Blog:

Reminder: Next Sunday Session, 11th of June

Our last Sunday Session before our summer break will be held NEXT Sunday, the 11th June at the usual venue.

CIE Sports and Social Club
Library Square
Inchicore
Dublin 8

Claire Merry will bring along some samples from her vast collection to show us and do a short presentation. It’s definitely not one to miss. Claire has a wealth of experience, and it goes without saying that her work is truly amazing. (There is a nice interview with Claire, here on the Feltmakers Ireland website).

We will also launch our new exhibition, “Bountiful”, which will open at the beginning of October.

We will have a discussion and a mind mapping session about the meaning of the word “bountiful” and talk briefly about framing etc. (In the autumn, there will be a future Sunday Session dealing with framing and hanging our felt work.)

So hope to see a big turnout for our last session (before the summer break).

Please bring a home-baked treat to share.

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Deadline Approaching: Homo Faber Apprenticeship Programme

Reminder via the DCCI’s Head of Craft & Education, Mary Jo Hoyne, because it would be LOVELY if one of our recent craft grads and/or artisan feltmakers took up this opportunity.

A new education programme is currently open for craft graduates and master artisan applicants. The deadline for applications is this Sunday, 4th June 2023.

The seven-month Homo Faber Fellowship programme, developed by the Michelangelo Foundation in collaboration with DCCI, allows you as an artisan(maker) to take on a fellow (apprentice/intern). The programme will run from 23rd September 2023 to 24th April 2024. All information on the programme can be found here – https://www.michelangelofoundation.org/en/homo-faber-fellowship

The process is as follows:

The artisan will sign two documents: a tripartite agreement with the Michelangelo Foundation and the fellow and an employment contract with their fellow outlining the salary. (We will provide templates of this contract).


Once these documents are signed, the artisan will receive the contribution directly from the Michelangelo Foundation in three disbursements. This allows the artisan to pay the fellow directly as a monthly salary. The artisans themselves do not receive an additional financial amount. The programme is an opportunity to provide artisans with a sponsored intern, without a cost on their workshop. Please find here a “What’s in it for me?” document outlining benefits, including a stipend to cover the costs of materials used for the co-created object.

The amount the fellow (apprentice) will receive from the Michaelangelo Foundation is the living wage in line with the local costs of living and social security of the country the fellow will be in during the placement.

If you have any further queries, please contact education@homofaber.com

Exhibition and Online Catalogue: Interwoven, the Many Voices of Fiber

A contemporary textile art exhibition in Columbus, Ohio, at the Riffe Gallery, curated by Quilt and Surface Design Symposium director Tracy Rieger.

While one may not be able to travel to Ohio, there is a richly illustrated online catalogue on FLICKR. If you click on an image, there is an explanation about inspiration and techniques.

Among the artists are feltmaker, Pam MacGregor.

Here is the link to the catalogue of 80 pieces by various artists – https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohioartscouncil/sets/72177720304838681/with/52780203593/

News: Feltmakers Ireland will be at Bloom

This Friday and Saturday (the 2nd and 3rd of June, 2023), Feltmakers Ireland will demonstrate various feltmaking techniques. We will be sharing at Bloom from 11 AM to 5 PM on these two days. (The event runs from the 1st through the 5th of June).

Photo from a previous Bloom

Find us in the Design and Craft Council of Ireland (DCCI) Irish Craft Village. We will be in

the YELLOW section, area 26. See below.

Map of Bord Bia Bloom 2023

Note: we will be closer to the Red Car Park.

There will be free shuttle buses from Heuston Station.

Need to learn more about Bloom, visit their website – https://www.bordbiabloom.com/

Opportunity: Westival Festival – deadline soon

The Westport Music and Arts Festival (Westival) is seeking submissions.

This year’s theme is ‘The Art Of Living’, which seeks to celebrate the wonder that lives in the cracks of our daily lives. It also looks to engage with that ubiquitous phrase ‘ the cost of living’, which is impacting so many of us today. How does this increased pressure affect our creative lives, and can we still find the space to be inspired?

