Tag: Brigid Celebrations

Review: St Brigid’s Cloaks- Brigid 1500 – Kildare Town

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

All photographs are by Breda Fay, except for the Cathedral window by Tamzen Lundy.

Written by Feltmakers Ireland guild member Breda Fay

I took a trip to nearby Kildare town on Saturday, the 27th of January, to visit the launch of the Brigid’s Cloaks exhibition. I love “launches” as they usually provide an opportunity to talk to the artist and I was not disappointed here.

It was a pleasure to meet the manager/director of this project, Lorna McCormack, of the Wool in School programme. From my days [as an educator] “at the chalkface” I have been impressed with the ethos of this school programme, aligned closely with local culture and heritage and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Lorna introduced me to lead Artist Michelle Hickey Legge, who described the works. The focus was on using locally sourced Irish wool and sustainable resources. Four stunning St Brigid’s Cloaks were crafted “with an all-encompassing approach to wool heritage and art”, Lorna explained. “With a focus on an all-island approach involving many generations, people across Ireland came together and immersed themselves in heritage crafts and community connections”. Lorna had some amusing stories about how the children chose the placement of their work. She also pointed out some interesting features I might have missed: a knitted piece from one of Seamus Heaney’s aran jumpers featured; one of the cloaks had Brigid Cross motifs included.

A total of 925 were involved, including 250 local school children from the town of Kildare who made pompoms, covered CDs, pieces of wool lace and knitting, each placed onto a cloak.

St Brigid’s Cloaks is a community artwork developed by Wool in School in association with Creative Ireland and Kildare County Council. The exhibition runs until April and will tour the country afterwards.

Where: St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare Town.

When: through April 2024, with the cloaks then touring the country.

There is a short video on Instagram of the installation of the show- https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2zPBxII-tH/?igsh=azMxNWJodzlhdWI4

For more information, visit the Wool in School website – https://woolinschool.com/

Editor’s note: Thank you so much, Breda, for sharing your visit to the launch of St Brigid’s Cloaks in the Cathedral in Kildare Town. We love having articles by our community members. If you are a guild member and have an interesting textile event to share, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com

Review: Brigid 1500 Art Trail in Kildare

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Written by Guild Member Breda Fay

Unravelling an Icon

How could a BREDA not be excited by a Brigid ‘s festival, especially if it’s only 15 km over the road?

Former Feltmakers Ireland chair, Breda Fay, in Kildare town.

On Saturday, I attended the launch of Sult Arists‘ “Unravelling an Icon” in Kildare town, an exciting art exhibition that transformed a town square into an open-air art gallery. Twenty local businesses bought into the idea of exhibiting sixty works in a wide variety of mediums/media of national and international artists in their windows as part of Brigid 1500 celebrations.

A free map and catalogue were available, as well as hot chocolate, cake and savouries (donations to Medicins sans Frontieres). I’m attaching a map in case you are interested and they’re not available later.

How to Find the Artworks

Map of the Artist Trail
Venues that have art.

The Opening

Niamh Wycherly of Maynooth University opened the exhibition with an impressive account of Brigid’s life and works. {There is a short video of her opening on the Sult Artists’ Instagram page – https://www.instagram.com/p/C2nDS0xM9Pp/ }

Despite the cold weather, it was great to meet many friends and/or exhibitors and chat about arty stuff: Liadain Butler, who introduced me to felt many moons ago, Tamzen Lundy and Aisling Hassett from Feltmakers Ireland, muinteoirí (teachers) from Newbridge, and the singers from Kill.

Artwork from Feltmakers Ireland’s Guild Members

Piece by Liadain Butler.
Piece by Tamzen Lundy
Piece by Aisling Hassett
‘ ‘The Shepherdess’ by Theresa Carroll

The exhibition is on for a month…. well worth a visit. There are some lovely coffee shops and eateries in the town square. {It runs through Sunday, the 18th of February}.

Additionally, there is an online art gallery of each piece in the show, which includes the artists’ details, titles of each piece, medium, and social media/links - https://sultartists.com/brigid-1500

To see more of the Feltmakers Ireland members’ works, visit the following links:

Thank you ever so much, Breda, for visiting Kildare to see the Art Trail in Kildare town! We appreciate learning more about the exhibition. – the editors. To learn more about Breda, visit her blog – https://bredafay.com/

Exhibition: Liberties Weavers at Pallas Projects Studios

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Members of The Liberties Weavers will have an art exhibit at the Pallas Projects Studios.

