to explore ideas of control and chaos. Benefield studied art at the Philips Academy, Washington, finishing in 1974. He went on to complete an MFA in Ohio State University in 1990, and took further studies at the Pilchuck Glass School between 1992 and 1996. He is currently based in Northern Ireland.

Bennett received a BA in Modern Languages and a HDip in Education from Trinity College, Dublin in the 1970s. He is a self taught woodturner and works from his studio in Dublin.

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Michael Ray

Black red diatom, kiln-formed glass, 7 × 28 × 12cm photographer: roland paschhoff

Shane Holland

Ghost of Ash – Table Lamp, Irish ash branch pole, polyester lampshade, steel base plate, 7 × 28 × 12cm photographer: shane holland

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Scott Benefield

Vetro Mosaico, glass, 33 × 21 × 9cm

Roger Bennett

Untitled, Coloured walnut inlaid with silver, 12 × 3cm photographer: roger bennett

crafts council of ireland

Irish Craft Portfolio

jewellery / seodra

Sonja Landweer

furniture / troscán

Shane Holland shane holland designs and produces furniture and light fittings from a wide range of materials including timber, metals and acrylics. Holland uses recycled materials and found objects where possible. The lamps in the Ghost of Ash series are limited edition works incorporating branches from Irish Ash trees which are sourced from roadside cuttings. Holland graduated in 1989 with a BDes in Industrial Design from the University of Limerick. His workshop is based in Duleek, Co Meath.

sonja landweer’s practice has developed through a close understanding of the natural world. Her forms, laden with intensity and fragility are evocative of subtle balances found in nature. Working in contemporary jewellery and body sculpture since the early 1960s, she has pioneered designs using beads, slate, wood, paper, feathers, bone, leather, plastic, ceramic and other fibres. Landweer has been instrumental in changing perceptions of what can be worn as personal adornment without using precious metals. In the 1990s she developed unusual techniques of knotted monofilament, inspired by a winter visit to Crete, where she was drawn to prickly, skeletal structures of plant remains, organised around otherwise empty spaces. Her recent forms incorporate large sequins and semi-precious stones, together with gold crimped nylon to form exquisite objects of jewellery and body sculpture.

Acknowledgements The Crafts Council of Ireland would like to thank Patrick Murphy, Eilis O’Connell, Rebecca Gale, Sonya Lennon, Michelle Considine and all the staff at the RHA Gallery.

Landweer studied at the Amsterdam School of Industrial Design, following which she was apprenticed to Zaalberg Pottery in 1952 – 53. In 1965 she was invited to Ireland to set up a ceramic studio at Kilkenny Design Workshop. She tutored in various art colleges in Ireland and UK between 1972 and 1996. Landweer is renowned internationally for her jewellery, bronze and ceramic work and is based in Co. Kilkenny.

Irish Craft Portfolio

crafts council of ireland

an atelier project www.atelier.ie

crafts council of ireland / royal hibernian academy

an atelier project www.atelier.ie

www.irishcraftportfolio.ie

CCoI@RHA_2013_560x240mmwrap_FA_Layout 1 17/12/2013 09:39 Page 1

An exhibition of selected works from

Irish Craft Portfolio

Royal Hibernian Academy 28th November – 2nd December 2013