While we welcome submissions across all genres, priority will be given to workshops and community-driven projects.

We are particularly encouraging applications from those currently underrepresented in the arts, including but not limited to artists of colour, artists who identify as LGBTQI+, artists with disabilities, migrants, and members of the Traveller community.

The deadline to apply is May 31st @5pm, and artists can apply here –

https://forms.gle/Z1UdvPqgaGQqhnG87

If you have any questions about your application, please email sarahbyrne@westival.ie

For more information, visit their website – https://westival.ie/

Event: 2nd International Day of Celtic Art

Where: St Patrick Centre, Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.

When: 8-11 June 2023 (Thursday to Sunday).

Who: Celtic artists, craftspeople and scholars from the USA, Canada, Scotland, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland speaking about their work, displaying artworks and doing demonstrations.

For more information, visit their website.

Exhibition: Stitching the Community Together – this weekend in Naas

‘Stitching the Community Together’ is an art-based, intergenerational programme centred around the medium of wool and knitting that is supported through the Creativity in Older Age Scheme.

Also on display is Future Tapestry, a newly commissioned virtual reality artwork which is an artistic response to the current state of sheep farming and wool production in Ireland. Directed and produced by John Conway and written by Aisling Byrne, with visuals by NOHO Dublin.

The event is on the 26th & 27th of May, from 10 AM – 4 PM in the Luisne Centre, McAuley Place, Naas, Co. Kildare.

For more information, visit the website – https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/event/future-tapestry/

Visit: Kaffe Fassett Exhibition in Edinburgh

The Dovecote Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, has a colourful exhibition of Kaffe Fassett’s work.

Kaffe Fassett is one of the most successful artists and designers working in contemporary craft today. His career spans over 50 years, with a prolific oeuvre encompassing knitting, needlepoint, mosaic, quilting, textile design, painting and drawing. His books and projects have encouraged millions to make and create, with his designs being used and interpreted by quilters around the globe.

The show runs until the 8th of July, 2023.

There is an online tour on the 6th of June. Tickets £5.00 – https://dovecotstudios.com/whats-on/online-tour-kaffe-fassett-the-power-of-pattern-1683649342

For more information, visit their website – https://dovecotstudios.com/whats-on/kaffe-fassett-the-power-of-pattern

Opportunity: Future Makers 2023 Awards

Future Makers is a Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) initiative which recognises talent, potential and creativity. It aims to support the next generation of makers, designers and craftspeople to take the step from training into an enterprise. Divided into student and emerging practitioner categories and covering a wide range of disciplines, it is one of the largest prize-funded award programmes in Europe.

Note: Future Makers is the qualifying competition for the annual RDS Craft Awards, which provides 5 x €10,000 awards to makers at a formative stage in their careers. These five significant awards are for developing business and craft skills for those pursuing a professional career in the sector. 

The deadline is 16th June 2023.

For more information, visit their website – https://www.futuremakers.ie/about-future-makers

Opportunity: A Meeting of Hands Art Exhibition – Galway Wool Co-op

The Galway Wool Co-op is holding an art exhibition on the 22nd of July at their annual Meitheal in Althenry, Galway.

They invite artists, designers, and crafters in Ireland to engage with the themes and concepts that connect the Galway Sheep breed to the Irish landscape. The Co-op aims to creatively enrich the knowledge of Ireland’s authentic sheep breed with a wider audience.

Submissions are now open. Collaborative pieces are welcome. You will be able to sell your work – there’s no commission fee.

To participate, please DM via Instagram* @michellehickeyart by midnight 31st of May. She will email you the details.

Where to get Galway Wool? This Irish-raised wool fibre can be obtained from Donegal Yarns. It is 7.50 euro, per kilo. If that is too large an amount, perhaps folks can pool together? To purchase, call Donegal Yarns at +353 (0)749738055

*If you are ~not~ on Instagram, please email Feltmakers Ireland member Juliane for further info.