Dublin – Page 5 – Feltmakers Ireland

Artists’ Talk: This Wednesday – Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin

Published on Jun 6, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

‘Arbour Essences in Anthropocene Dublin – Four New Visions for our Urban Forests’, a group show running at the Olivier Cornet Gallery until 30 June 2023.

Artists: Annika Berglund, Hugh Cummins, Eoin Mac Lochlainn and Yanny Petters, with a small selection of works by Belvedere College’s art students.

The exhibition is sponsored by Coillte Nature and is also complemented by an outdoor ‘pocket’ urban forest installation in collaboration with Simon O’Donnell from the Urban Farm project at Belvedere College.

Artists’ Talk

Author and writer Paddy Woodworth co-curated this exhibition and will chair a panel talk with the four artists at 6:30pm on Wednesday, 7 June 2023, at Olivier Cornet Gallery, 3 Great Denmark Street, Dublin.

You are invited to attend this free event, but booking is advised as seats are limited. Please email info@oliviercornetgallery.com or phone/text 087 288 7261 to book your seat.

“It’s been exceptionally exciting, stimulating – and humbling — to assist, however indirectly, in the development of an exhibition by four artists as talented and as responsive to environmental issues as Annika Berglund, Hugh Cummins, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, and Yanny Petters, with a co-curator as generous, insightful and experienced as Olivier Cornet.
And, after many months of periodic discussions around the theme of urban trees, it’s been a breath-taking pleasure to walk into Olivier’s gallery and see such beautiful, poignant and sensitive work on the walls. Annika’s magical evocation of the unseen wood-wide web that sustains trees from beneath our feet, Hugh’s delicate use of wood itself as a material for subtly allusive art, Eoin’s heartfelt, heart-breaking elegies for individual trees loved and lost, and Yanny’s innovative and exquisite celebration of trees in Dublin’s historical topography – all engage us intimately with the role of trees in making our cities more liveable, healthier, happier spaces. And they all hint at the catastrophe we are inviting by tearing the interconnected fabric of life to breaking point.
It was an added delight to see the loving sketches of Katy apple trees by Belvedere College students, adding a dimension to the show that is both youthful, and rooted in the gallery’s location on the college’s property. And the installation of birch trees and ferns in the basement frontage showed visitors to the gallery how nature can bring vivid life to neglected city spaces.
In our panel discussion with the artists, we will discuss their practices and techniques and reflect on the relationship between art and environment, and how this relationship can enhance environmental awareness, without losing artistic integrity. I look forward to it very much.”
Paddy Woodworth

For more information about the show and the artists, please visit https://www.oliviercornetgallery.com/arbour-essences-in-anthropocene-dublin

Recap: Second Day at Bloom

Published on Jun 4, 2023Jun 4, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

We had a perfect day at BLOOM yesterday!

As usual, we parked miles away from our stand in the DCCI’s Irish Craft Village, which was right in the middle of the festival. But thanks to Marian for lending a special, large-wheel cart, we only had one journey from the car.

The ladies who did the morning session finished in time for us to set up for our stint from 2-5 PM. Feltmakers Ireland committee head, Deirdre Carroll, is an amazing helper! She put up my many poster samples of Nuno Felting on the walls – that was the topic for my demonstration!

I chose to create a beret as I had a few of them to show off, and besides, our table layout area was small. I brought a few wraps to show as there were two mannikins. In addition, Juliane’s hats, our book sales section, and the number of us there occupied much of the allotted area.

Seeing some visitors purchase our book – ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’ was gratifying, and there was huge interest in what Adrienne and I were making.

Annika Berglund discussing Irish Wool for Feltmaking.

Adrienne made small flowers— perfect for the space. She was a genius at luring in the children, when their mums or dads were interested in what I was doing. She had an amazing quiet way of getting the kids to join in by inviting them to add their favourite colours and manipulate the fibres into felt. They loved it! Future Feltmakers in the making!

Adrienne Dempsey demonstrated feltmaking with some children.

Somewhere along the way, I realised I had left my lovely cut-out Margilan silk beret circles at home on my kitchen table, so Nuno was not to be, but a wool-only beret! I gradually laid out the fibre, chatting away to the visitors, slowly wet it down, still chatting! Added Tussah silk for embellishment, while answering questions and explaining the process, each time to new groups. I turned it over and slowly laid the reverse side, explaining all about resists.

