‘Into the Matrix’ Exhibition: 2 pm Monday 31st August to 4pm Sunday September 13th.
Open every other day from 10-1 and 2-5pm. 7 people can visit at any one time
Liminal is a County Wicklow based group of four artists motivated by their shared experience of establishing a sense of place in their adopted county. They have come together to find strength in working collaboratively and explore contemporary ways of working with fibre arts and mixed media.
Fabienne Herbert, Christine Theobald, Anne Walsh, and Nessa McCormack met through their involvement in Feltmakers Ireland and have previously exhibited with FI. This is their first group show. Each artist has responded to the theme individually, producing wall and 3D pieces in their chosen art medium.
Instagram: Liminalart Facebook: Liminal Email: liminalvisual@gmail.com
Anne Walsh – Bio and Artist statement
Anne worked as a dress designer for 18 years before following her passion to understand the myriad and innovative ways that humankind have developed to exist in their worlds. This led to her completing a degree in Anthropology, later focussing on the Anthropology of Art in her Masters in New Zealand. It was there that she first learnt to felt, an artform that had enthralled her many years earlier during frequent visits to Co Clare. On returning to Ireland she continued to explore feltmaking, attending master classes with Feltmakers Ireland, constantly seeking out the possibilities that feltmaking provided.
“Throughout my life I have been drawn to the alternatives and possibilities of other worlds, to other ways of being. The exhibition theme, Into the Matrix, defined in one dictionary as ‘a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals or fossils are embedded’, led me on a journey to explore the otherness of the little known, the underworlds of limestone ecosystems. My personal quest was to interpret this environment through the patterns I saw, believing that even within the unknown, we recognise something, it resonates within us, speaking a language that we know in our souls, and it offers us a window to imagine and understand diverse ways of living, seeing, and being in our world.”
Email: Awesomefelt@gmail.com Phone: 086 8177326
Christine Theobald – Bio and Artist Statement
Originally from Switzerland, Christine studied Visual Arts and Art History in Geneva. Since arriving in Ireland, many moons ago, she has worked in the field of Special Education and Autism with a particular interest in facilitating arts and creative activities. After completing a degree in Early Childhood Education, she questioned the role that creativity plays in human development. With this vision, she found herself felting her way into the visual and design world.
“Wherever my eyes wander and play, I follow. Marvelling at patterns, I like to explore the underlying framework of all things. I am fascinated by the transformation of airy fibre into shapes, revealing geometric markings, with light and shadows playing their part. Smooth felted edges create harmonious lines and blends of colour emerge softly, adding to the understanding of the piece.
Free falling ‘Into the Matrix’ of my own creative experience, I made a series of pieces that tempted fresh boundaries. Upon self-reflection, my aim was to link natural patterns and ways to follow the fibre of my intuition, directing myself towards a space of effortless creativity that I remember having as a child.”
Email: outfeltdesign@gmail.com Instagram outfelt.design
Nessa McCormack: Bio and Artists Statement
Nessa is an Irish artist living and working in County Wicklow. Having worked in the IT industry for many years, she returned to college as a mature student in 2015 and studied Visual Art at the National College of Art and Design, Ireland. Over the past 10 years she studied and worked with screen printed and sculptural fibre art which inform the layers and textures in her paintings.
“Vibrant abstract paintings that celebrate colour and simplicity in composition, combined with a deep connection to intricate patterns, form the basis of my work.
My paintings begin with colour investigations, usually derived from sketchbook studies and evolve intuitively through play, and a considered response to emerging layers of hand printed marks, spontaneous drawing and textured paint surfaces. I strive to keep an energy and freshness going throughout the process by working in a series of paintings, taking risks, moving quickly from one to the next interpreting and responding to what each one is telling me.
I have discovered a sense of place and a deep connection with beauty in the intricate details observed in my environment: in particular, communities of abundant thriving life forms in nature, their connectivity and constant renewal.
Indigenous global cultures have embraced this deep wisdom in the natural world and offer inspiration through symbols and vivid colours found in their textiles. My current body of work is an exploration and celebration of the beauty evident in their daily rituals.”
Email: nessamccormack@gmail.com Instagram: nessamccormackart
Facebook: Nessa McCormack Website: www.nessamccormack.com Phone: 086 6022511
Fabienne Herbert – Bio and Artist’s Statement
Fabienne grew up in western France. The daughter of a dressmaker, she was drawn early on to the process of creation. After working in software localization for many years, she studied, graduated and worked as an Interior Architect. This experience reinforced her belief in the value of simple forms and that materials awake our senses, evoking memories. She also studied Visual Art Practice in NCAD, where she won a prize in Embroidery. Her art is inspired by observations of her surroundings, an experience or a moment in time. Using printmaking and thread work, her work evolved towards abstraction, influenced by cubism and the Bauhaus movement. Fabienne has now taken a more experimental approach to her work by making and using natural and plant-based materials.
“How I perceive my surroundings, and what engages my senses, drive what I do. I seek to capture a shape, an outline, an element and build upon this. By expressing myself, I can find a balance between a sense of order and the unexpected. My process can start with a mark, a colour, a material or a series of experiments. I use printmaking and thread work to construct simple forms in wall art and sculptural pieces. I make my own colours using plants which I turn into a natural print paste, dye or ink. Having a direct link with the raw material is fundamental to my creative process.
Into the Matrix evokes the idea of repeated forms and actions, as seen all around us. For this exhibition I explore the relationship between repetition, pattern and space and how it impacts us. Based on my observations of the San Francisco city scape, this body of work looks at how materiality and repetition define our environment. I interact and move through the city where space, form and place meet.
All my pieces in this exhibition include natural dyes, pigments or inks made either from my garden plants, local flora foraged in Wicklow and during my journeys in France, or from food and plant waste.”
Email: fabienne@mellowgoatstudio.com Instagram: mellowgoatstudio
Website: www.mellowgoatstudio.com Phone: 087 6482996
‘Into the Matrix’ Exhibition: 2 pm Monday 31st August to 4pm Sunday September 13th.
Open every other day from 10-1 and 2-5pm. 7 people can visit at any one time- PLEASE GO ALONG, SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS AND BE INSPIRED.
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