We are very sorry to have to tell you the Muddle shop is closing.
There is a sale going on at the moment and will go on for a few weeks more.
Here is a message from Sharon:
Hi Everyone The shop is closing down over the next month or so. But The Muddle will continue. Any classes booked in for July and August will go ahead. Vouchers can be redeemed in the sale or at a later stage online at www.themuddle.ie We will still be teaching all our arts and crafts but in different venues. Sharon Wells fibre and textile art will continue as normal. The sale continues today.
Element15 is a collective of 15 textile and mixed media artists. They have used the past year despite all the restrictions of Covid to allow nature to inspire them. They were fortunate to be welcomed into the wonderful gardens of Jimi Blake at Hunting Brook and June Blake’s Garden, to respond to the gardens over the seasons.
The culmination of their work is being shown in an open-air exhibition across the two public gardens. The artworks are integrated into the lush landscaping in the form of an art trail.
Opening Times: Hunting Brook: Weds – Saturday 11 am – 4 pm, entrance fee €8 June Blake’s Garden: Weds – Sunday 11 am – 5 pm, entrance fee €6
On Wednesday last I decided to go and view the art nature combination. It was amazing: the planting display showed off the art to wonderful advantage. A weather proofed catalogue was available on both sites with a map to guide you along the paths, as well as through meadow and woodland, to view each of the art works. Naturally it also included a short artist statement and a description of the work. A great visit for the combo plant/art enthusiast.
To all our lovely feltmakers out there here is a short film we made for you- members have already received an email and link to this video- now we wish to share it furtehr with our wider community through the blog post… we hope that you are inspired!
As we still can’t get together and the country is once again in level 5 lock down the committee have been busy trying to find new ways to inspire and promote the craft of felt making.
New 2020 committee member Deirdre Crofts undertook the latest task- filming a video with Sharon wells- textile Artist.
The committee wishes to thank Deirdre for her hard work ( made even harder by social distancing). We wish to thank Sharon for her participation again under difficult circumstances. We hope that you agree that this is a wonderful in depth look at how a felt maker artist works and their methods.
Sharon Wells is a fiber and textile artist working with wool and silk fibers born and bred in Co. Wicklow but her heart is in the Kerry hills. Sharon will explain how she skirts, washes and dyes raw fleece and will show us her beautiful work. You will find a link to her website below.
‘Into the Matrix’ Exhibition: 2 pm Monday 31st August to 4pm Sunday September 13th.
Open every other day from 10-1 and 2-5pm. 7 people can visit at any one time
Liminal is a County Wicklow based group of four artists motivated by their shared experience of establishing a sense of place in their adopted county. They have come together to find strength in working collaboratively and explore contemporary ways of working with fibre arts and mixed media.
Fabienne Herbert, Christine Theobald, Anne Walsh, and Nessa McCormack met through their involvement in Feltmakers Ireland and have previously exhibited with FI. This is their first group show. Each artist has responded to the theme individually, producing wall and 3D pieces in their chosen art medium.
Anne worked as a dress designer for 18 years before following her passion to understand the myriad and innovative ways that humankind have developed to exist in their worlds. This led to her completing a degree in Anthropology, later focussing on the Anthropology of Art in her Masters in New Zealand. It was there that she first learnt to felt, an artform that had enthralled her many years earlier during frequent visits to Co Clare. On returning to Ireland she continued to explore feltmaking, attending master classes with Feltmakers Ireland, constantly seeking out the possibilities that feltmaking provided.
“Throughout my life I have been drawn to the alternatives and possibilities of other worlds, to other ways of being. The exhibition theme, Into the Matrix, defined in one dictionary as ‘a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals or fossils are embedded’, led me on a journey to explore the otherness of the little known, the underworlds of limestone ecosystems. My personal quest was to interpret this environment through the patterns I saw, believing that even within the unknown, we recognise something, it resonates within us, speaking a language that we know in our souls, and it offers us a window to imagine and understand diverse ways of living, seeing, and being in our world.”
Originally from Switzerland, Christine studied Visual Arts and Art History in Geneva. Since arriving in Ireland, many moons ago, she has worked in the field of Special Education and Autism with a particular interest in facilitating arts and creative activities. After completing a degree in Early Childhood Education, she questioned the role that creativity plays in human development. With this vision, she found herself felting her way into the visual and design world.