The very interested visitors came from everywhere! At least three or four groups were from Newry, Antrim, and Belfast. Another group from Tralee made it a two-day trip to Dublin. Many were from Louth, Kildare, and the Midlands. I was quite surprised and delighted to find younger people, often couples, with the gentleman just as interested in the process as the lady.

I spoke to many about our research project —our book— but personally didn’t manage any sales!

After a solid three hours in the heat and the crowds, I was tired but very happy with how the day went.

While dismantling the stand from Feltmakers in preparation for the next Guild tomorrow (The Irish Patchwork Society), I had a great chat with Catherine Gray, the DCCI’s coordinator at BLOOM. She and I share the same love for our Roscommon/Leitrim haven and even share some friends and acquaintances. Her textile landscapes are displayed at the Leitrim Design House in Carrick-On-Shannon, which I regularly visit. She is a most supportive DCCI person!

Thank you, Feltmakers Ireland, for accepting the invitation and giving us this great exposure to the broader public. Hopefully, we may get more members out of it.

Particular thanks to Deirdre Carroll, Adrienne Dempsey, Juliane Gorman, Annika Berglund, and Deirdre Crofts, who made this a special day

Clare Brophy
June2023

Editor’s note: Thank you also to the following Feltmakers Ireland members who volunteered at other shifts on our rota: Elaine Peden, Lorna Cady, Marian Fagen, Tamzen Lundy, Claire Merry, Marie Dunne, and Fiona Leech.

A Gallery of photographs of almost all of the members who volunteered during our two days at Bloom.

Photographs by Juliane Gorman

Exhibition: Arbour Essences in Anthropocene Dublin

Published on May 10, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

Four new Visions for our Urban Forests: a group show with four artists at Olivier Cornet Gallery.

Artists: Annika Berglund, Hugh Cummins, Eoin Mac Lochlainn and Yanny Petters, with a small selection of works by Belvedere College’s art students. Note: Annika is a member of Feltmakers Ireland.

Official opening: Sunday, 14 May 2023, 2:30 PM.

Guest speaker: Pádraic Fogarty, ecologist and environmental scientist.

The show will run until 30 June 2023.

For more information, see the website.

Recap: 2023 February Sunday Session at CIE Social Club, The Works, Inchicore (Irish Wool Edition)

Published on Feb 23, 2023Apr 12, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

Clodagh McDonagh writes the blog about our February Sunday session. Thank you, Clodagh!

There was a great turnout on the first Sunday Session of 2023 , on 12^th February, for a very busy `hands on` double session with Annika Berglund, and South African sheep and Alpaca breeder, Grant Bartholomew.

Many of you will have heard about FI’s project exploring the possibilities of sheep`s wool available to us here in Ireland. Annika is to be really commended for the hard slog that she and her wool project team has put in over the last two years studying ,learning and trialling many of the various indigenous and local sheep fleeces available here, with their particular properties, and possibilities. A book is in the works, full of useful information and practical tips, based on the wool group’s research, which will be released very shortly.

Annika had done lots of preparation for the session, she began by showing everyone some samples, pointing out the varieties of colours, tones, and textures of the different wools. All of the wool had been carefully washed, combed (carded) and weighed, and tied into 10gm bundles, with identifying labels.

Personally, I offered early on to help produce a few samples, however, easier said than done! The method of laying out the different breeds is completely different to using the very tame and biddable imported Merino wool `tops’ which leave its native Australia to be processed in China or Germany, Italy or the UK.

Annika had many tips for handling the fibre, including laying it down very finely on bubble wrap using a 20cm x 20cm paper template to help guide the process. Other tips included using a wooden dowel as a roller, using minimal water and even using liquid soap (or melted olive oil `bar` soap) on its own to help tame the rough fibres. To help speed up the process, there was a microwave on hand to heat the wool to encourage felting and even a sander too.

Annika encouraged everyone to have a go, and we were allowed to take the finished square home, or alternatively to cut them up and swap part of it with another participant. There was lots of comparing of notes between participants on their varying experiences, with plenty of ideas for future sessions.

