GANS (Guilds, Associations, Networks and societies) welcomed four new members to the board. Annika and Deirdre new reps from Feltmakers Ireland.
Brian Mc Gee said they are organising, Showcase for the RDS 27th Feb 2022 for 4 days.
Sarah Daly gave a presentation on” Creative Spark”, Dundalk, Co. Louth. A facility for artists of all skills facilitating 40 businesses. If anyone is interested in a two or three month residency, they have facilities for print, ceramics and glass fusing.
Frances Crowe from Roscommon was explaining about the International Fibre Festival going ahead 28th April – May 2022.
Maeve Murphy was talking about an international project linked with Turkey. euproject@turkiyetasarimvakfi.org Open call for designers of all disciplines 24/01/2022 deadline.
The National Museum was looking for artists of all disciplines to show an interest in an interactive
Sorry forgot to add email to respond to. Apologies. Reply re this offer to clarepbrophy@gmail.com.
Hi EVERYBODY
There Is a partime job available to any feltmaker interested and competent
to design and take a course in Castleknock Community College D15. Adult Education Dept..It is a night school. The person could set a duration of eight or 10 weeks with classes being two hours or 90 minutes long, which ever they felt was best. The tutor rate is €41.38 per hour
So an 8 week 2 hour course pays €620.70 & a 10 week 2 hour course pays €827.60 for example we run Mondays & Tuesdays so they could have their choice of night.
Please contact me immediately if you are interested…
There Is a partime job available to any feltmaker interested and competent
to design and take a course in Castleknock Community College D15. Adult Education Dept..It is a night school. The person could set a duration of eight or 10 weeks with classes being two hours or 90 minutes long, which ever they felt was best. The tutor rate is €41.38 per hour
So an 8 week 2 hour course pays €620.70 & a 10 week 2 hour course pays €827.60 for example we run Mondays & Tuesdays so they could have their choice of night.
Please contact me immediately if you are interested…
I would like to extend an invitation to all my fellow members of Feltmakers Ireland and anybody interested in felting to my upcoming exhibition. It is primarily felted works with a sprinkling of Joomchi (An ancient Korean paper technique similar to felting)
All the best
Annika
The Olivier Cornet Gallery would like to invite you to the opening of the show
Sunday 14 November 2021 between 2pm and 6pm, in the presence of the artist.
Please book a time that suits you.
Olivier Cornet Gallery
3 Great Denmark Street (beside Belvedere College, off Parnell Square) Dublin 1
Opening hours: Tues to Fri: 11am to 6pm (till 8pm on Thursdays) Sat & Sun: 12 noon to 5pm
All visits to the gallery have to be pre-booked until further notice Closed on Mondays
One week done but there are still 3 weeks to get to the Phoenix Park to to see our wonderful work in the flesh. All the exhibits look amazing against the rough stone walls of the Visitor’s Centre’s gallery space. Deirdre Crofts and her team did a fantastic job, meticulously spacing and hanging each piece, creating a top class exhibition. She’s probably still dreaming about measurements!
Here is the slideshow put together by Ramona Farrelly of everyone’s pieces. You might just fancy another wee look on a Monday morning.
In its 35th year, Sculpture in Context is held in the oasis of calm and peace that is the Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin. Run by the OPW every year and according to them is the ‘longest-running, largest and most important sculpture exhibition in the country, this pivotal event in the Irish arts calendar attracts a large public and critical audience and is the cultural highlight of the National Botanic Gardens calendar’.
If you fancy a relaxing walk in this beautiful space with wonderful and inspiring art of over 140 artists around every corner, then this would be the place to visit and explore. The exhibition runs until the 15th of October so there is still time to see it in situ and it is free of charge to visit. A total of 164 pieces are being shown at the exhibition both outdoors and indoors. This year again there are several Feltmakers Ireland members taking part at. Annika Berglund, Fiona Leech and Ramona Farrelly all have pieces at the show. Most of the pieces are being shown outdoors but both Annika and Fiona have also have pieces in the gallery space. Fiona’s piece is a triptych made from sustainable merino wool fibre and is shaped into three different size pods. Her process involved wet felting the pods themselves and then needle felting the bright yellow spots and tendrils on once the pods had been shaped and dried. These additions to the pods are a nod to nature’s strength to find its way and take over. Fiona used colours and blends of wool to reflect the natural environment. Her beautiful piece can be seen at the gallery which can be booked here:
Annika has two separate pieces, a wall panel piece indoors at the gallery (fig.2) and another piece made of multiple-coloured butterflies hanging in one of the rhododendron trees along the outdoor sculpture route
Annika’s second piece consists of a set of nine butterflies, three of which have already sold through the exhibition. The butterflies are wet felted over a metal armature and have been waterproofed for outdoor hanging with stiffener material. They are of varying colours and would brighten up anyone’s outdoor space as can be seen from this picture.
