Applications are now open for Sculpture in Context. This is an excellent opportunity to get your work seen by a large audience. The deadline for application is soon — the 9th of April.
Some members of Feltmakers Ireland have exhibited in previous years. The images below are from Sculpture in Context 2022.
From the top left: Carmen Garcia, Ramona Farrelly
From bottom left: Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann, Fiona Leech, Annika Berglund, Juliane Gorman
(FI likes to keep you updated on upcoming opportunities. If you know of other upcoming events, please send them to us, and we will share them with the members.)
The weather is a bit miserable at the moment, but there should be lovely crisp days ahead as we head into early autumn.
The National Botanic Gardens are magnificent this time of year, and for the month of September you can combine visiting the gardens with a treasure hunt for exciting sculptures all over the place, indoors and outdoors.
About Sculpture in Context
Sculpture in Context was established in 1985 to raise the profile of sculpture in Ireland and provide a platform for artists outside the normal gallery context. It is a not-for-profit organisation run by sculptors. The exhibition has been staged in the National Botanic Gardens since 2002.
Sculpture in Context promotes artists and creates opportunities for practicing artists to exhibit their works in a wider public arena. The organisation has provided much needed opportunities for Irish and non-Irish sculptors in Ireland.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Exhibition: Sculpture in Context
Location: National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
Dates: 1 September – 7 October 2022
Times: Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00.
Admission: Free. Group tours of the Gardens and the Exhibitions will be available for booking through Eventbrite
This year even more feltmakers are exhibiting so congrats to all and make sure to go visit!
As there are quite a number of feltmakers included there are two blog posts covering the exhibiting artists. This is the second blog post. Artists are listed in the order we have received information. If you have not been asked for details but are exhibiting in Sculpture in Context, please contact us as there are so many artists involved that we may have missed someone. This second blog covers the work of Carmen Garcia, Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann, Juliane Gorman and Claire Merry. Claire is a long time member of Feltmakers Ireland so we have included her piece here even if it isn’t made of felt.
What does Home feel like?by Carmen Garcia
This piece was made in response to the stories coming to us from the war in Ukraine. I wanted it to represent the pain, to be visceral, to be felt.
I used the dissonance between the homely, earthy slipper, that resonates with “cosy” and “safe” and the intense red of the exposed arteries and veins which resonates with life, but also with blood and violence.
However, what I am really interested in, is the feeling people experience while looking at it. Either having read the title or not.
What does Home feel like – Carmen Garcia
The Glow Worms Nest by Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann
The materials, shapes, structures and colours of my native surroundings provide inspiration for my creation. Working with different raw wool types ( unwashed and uncarded fleece loosened by hand ) fascinates me.
This piece embodies warmth, softness, protection and comfort. The upright rods radiate decisiveness and togetherness, all the while surrounded by organic matter.
I love to explore working with silk, recycled materials, paper, rich colours and texture combinations . I employ a variety of techniques to create my work and find joy and share it!
Felting for me is diving into a world of unlimited opportunities. The dialogue with the material wool and the interaction of art and craft, and thereby the implementation of a millennium old technique, captivates me.
The Glow Worms Nest by Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann
Perpetual Felt by Juliane Gorman
Usually, I create whimsical wet-felted hats. However, for Sculpture in Context, I wanted to explore installations.
As I wandered through the gardens in winter, the ancient, naked stems of the Wisteria Chain Tent caught my eye. I found it unbelievable that this organic structure was so large that it almost was a building! Did it feel embarrassed not to have leaves? And what about its cascading blossoms? They would only exist for a few weeks.
My twirling purple pods are an attempt to adorn this quirky location.
There are spiralling, felted cords on each pod made from locally-raised Romney wool. My supplier for this material is Natural Wool Ireland. (https://www.naturalwoolireland.ie/) Although the bulk of the fibre used in the pods is Merino and sadly not Irish-raised. Nonetheless, this wool is also sustainable because all sheep are shorn annually.
Perpetual Felt by Juliane Gorman
Fly Me To The Moon by Claire Merry
I refer to myself as an ‘Art Butterfly’, as I have had great fun and satisfaction in playing with different media. It gives me great pleasure to try out something new and working with proven techniques from previous works.
I have worked with textiles, clays and principally for the last fourteen years with handmade felt. This piece is based on a previous much smaller one, so resizing it was a nice challenge. I love steampunk style, so I have teamed up the hot air balloon with the penny-farthing bicycle, to deliver flowers to the moon on slow power
This exciting opportunity is still available for the next week. Carmen Garcia has kindly offered to share her experience in just such a collaboration to give us an idea on how it may work. Her report can be found below.
This scheme will run from the end of March to August.
It has come to our notice that the form to apply for this collaboration has to be filled out by our GANS representative, so if you want to apply, please send an email to Annika Berglund, one of our two reps, and she will facilitate the application. Her email is annika@annikaberglund.com.
This is Carmen’s report and a photo of the beautiful result of their cooperation:
In 2019 I took part in a cooperation project between The Council of Irish Fashion Designers and The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
The idea of these cooperation projects is to randomly pair a designer and a craft maker to produce a design working together. I was paired with the talented designer Charlotte Lucas.
We designed a wedding dress with hat inspired by Balenciaga. We mixed the fluidity of Charlotte’s style with the rigidity of the felt.