Grant began the second part of the session by setting up his fleece sorting table, a metal framed table with an open metal gridwork top, and placed the raw sheep fleece on it to start the process of judging it to find the best parts before it was to be washed and processed.

Grant gave us a basic lesson in how to sort out the bad from the good, which bits to avoid, and even which fleeces to discard entirely if they had been badly shorn, (double cut), holding a staple length to show us, stretching it to see whether it would break, which would form lumps in the fibre if left in during the process. Some of the fleece might be discarded simply if it was too dirty or if it retained the colour of the farmers identifying marks, purple, for example, by using iodine liquid to stain the fleece. At times up to 20% might be lost on removing vegetation from the fleece, and washing can remove approximately 40% of the weight. It takes Grant approximately 20 minutes to sort each fleece, we were amazed at his speed, and many of us were shocked to see him discarding at least 30 or 40% of the whole amount.

According to Grant, the business of processing sheep and alpaca fleeces for a living can be very trying as there is a huge amount of legislation surrounding the industry, and obtaining a licence for washing fleeces commercially is practically impossible at the moment.

We will do further sessions using Irish wool when the book is published, so if you missed this session, there will be more chances to get hands-on using Irish wool.

Again, Thank you, Clodagh for this write-up!

Invitation to Exhibition in the Olivier Cornet Gallery

Published on Feb 15, 2023Mar 13, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

‘2012-2022, a decade of exhibitions at the Olivier Cornet Gallery’, an anniversary group show at the gallery this Winter

This show includes feltwork by our member Annika Berlund.

It is open till the 22nd of February.

15 December 2022 – 22 February 2023

‘2012-2022, a decade of exhibitions at the Olivier Cornet Gallery’

A Winter group show curated by Olivier Cornet and his interns Lisa Brero and Mary Rose Porter

with special thanks to our volunteers Genevieve Rust and Natalia Sikora.

Featuring work by Annika Berglund, Aisling Conroy, Hugh Cummins, Mary A. Fitzgerald, Jordi Forniés, Conrad Frankel, David Fox, Claire Halpin, Nickie Hayden, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Miriam McConnon, Seán Mulcahy, Sheila Naughton, Yanny Petters, Kelly Ratchford, Freda Rupp, Vicky Smith and Susanne Wawra

Launch of the show: Thursday 15 December, 6pm at the Olivier Cornet Gallery.

The gallerist will be in conversation with Mary Pavlides, Chairwoman of the Contemporary Irish Art Society (CIAS).

Availability of the show: Tuesdays to Sundays at the gallery.

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Rosemarie and Seán Mulcahy.

A slideshow featuring photos of key moments in the life of the gallery will also be viewable during the course of the exhibition.

Each work is accompanied by notes which you can read at the gallery, or here by clicking on ‘About the work’ below.

Due to popular demand, the show has been extended to run until the 22nd of February 2023 (instead of the 15th of February as announced initially).

The Olivier Cornet Gallery is delighted to present this anniversary exhibition

This year the Olivier Cornet Gallery celebrated 10 years in business. From its first gallery space in the Wooden Building in Temple Bar, through a tenure at 5 Cavendish Row, to its current location at 3 Great Denmark Street, the gallery has had the pleasure of hosting many solo and thematic art exhibitions. Its anniversary group show, ‘2012 – 2022, a decade of exhibitions at the Olivier Cornet Gallery’, will feature a selection of works by our currently represented artists and members of our AGA group. The show will also include work by two artists who have passed, namely the painter Seán Mulcahy (1926-2018) and the ceramicist Freda Rupp (1946-2019).

The exhibition proposes to show works that have marked important milestones in the life of the gallery and/or the career of the artists. Some stand out group exhibitions, referenced in the show, would include ‘A Terrible Beauty’ (2014), ‘Hopscotch’ (2015), ‘2°C’ (2017), presented at the VUE Art Fairs (RHA Dublin) – and our annual Bloomsday exhibitions. Sometimes described as ‘intriguing’ or ‘innovative’, these exhibitions have often challenged our perception of contemporary art in Ireland.

Featuring works from solo exhibitions by established artists such as Claire Halpin, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Miriam McConnon and Yanny Petters, ‘2012-2022…’ will also reflect on the ways in which art can help us ask relevant questions, meditate on the state of affairs in the current epoch, empathize with -and relate to- each other and negotiate our way forward in these challenging times.

