The juried group exhibition, ‘Bountiful’, is in its final week of showing. Catch it at the Phoenix Park Visitors’ Centre in Dublin, Ireland. See how the beauty and versatility of feltmaking. Pieces include sculptures, wall pieces, and wearables. There is artwork for sale, along with our recently launched book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.
Hours: 10 AM until 4 PM.
The exhibition ends at 3:30 PM on Sunday, October 29th.
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In our Sunday, September Session, Feltmakers Ireland guild member Annika Berglund shared a sample from the Felting and Fiber Studio’s Nuno Felting with Paper Lamination class.
A Forum
Plus, the Felting and Fiber Studio has a Community Forum with quarterly feltmaking challenges. It is also an excellent place to ask questions and research topics related to felting.
Feltmakers Ireland member Hélène Dooley is also a Felting and Fiber Studio member. Recently, she wrote a blog post for them about all the felt-related activities that happened in Ireland! And what a busy month September was!
From Feltmakers Ireland’s September Sunday Session
Feltmakers Ireland founder Elizabeth Bonnar and her granddaughter at our September Sunday Session.
There was Sculpture in Context at the National Botanic Gardens, our September Sunday Session, where we created felted flowers to go on a Floral Tapestry to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, the opening of our juried group exhibition, ‘Bountiful’ at the Phoenix Park Visitors’ Centre, and finally, the official launch of our new book, “Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking”.
This past Saturday, from 3 to 5 PM, Feltmakers Ireland warmly embraced our community of wool and felt enthusiasts at the grand opening of our exhibition, ‘Bountiful.’ During this momentous occasion, we had the honour of Minister Pippa Hackett’s official inauguration of our recently published book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking.’ If you missed her inspiring words, you can catch portions of her speech on our YouTube channel, @FeltmakersIreland.
Your presence and support made this event truly memorable, and we’re excited to continue sharing our passion for feltmaking with you all.
Exhibition organiser, Dee Crofts introducing Minister Pippa Hackett. The piece in the background is by Aisling Hassett.
The Committee
In every voluntary organization, there are individuals who play a crucial role in carefully coordinating the group’s various activities. Enclosed is a photograph capturing the dedicated committee members, standing proudly in front of our collaborative Floral Tapestry. This beautiful artwork commemorates the guild’s inception, marking two decades of passion and commitment since its founding by the remarkable Elizabeth Bonnar.
Minister Pippa Hackett and the committee members. The back row, from left to right: Deirdre Carroll, Pippa Hackett, Deirdre Crofts, Juliane Gorman. The front row, from left to right: Elizabeth Redding, Adrienne Dempsey, Lorna Cady, Annika Berglund, and Marian Fagan. Not pictured Fiona Leech.
Tapestry Revealed
Below is a photograph of our floral tapestry. Each of the flowers was handcrafted by our members during our September Sunday Session. Additional flowers were created, too. Then, several members got together to hand-stitch the over 180 flowers onto the backing, a very large piece of wool felt. {Invigilating members are welcome to sew on flowers during their volunteer shifts}.
The opening was quite exciting, with many members attending.
Feltmakers Ireland founder Elizabeth Bonnar and founding member Michelle Winters spoke with Minister Hackett.
Some of the artists and their pieces
Helene Dooley speaking with Minister HackettExhibition organiser Deirdre CroftsAisling Hassett and her piece. (She made her hat too!)Valerie O CeallaighAnnika BerglundAdrienne DempseyBreda FayCaitriona NolanHelena McGuinness
Each piece in our exhibition features a photograph of the artist along with the statement they provided, sharing their unique interpretation of ‘Bountiful’ when they submitted their work for jury consideration. You can spot these artist statements in some of the photographs above.
Below is the ‘Box of Chocolates’ by Clare Brophy that Minister Hackett points to in her speech.
Clare Brophy’s piece ‘Sharing the Bounty’.
