While this video from Zwartbles Ireland-Suzanna Crampton is from two years ago, it may still be of interest to those interested in Irish-raised sheep and wool. See Cladoir sheep being sheared at a festival in Connemara National Park, and their wool spun in the raw by Sandra King of Irish Fibre Crafters and other spinners.
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Visual artists are invited to submit proposals for a site-specific artwork for the redevelopment of Oranmore Railway Station in County Galway. This commission is part of Iarnród Éireann’s / Irish Rail’s continued commitment to arts, sustainability, and community, and is supported by Visual Artists Ireland (VAI) and Galway County Council.
The upgrade will include a new 185-metre platform, a one-kilometre double-track passing loop, an underpass with step-free access, a dedicated cycle route, and improved passenger amenities. This redevelopment offers a highly visible and meaningful setting for an artwork that reflects Oranmore’s heritage, its changing identity, and its role as a key gateway within the national rail network.
Online Information Session: Artists will have the opportunity to attend an online information session on Wednesday, 28th January,from 14.00 hrs to 14.45hrs. Project managers for Oranmore and representatives from the Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail Design Team will be available to answer questions.
RSVP by emailing arts@irishrail.ie. Attending the information session is not a requirement; queries can also be submitted by email to the same address.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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On Sunday, the 11th of January, committee member Karen Bowden of Fabulous Fibres kindly stepped in at the last moment to present to the guild, as the scheduled speaker was ill.
By Karen Bowden
Taking Photographs with your Smartphone
Good photographs are essential for sharing your artwork – whether it’s for exhibitions, social media, grant applications, or simply documenting your creative journey. The good news is that you don’t need an expensive camera or studio setup. Most modern smartphones are more than capable of producing clear, professional-looking images.
1. LIGHTING
Light is the single most important factor in photography – USE NATURAL LIGHT WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
Photograph near a window or open door where soft daylight is available.
Avoid direct sunlight, which creates harsh shadows and can distort colour.
An overcast day is ideal, as clouds act like a natural diffuser.
Turn off indoor lights as they can add a yellow tinge to your image.
Turn off the camera flash.
If you need extra light, use a lamp placed to the side rather than pointing directly at the artwork or invest in a light ring, which has different settings and can be placed directly overhead.
Use the Portrait setting on your camera if the feature is available, and choose the natural light option.
The ‘Portrait’ option on the iPhone.
To lighten or darken the exposure, tap the screen and move the asterisk beside the box up or down.
Changing the exposure before photographing.
If you are photographing a framed piece, glare and reflection can be an issue. If possible, remove the glass to photograph your work.
2. BACKGROUND
Your work should be the star of the photograph.
Use plain backgrounds such as white, grey, black, or natural wood and avoid busy patterns or colours that compete with your work.
For small items, a large sheet of paper, fabric, or card works well.
For wearables, photograph against a plain (preferably white or pale) wall and use a simple mannequin.
Make sure the background is clean and wrinkle-free – your camera will pick up every speck!
3. KEEP YOUR PHONE STEADY!
The slightest movement can blur an image.
A small tripod or selfie-stick can be a worthwhile investment, but it’s not essential – instead, you can rest your elbows on a table or use a stack of books as a support, which can help to keep the phone still.
4. STAY IN THE FRAME
Centre your piece within the frame. The grid lines setting on your phone can help with this:
Open your phone settings
Scroll down to CAMERA and select.
Locate the GRID setting and turn the toggle to on.
How to stay in the frame.
Photograph flat work straight on; avoid tilting the camera.
Take both full views and close-up detail shots to show texture in your work – detailed images are especially useful for juried exhibitions and online listings.
5. EDITING YOUR IMAGE
While editing can be helpful, don’t go mad; your photograph must be representative of your work.
Use basic adjustments such as brightness, contrast, and cropping and avoid strong filters that alter colour or mood.
To use the editing features on your phone, open your image and click the ‘edit’ button. Along the bottom, you will see available features – to use these tap the feature you want and use the slider below from left to right.
If you make a mistake, don’t panic, just tap ‘revert’ to remove your edits.
6.SAVING AND SENDING YOUR IMAGE
To save your image, tap the share button and scroll down to ‘Save to Files’. Click the save to files option, and at the bottom of the image, the camera-assigned image number will appear. Delete the number and name the image. Tap SAVE.
To send your saved photo, go to your files and locate the named image. Tap the SHARE icon, and your available apps (email, messages, social media, etc.) will appear.
Click on the app you want to send the image to and attach.
7. BE CONSISTENT
If you’re building a portfolio or posting regularly online, consistency matters.
Create a professional, cohesive look across your work.
Use the same background and lighting setup when possible.
Photograph work at a similar scale and angle.
8. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
Like feltmaking itself, photography improves with practice.