For this exhibition, the gallerist has invited his two current interns, namely Mary Rose Porter and Lisa Brero, to assist him in curating and documenting the works: Each piece indeed will be accompanied by a text -accessible through QR codes- providing some background information about the work.

Through this exhibition, visitors will also be able to see the many collaborations* the gallery has pursued over the years: guest speakers for the vernissages, guest co-curators, special collaborations such as the one with the art historian and story teller Jean Ryan, the many interventions from the world of the words: poets and organisations such as Fighting Words for instance, and the world of music through our events for Culture Night.

For the launch the gallery has invited Mary Pavlides, chairwoman of the Contemporary Irish Art Society, who will chat with Olivier about the OCG’s first decade and the works he chose for this exhibition. The exhibition will launch on the 15th of December 2022 and run until the 22nd of February 2023.

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Rosemarie and Seán Mulcahy.

Opportunity: Sculpture in Context 2023

Published on Feb 13, 2023Apr 12, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

Applications are now open for Sculpture in Context. This is a great opportunity to get your work seen by a large audience. Deadline for applications is 9th of April.

If you have questions around how to apply, come to one of our Sunday sessions with your questions. Somebody there will have participated before and should be able to help or know where to get more information.

(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 with the members.)

Some work by members from last year’s Sculpture in Context (2022):

From left top: Fiona Leech, Carmen Garcia, Annika Berglund

From bottom left: Ramona Farrelly, Juliane Gorman

Sculpture in Context 2023

We are delighted to announce that submissions are now open for the annual Sculpture in Context exhibition at the National Botanic Gardens.

Sculpture in Context is a pivotal event in the Irish arts calendar and the most important sculpture exhibition in the country. The annual exhibition attracts a large public and critical audience and is the highlight of the National Botanic Gardens calendar.

Sculpture in Context is a key event for both public and private buyers of all levels.

Open to all artists working in three dimensions in any medium. Proposals may be durable or time-based artworks, including performance or video.

HOW TO SUBMIT

All Submissions must be made online through our website www.sculptureincontext.ie

You will be required to include –

2 high res images or drawings for each proposed work in JPG format. (If you are photographing work with your mobile please ensure that you have selected a hi-res setting)

Description of each piece to include materials used, dimensions in CM, proposed method of installation and edition nos if applicable. (Max 100 words)

Statement about your piece and/or your artistic practice. (Max 75 words)

2 images of previous work in JPG format

Submission fee of €16 per entry payable online (maximum of 3 entries)

There is a 1€ increase per entry to cover online payment costs

Important Dates- Sculpture in Context 2023

Exhibition Dates – Thursday 6th Sept to Friday 13th Oct

Submission Deadline – Sunday 9th April

Artists Notified – MAY

EXHIBITION INSTALLATION

Outdoor, Glasshouse Installation and Gallery Drop off– Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st from 5-8pm

EXHIBITION OPENING – Wednesday 5th September

EXHIBITION TAKE-DOWN

Gallery collection & Outdoor and Glasshouse work that does NOT need machinery or vehicular access Saturday 14th 10.30am- 4pm

Outdoor and Glasshouse work that requires machinery and or vehicular access

Monday 16th October 7am -10am.

Irish Wool is the Theme for our next Sunday Session, February 12th, at the CIE Sports and Social Club at Inchicore at 10:30 – 12:30

Published on Feb 8, 2023Apr 21, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

As many of you know, we have been working on a project around using wool from local sheep. We are nearly finished and are currently putting the finishing touches on the book where we will share all our results as well as information about how to source, wash and dye your own wool. As part of this theme, our upcoming Sunday session will let you have a look at raw fleece and how to skirt and pick it to prepare for washing.

We will also be exploring different Irish fleeces that Annika and her Wool Project team have been trialling. We will work on a 2D or 3D sample using a range of breeds and discuss and swap our results. It should be a hugely informative session especially for those ( like me) who tend to stick to what we know!

We would need to bring our usual felt making equipment, soap, sprayer, roller, bubble wrap, plastic bag and perhaps 2 towels, big and small (some fleeces can require a lot of water)
We will have some extras in case there are any beginners or you forget something. So don’t worry.