We found our common ground, what we shared in our approach to design, and we both moved towards the other. It was a very interesting experience.
We felt stretched in our approach to the design, and found the limitations in the process were stimulating for the creative process and both were very happy with the result.
I totally recommend the experience to any Feltmaker that might be considering it.
We asked member Carmen Garcia since questions about her piece for the Endangered exhibition, entitled “The last trace”.
The Exhibition title- Endangered?- how does your piece respond to the title? your inspiration and methods etc
I chose the trace of the Hawksbill Turtle, one of the many critically endangered species. First, because of the beautiful pattern it leaves in the sand, which I thought it would work well in felt. But also, because of the turtle being a symbol of slowness, a quality with negative connotations in our collective psyche. By using the slow process of felt making, this quality is celebrated.
I used natural white and brown Icelandic wool for this project. I love using this wool in sculpture, especially if I need transparency, as I did in this case. I used flax fibers, Tussah silk tops and silk rods for texture.
The idea was to create a basic bell structure. The turtle trace and other simple traces were sculpted in the structure using resistances and creating a finer more transparent mark to let the light through.
Crafting through the current crisis, with the pandemic have you found more or less time to craft, has it inspired you or have you found it more difficult- discuss
I have crafted, but I haven’t felted much.
I normally make hats, scarves and vessels that I sell online , in shops and at Gifted Craft Fair. But during the lockdown I felt I needed some distancing. Like many of us, I felt the need of re-assessing things. I had the pull to stop whatever it was that I was doing, and do something different. I love stitching, so, I started an embroidery course, and it really felt right in that situation. Maybe it had to do with the way things were controlled in the small cloths amidst the uncontrollable situation around us. But also, I enjoyed the repetition and its calming effects, I found it extremely therapeutic. It also provided new ways of looking at things and, who knows, maybe new directions.
Felt- how you discovered it, what it means to you
Like most things, by chance. I attended a Felt workshop at Phizzfest (Arts Festival in Phibsborough). I thought it was magic!
I love the way it brings us back to basics. So little needed…fibers, soap, water. No equipment needed, just our hands , our bodies, with no separation from the piece.
I also like the way we do not control it completely. Unintended things happen that can not be undone… and we have to work with that. Sometimes getting more than we expected and always learning from it.
The slow pace of the process is also something I am attracted to. You can get faster… but to a certain point.
It’s like a metaphor for life: it takes the time it takes, you are where you are, and that’s fine.
Report by Breda Fay- GANS rep (edited by Tamzen Lundy)
GANS & CIFD collaboration
Since the beginning of April, some members from Felt makers Ireland have been working with designers from the fashion world on a collaborative project linking craft persons and designers.
Today – August 29th– was the culmination of our work, when our projects were modeled as part of the CIFD Fashion Show/ Media Day. The fashion show itself was amazing and one could only be inspired by the address and commentary of Eddie Shanahan, chair of CIFD, a truly enthusiastic and inspiring speaker.
For the last few months, Carmen Garcia, Niki Collier and Breda Fay have been engaging with our partner designers from the council of Irish fashion design. We had been randomly matched to “accentuate learning and ensure innovative engagement”.
I worked with Michelle Kearns, a milliner from Tuam.
Breda Fay/ Michelle Kearns
Breda Fay/ Michelle Kearns
Breda Fay/ Michelle Kearns
Breda Fay/ Michelle Kearns
Michelle and I shared stories of our likes and dislikes, dreams and history to come up with a theme for the design. We also discussed different textures and shades of felt. Samples and photographs went back and forth until we finally decided on a very fine and feathery black Merino and Silk with embellishments of cerise Tussah silk that Michelle would incorporate into a wire structure. The finished work would illustrate overcoming adversity (thick and gnarled branches) growing into more open structure with birds and blooms of hope and resilience.
In all, 15 pairs brought their projects to completion and the resulting hats, baskets, dresses, scarves, etc were amazing. The crafts of calligraphy, metal smith, lace making, felt making, basket making, crochet, textile art and embroidery were all represented.
GANS & CIFD collaboration
This is the second year of the collaboration and I would urge members to watch the GANS page of the website and read the blog posts for notice of next year’s event, when we will once again advertise this opportunity. For those that managed to get along this year and became involved it was certainly and enriching and lasting experience.
The below was received from the Council of Irish Fashion Designers
Ladies & Gentlemen,
On behalf of all of us in CIFD I wish to express our gratitude to you for the skill, inspiration, dedication and creativity you brought to our collaboration project.
It is not often that one of Ireland’s most eminent journalists declares an event as ‘Triumphant and emotional’ – but those were her first words at the end of our presentation on Thursday.
My colleagues and I have enjoyed the process, our respect and admiration for your skills is difficult to put into words. Design and Craft came together last week in an engaging evocation of Irish culture, proving beyond doubt that our heritage crafts can be extremely engaging in a contemporary context.
I hope you too enjoyed the project and the presentation.
I know Mary has exciting plans to give the work further exposure and I will also be seeking extra opportunities in the coming months.
We can expect some newspaper and magazine publicity in the coming weeks. In the meantime I am sending you a hi res image of your contribution by WeTranfer. I hope to have some video clips of the pieces in the next short while and will also forward those in due course.
I look forward to the possibility of working with you again in the near future.
Feltmakers Ireland 