Take photos at different times of day. Try different backgrounds and light directions. Notice what works best for your particular style of work.
Don’t be afraid to take lots of photos – you can always delete the ones that don’t work!
Video Recording of Karen Bowden’s Talk
Photos from the Session
Karen shows how the Ring Light can be made tallerKaren shows how the Ring Light can be angledKaren shows a member how to access the necessary information on her phone.Throughout the talk, members followed along with their phones so they could experience photographing, editing, and saving photos.
Many thanks to Karen Bowden and Deirdre Crofts for helping share their expertise and knowledge with the guild. Their clear, practical guidance has been invaluable.
We hope that Karen’s excellent step-by-step instructions and recordings from the session will help our members feel more confident about applying to our upcoming exhibition, ‘Water and Flow’.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
The Wicklow Uplands Council presents two videos about Irish Wool as part of a project funded by the Heritage Council’s Community Heritage Grant 2025. The films were created by Bailey and Blake Productions.
Wicklow Uplands Council is an independent voluntary organisation representing a diverse membership of groups and individuals in the uplands region of County Wicklow.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
At Showcase Ireland this Monday, there will be a panel talk, ‘Grown, Gathered, Made: Rethinking Irish Materials’. Three emerging Irish designers will share how they work with local and natural materials to create sustainable, culturally rooted products that connect with consumers.
Moderated by Alison Gault of Ulster University, the panel will consist of fashion designer Aoife McNamara, knitwear designer Conor O’Brien, and textile designer and researcher Niamh Ní Catháin.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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From the Showcase Ireland website: Each year, over 3,350 buyers from Ireland, the UK, the USA, Mainland Europe, and Asia attend the three-day to-the-trade event, which generates sales orders exceeding €25.6 million.
In previous years, several members of Feltmakers Ireland have participated in the annual trade fair.
This year, member Emily A. Thompson will be exhibiting her needle-felted work at Showcase Ireland in the Local Enterprise Office Hall. She will be at stand number L9.
“Emily Thompson is a needle felting artist whose aim is to create unique artworks that connect people to the beauty of the world around them. Using locally sourced Irish wool, washed and dyed with natural materials, Emily meticulously layers the dyed wool to create images of the beautiful Irish landscape.”
When: Showcase Ireland runs from the 18th to the 20th of January, 2026.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Vivienne Morpeth wearing one of her Nunofelted tops
Season 4 of theInternational Feltmakers Association‘s podcast Felt Matters is drawing to a close. In it, hosts Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten discuss some highlights from Vivienne’s life as a feltmaker. They chat about her initial encounter with felting, the role of family and mentors, and the support and inspiration from the International Feltmakers Association. She stresses, too, the importance of teaching through experimentation. This has been particularly crucial in the development of her upcoming book, ‘Nuno Feltmaking | design, techniques and projects for the creative maker’, which she discusses here with her daughter, Raphaela.
Season 4 Episode 3 Vivienne Morpeth | A Legacy in Felt
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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On Sunday, the 11th of January, guild member Deirdre Crofts led us in Mind Mapping on the subject of ‘Water and Flow’, the theme of our upcoming annual exhibition in April. (For information on submitting your piece, visit HERE – https://feltmakersireland.com/exhibition-application-2026-water-and-flow/ )
During the talk, Dee mentioned photographer Tina Claffey’s work on close-ups of bog environments – https://www.tinaclaffey.com/
Video Recording of her talk
During this session, we had over 25 members at the CIE Sports Hall, with an additional 16 guild members joining us via Zoom. The video below is from the Zoom recording. Apologies for the blurry camera work.
Always finding areas of improvement in technology and all aspects of life!
Dee sharing her piece from the ‘Endangered’ exhibition in 2020Dee shares her automata sculpture of seagullsDee showing Ramona Farrelly’s pieceDee sharing a piece by Fiona Leech
In a few days, we will share the recording of committee member Karen Bowden presenting on photographing artwork with a phone.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Textile groupElement15‘s ‘ROOTS: An Exhibition of Textile Art and Poetry’ is now showing at Green Acres Gallery, Co Wexford.
The show features the group’s artwork and the poetry of Jane Clarke.
Element15 is a collective based in Co Kildare. Individual artists develop their own practice in tandem with each other, distinct but connected. Element15’s exhibition, ‘ROOTS‘, is inspired by the work of Co Wicklow-based poet Jane Clarke.
Elaine Peden and Marie Dunne, members of the Feltmakers Ireland guild, are part of the Element15 and have pieces in the exhibition.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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The Homo Faber Fellowship is an eight-month, sponsored international craft training programme that pairs master artisans with emerging talents. Participants gain business and marketing expertise alongside design and hands-on practical skills through the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and craftsmanship.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