In closing, we truly regret if we missed the opportunity to personally thank you at the opening event, which, as we’ve mentioned, was quite the bustling affair! With an impressive turnout of over fifty attendees, including cherished friends, beloved family members, and passionate supporters of the wool industry, it was a testament to the resilience and dedication of our community. Despite the tempestuous weather on that Saturday, your unwavering commitment to our cause warmed our hearts. We cannot express enough gratitude for your presence and your support for the art of feltmaking. Your enthusiasm fuels our creative journey, and we look forward to sharing more moments of inspiration and collaboration in the future. Thank you once again for making our opening event a truly memorable occasion.
Today, on the 30th of September, art enthusiasts and admirers of the exquisite craft of felting will gather at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre in Dublin, Ireland. Feltmakers Ireland’s highly anticipated juried exhibition is set to open its doors to the public at 3 PM.
The exhibition showcases a stunning array of felted artworks that push the boundaries of this ancient textile art form.
As a sneak peek into what promises to be an awe-inspiring show, we bring you exclusive glimpses from four diverse pieces that will be featured in this remarkable exhibition.
Photo 1 – Breda Fay’s wall piece, ‘Torthuil’.
Photo 2 – Valerie OCeallaigh’s ‘Bountiful Love’.
Photo 3 – Adrienne Dempsey’s ‘Where the Wild Things Grow’.
Our exhibition will be opened by Pippa Hackett, Sheep Farmer and Irish Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity. She has kindly written the foreword to our ‘wool project book’, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’. Copies of the book will be available during the opening and throughout the exhibition.
In one day, Feltmakers Ireland’s juried exhibition, ‘Bountiful’, will open. The event will be introduced by Pippa Hackett, sheep farmer and Minister of State and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
In addition to our members’ wet and needle-felted creations, copies of our recently published book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’will be available.
Lastly, as part of the celebration of our founding twenty years ago, we will unveil our collaborative Floral Tapestry.
In the meantime, here are snippets of two members’ pieces.
Photo 1 – Hélène Dooley’s ‘Visualising the Beauty of the Sunflower Field’.
In three days’ time – Saturday, the 30th – our juried exhibition, ‘Bountiful‘, will open at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre in Dublin. Pippa Hackett (Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine) will be there to officially open.
We will have the unveiling of our wonderful 20th Anniversary Flower Tapestry on Saturday, too. Thank you to all the members who helped create the abundance of beautiful flowers.
Additionally, our book will officially launch – ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’. So, it’ll be a wonderful day of celebrating our guild and our talents.
In the meantime, here are two close-ups of pieces that will be in the show.
Karena has three other pieces in an upcoming exhibition in Brussels! These artworks will be shown at the ‘Dear PrEUdence: A Positive Headspace in the EU’ exhibition. It will be held at the European Parliament in Brussels from the 10th through the 13th of October.
Feltmakers Ireland’s juried exhibition opens this Saturday at 3 PM. We are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of our founding with a show with the theme of ‘Bountiful.’
To whet your appetite, here is a peek at two of the pieces that can be seen at the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre gallery.
First piece –
Detail of a piece by Sharon Wells – ‘Kerry’.
Second piece –
Detail of a piece by Aisling Hassett – ‘Seeds of Life’.
The exhibition runs through the 29th of October and is free to visit.
Feltmakers Ireland is excited to announce that on the 30th of September at 3 PM, Pippa Hackett, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will open our group exhibition, ‘Bountiful’.
This juried art exhibition will be held in the beautiful Phoenix Park Visitors Centre from the 30th of September through the 29th of October, from 10 AM until 4 PM.
There are over 35 pieces by 28 guild members in the show. In addition, we will unveil our collectively created Floral Tapestry to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Copies of our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’, will also be available.
Members who have a piece in the show, please contact us about invigilating. All members are welcome to help by volunteering for the show. Bring a small ‘felty’ project to work on because it will truly interest visitors.
The ‘Bountiful’ member exhibition deadline has been extended to Sunday, the 3rd of September, at MIDNIGHT.
Applications are open to Feltmakers Ireland AND Feltmakers North members for our annual juried exhibition in the Phoenix Park Visitors’ Centre. This will be an All Ireland exhibition.
Forms and queries should be returned to Deirdre Crofts by email. (Her address is on the form).
Feltmakers Ireland 