Butterflies – Felt over metal armature – Annika Berglund
Ramona’s piece is also located outdoors. Her piece Akashic hangs in amongst the ferns and sculptures in the Mill Field area by the river. It is a small structure composed of 11 felted wool tablets which have been stiffened with waterproofing medium and painted with various coloured pigments. The whole piece was then strung together with rope constructed of tree bark.
felted wool stiffened and coloured – Ramona Farrelly
There is lots of interest for any visitor to this exhibition and it may require several visits to see all the work in detail, but even if only some of it is seen, it is a wonderful way to spend some time in the lap of nature whilst also experiencing the creative juices of the artists taking part.
Some of the other works that can be seen at the show include the following:
Hybrid – Ceramic and Metal – Michelle MaherOf Woman Born – Ceramic – Jen DonneryThere is Life in this Autumn Breeze – Stone, Mirror – Sunny WielerShape Shifting Dynamic – Ceramic and Mirror – Agata LipianinClose Whisper – Irish Larch – Sara Cunningham-BellDelinquescence I – Acrylic Resin and Mixed Media – Ayelet Lalor12 Harvest – Weathering steel – Kevin PierceThe Souls of the Trees, Ebony and Oak – Ceramic on Wood Base – Merce Canadell
Last weekend we had the pleasure to restart the Feltmakers Ireland workshops with one of our most inspiring artists Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann from https://bombyxmoriwearableart.com
We made wishing bowls using a unique technique of laying and felting fibres.
It seemed like a historical moment- getting back together after long two years and pandemic challenges meant that everyone took a leap of fate.
Astrid burst into action full of colour and energy and was very attentive to everyone’s needs and ideas.
We started by making a very textured prefelt – it was a platter of found and saved textiles and fibres. This was going to be used to decorate our bowls, but there was plenty left from it for the future.
Then using the precision of a true perfectionist Astrid divided the wool into 20g and 10 g and laid it out to look like a colourful meringue with fibres laid as beams coming from the centre of the bowl. Then we put a thin layer of 10g going sideways. After we have done that we put the embellishments in whatever shape we wanted them to be and started felting and fulling.
Astrid, as the participants noticed, was very much hands on tutor and loved nothing more but to help out, demonstrate and show us how she does it.
In the intermission most of us let loose at the artisan food market and enjoyed the yummy food in the beautiful relaxed grounds of the Marlay Park.
The wonderful surprise came from Helene Dooley who knew that Astrid has birthday in a few days so she made her a delicious birthday cake. Astrid was in tears (and so was I).
It was lovely to see two new members joining us as a result of workshops.
The best part is always the smiles of the participants. This time I made sure that I heard from each participants in a quick chat after the workshop- great day, well organized, inspiring teacher were some of the comments. Astrid was delighted with the group and was very enthusiastic about their talent and dedication. Probably, most memorable to me would be the comment that we need more people like Astrid in our life. You see- I couldn’t agree more.
I joined Feltmakers Ireland 10 years ago as I found that our community nurtures talent and fosters wonderful connections. This year I found myself in a position to be able to serve this community. It is a great privilege and a testament to you all that I was able to give back to you
.
You know, sometimes your aspirations become reality. Just roll up your sleeves.
What was my wishing bowl about?
My wishing bowl was for good times with great people.
Element15 is a collective of 15 textile and mixed media artists. They have used the past year despite all the restrictions of Covid to allow nature to inspire them. They were fortunate to be welcomed into the wonderful gardens of Jimi Blake at Hunting Brook and June Blake’s Garden, to respond to the gardens over the seasons.
The culmination of their work is being shown in an open-air exhibition across the two public gardens. The artworks are integrated into the lush landscaping in the form of an art trail.
Opening Times: Hunting Brook: Weds – Saturday 11 am – 4 pm, entrance fee €8 June Blake’s Garden: Weds – Sunday 11 am – 5 pm, entrance fee €6
On Wednesday last I decided to go and view the art nature combination. It was amazing: the planting display showed off the art to wonderful advantage. A weather proofed catalogue was available on both sites with a map to guide you along the paths, as well as through meadow and woodland, to view each of the art works. Naturally it also included a short artist statement and a description of the work. A great visit for the combo plant/art enthusiast.
The deadline is approaching- 20th of August. We have many exciting entries already, but want to encourage as many of our members as possible to participate!
Remember: 1) There is no fee for submitting your piece.
2) This is a “members exhibition” with no adjudication or judging, we would like to show the range, breadth and depth of our talent as an organisation, with the primary purpose of promoting the craft of felt- be you a beginner or a professional.
3) Please read the application form carefully- for details of requirements, size, photograph etc…
SIZE REQUIREMENTS 30CM X30CM… THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR DIGITAL EXHIBITION AND THE IDEA IS TO HAVE A GIANT GRID OF ALL OUR MEMBERS WORK IN A PHYSICAL SPACE TOO!
4) Let the title “Colour our World” inspire you, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries, show your skills, experiment… 1 piece from each member is guaranteed accepted…
5) Feel free to contact the committee for any assistance, advice, question or help.
For those who do not have any Finn wool white, Mountain sheep or Tiroler Bergschaf wool listed in the materials list, Astrid will have Bergschaf wool available for sale at a nominal price.
This will be a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow feltmakers and a lovely day out!
Feltmakers Ireland 