“Wherever my eyes wander and play, I follow. Marvelling at patterns, I like to explore the underlying framework of all things. I am fascinated by the transformation of airy fibre into shapes, revealing geometric markings, with light and shadows playing their part. Smooth felted edges create harmonious lines and blends of colour emerge softly, adding to the understanding of the piece.
Free falling ‘Into the Matrix’ of my own creative experience, I made a series of pieces that tempted fresh boundaries. Upon self-reflection, my aim was to link natural patterns and ways to follow the fibre of my intuition, directing myself towards a space of effortless creativity that I remember having as a child.”
Nessa is an Irish artist living and working in County Wicklow. Having worked in the IT industry for many years, she returned to college as a mature student in 2015 and studied Visual Art at the National College of Art and Design, Ireland. Over the past 10 years she studied and worked with screen printed and sculptural fibre art which inform the layers and textures in her paintings.
“Vibrant abstract paintings that celebrate colour and simplicity in composition, combined with a deep connection to intricate patterns, form the basis of my work.
My paintings begin with colour investigations, usually derived from sketchbook studies and evolve intuitively through play, and a considered response to emerging layers of hand printed marks, spontaneous drawing and textured paint surfaces. I strive to keep an energy and freshness going throughout the process by working in a series of paintings, taking risks, moving quickly from one to the next interpreting and responding to what each one is telling me.
I have discovered a sense of place and a deep connection with beauty in the intricate details observed in my environment: in particular, communities of abundant thriving life forms in nature, their connectivity and constant renewal.
Indigenous global cultures have embraced this deep wisdom in the natural world and offer inspiration through symbols and vivid colours found in their textiles. My current body of work is an exploration and celebration of the beauty evident in their daily rituals.”
Fabienne grew up in western France. The daughter of a dressmaker, she was drawn early on to the process of creation. After working in software localization for many years, she studied, graduated and worked as an Interior Architect. This experience reinforced her belief in the value of simple forms and that materials awake our senses, evoking memories. She also studied Visual Art Practice in NCAD, where she won a prize in Embroidery. Her art is inspired by observations of her surroundings, an experience or a moment in time. Using printmaking and thread work, her work evolved towards abstraction, influenced by cubism and the Bauhaus movement. Fabienne has now taken a more experimental approach to her work by making and using natural and plant-based materials.
“How I perceive my surroundings, and what engages my senses, drive what I do. I seek to capture a shape, an outline, an element and build upon this. By expressing myself, I can find a balance between a sense of order and the unexpected. My process can start with a mark, a colour, a material or a series of experiments. I use printmaking and thread work to construct simple forms in wall art and sculptural pieces. I make my own colours using plants which I turn into a natural print paste, dye or ink. Having a direct link with the raw material is fundamental to my creative process.
Into the Matrix evokes the idea of repeated forms and actions, as seen all around us. For this exhibition I explore the relationship between repetition, pattern and space and how it impacts us. Based on my observations of the San Francisco city scape, this body of work looks at how materiality and repetition define our environment. I interact and move through the city where space, form and place meet.
All my pieces in this exhibition include natural dyes, pigments or inks made either from my garden plants, local flora foraged in Wicklow and during my journeys in France, or from food and plant waste.”
Here is a fantastic opportunity to expand and enrich your feltmaking experience. We are delighted to host a Masterclass workshop led by inspirational Felt artist and textile designer Charlotte Sehmisch. Come and sculpt with felt and create beautiful cellular structures. Charlotte’s three dimensional surfaces and geometric shapes evolve into twisting organic forms, expressing her unique vision and innovative approach to the art of feltmaking.
This masterclass will introduce a variety of 3D surface techniques representing felt structures. During this 3 day workshop, participant can either make small samples of these different surface techniques or one project using one technique.
The materials for the workshop is not included in the cost of the workshop. You can bring your own wool (detailed list will be available later) and wool will be available for purchase as well at the workshop.
This 3 days’ workshop costs €150 for Feltmakers Ireland members and €180 for non members. As our guild exist mainly to support our members, places are allocated by lottery among members first. Any remaining places are then allocated by a second lottery among non -member applicants.
The workshop will be held in Kilruddery House and Gardens (Bray, Co. Wicklow) starting Friday June 10 until Sunday June 12. Time: 10:00 to 5:00 pm.
Feltmakers Ireland 