The exhibition is centred around the revered figure of Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire, wisdom, and creativity. Through intricate weaving techniques and vibrant colours, the exhibition brings to life the essence of Brigid, capturing her multifaceted nature and enduring symbolism.

Feltmakers Ireland members Deirdre Crofts and Sandra Chase have pieces in the group exhibition.

The opening night is on Thursday, the 1st of February, from 5 to 8pm.

​The exhibition continues through Friday, the 2nd of February, from 12 to 6 pm.

Where: Pallas Projects Gallery, 115-117, The Coombe, The Liberties, Dublin, Ireland.

For more information, visit the Liberties Weavers’ website – https://www.thelibertiesweavers.ie/events

The above exhibition is part of city-wide celebrations, which run from Thursday, the 1st, through Bank Holiday Monday, the 5th of February, 2024.

To see over 50 activities that are scheduled as part of Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women, visit this website – https://dublin.ie/whats-on/brigit/

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.

Exhibition: Unravelling an Icon, Celebrating and Remembering Brigid and her Legacy – an Open Air Art Trail- Kildare Town

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

By Tamzen Lundy

Kildare Town will be transformed into an open-air art gallery where more than 20 local businesses will exhibit 60 works of international and national art in their windows as part of the Brigid 1500 celebrations in the new year.

This uniquely accessible art exhibition, titled “Unravelling an Icon, Celebrating and Remembering Brigid and her Legacy,” was organized by Sult Artist-led Collective.

The trail is based in Kildare, reflecting the traditions, customs, and symbols associated with Brigid’s legacy. It marks the 1500th anniversary of Brigid’s death in February 2024.

I’m so happy to have a piece selected for the exhibition; following an international open call in May this year, 215 pieces of art were submitted by artists from all over the world. Sult Artists, a member of Co. Kildare Arts Service, as well as a curator from IMMA, had the difficult task of shortlisting down to the successful applicants.

The idea behind the exhibition is to make art as accessible as possible and create more opportunities for people to interact with art. We hope the local community and visitors coming to the town will really enjoy the artworks and learn more about Brigid.

The exhibition includes paintings, ceramics, photography, film, sculpture, animation, printmaking, stitching, felting, weaving, digital art, stained glass, drawing, embroidery, mosaic, mixed media, batik and textile work.

There will be a map of the free Brigid 1500 Art Trail.

When: The show opens at 4 PM on January 27th and runs through February 19th, 2024.

Where: the shop windows and streets of Kildare Town.

Feltmakers Ireland members Tamzen Lundy, Aisling Hassett, Liadain Butler, and Theresa Carroll have pieces in the show.

Tamzen’s artwork is on the left, and Aisling’s is on the right.

Liadain’s piece is on the left, and Theresa’s is on the right.

There is an article about the art trail in the Kildare Nationalist newspaper – https://kildare-nationalist.ie/2023/12/22/kildare-town-will-become-an-open-air-art-gallery-to-celebrate-brigid-1500/

If you have a piece in the art trail AND are a member of Feltmakers Ireland, please let us know –feltmakersie@gmail.com

Exhibition: Four St Brigid’s Cloaks – Kildare

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Open viewing of four St Brigid’s Cloaks unveiled in St Brigid’s Cathedral, in conjunction with the Brigid 1500 celebrations across the county.

St Brigid’s Cloaks is a community artwork developed by Wool in School, in association with Creative Ireland and Kildare County Council. These four stunning St Brigid’s Cloaks were crafted with an all-encompassing approach to wool heritage and art.

This project, managed by Director Lorna McCormack and lead Artist Michelle Hickey Legge, focused on using locally sourced Irish-grown wool and sustainable resources aligning with the ethos of Wool in School and several of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

This contemporary manifestation of St Brigid’s cloak highlights the value of knitting as a creative past-time which is beneficial for the health and well-being of everyone living in Ireland’s community and will create a beautiful backdrop to the celebrations and commemoration of the legacy of St Brigid at St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare Town in 2024.

When: the 27th of January, 2024, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

Where: St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare.

There is additional information in this news article – https://kildare-nationalist.ie/2024/01/23/kildare-artwork-st-brigids-cloaks/

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.