Hope some of you can make it.

March 5th is the date for our Basic and Beyond workshop at the same venue. It is a full day. This is just an initial heads up with basic information to whet your appetite. More details will follow soon.

Annika will be the leader for this course but there will also be plenty of assistants on hand.
We will be making a double walled vessel with lace effect and Tencel fibre decoration. It is suitable for beginners and improvers. The skills are…. Basic wet felting…. Felting around a resist….. Shading using black and white layers…. Lace technique…. Double walled vessel with decoration on inside…. and shaping while wet.
There will be lots of help so feeling a little intimated shouldn’t stop you from having a go if you are a beginner.
Materials will be provided.

That’s it for now. Hope to see some of you soon. I will have membership forms on the 12th for those who’d like to sign up.

All the best,
Fiona and the committee.

Feltmaking at The RDS Showcase 2023

Published on Feb 4, 2023Mar 14, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

Even though Feltmakers Ireland was not invited to demonstrate at Showcase this year, there was felt to be seen courtesy of two of our members.

Caóilfíonn Murphy-O’Hanlon showing wool paintings of landscapes and items with prints of her work.

http://www.cushlaofgullion.com

and Juliane Gorman of http://www.felthappiness.com was there showing her fabulous hats.

And just for your information, here are the news from Showcase in the DCCI GANS newsletter:

I hope this newsletter finds you well. January was a busy month with Showcase – Ireland’s International Creative Expo® returning to the RDS, Dublin on Sunday 22^ndto Tuesday 24^th of January. Showcase offered 385 exhibitors an opportunity to exhibit their collections to approx 4000 visitors from 27 countries.

We were delighted to see the much anticipated Showcase Awards taking place on the opening day of the fair. We were excited to see that the winner of the overall best product award was metal artist, Tom King from An Gobha, whose iron cross was created in celebration of St. Brigid.

The St. Brigid’s Cross was created as a work of metal art based around the traditional cross, with depth and with colour, to mark Ireland’s new national holiday celebrating the country’s first female patron St. Brigid.

Other crafts people at Showcase celebrating St. Brigid’s were Patricia O’Flaherty, Naomh Padraig Handcrafts, from Roscommon, you can see her beautiful St. Brigid’s rush work crosses on www.naomhpadraighandcrafts.com. Jennifer Rothwell Designs also had a beautiful collection of fashion items inspired by St. Brigid www.jenniferrothwell.com

As the first Irish public holiday named after a woman, St. Brigid’s Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate the role that women have played in Irish history, culture, creativity and society.

The Design & Crafts Council Ireland Academy (DCCIA) was launched as part of the Talk Stage programme at Showcase. DCCIA is an international specialised academy for education and training to the craft sector and will offer a series of apprenticeships. DCCIA welcomes everyone from design and craft beginners to established professionals. The launch was delivered by MaryJo Hoyne, Head of Craft & Education at DCCI and Maria Couchman, Senior Craft & Education Manager at DCCI. www.dcci.ie/academy

Showcase 2023 saw a continuation of the popular Talks Stage that hosted a variety of industry talks and expert panel discussions, you can view some of the events that took place over the three days of Showcase here.

The Dancehall (Fashion & Design) – was a new and exciting fusion of Showcase fashion and design with music and dance. To view the performance of The Dancehall event from the opening day of Showcase 2023 click here.

Last few days of Feltmakers Ireland’s 2022 Exhibition in Phoenix Park’s Visitors Centre

Published on Dec 18, 2022Aug 12, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland

Our exhibition ‘Building Bridges’ stays open until 4 o clock, Thursday the 22nd of December. There is usually ample parking and a very nice coffee shop. They have bands playing in the courtyard most days.

Pictures are included below for those of you who cannot make it.

Hope to see you there!

Feltmakers Ireland and Leiko on Nationwide 14/12/2022

Published on Dec 15, 2022Mar 13, 2023 by Feltmakers Ireland1 Comment

Dear members. Nationwide last night featured Feltmakers Ireland’s November Sunday Session and maker Leiko Uchiyama. We are sorry we could not tell you in advance as we had not been told it would be on last night.

It can be watched online on the RTE player https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH000412895 for at least the next 30 days.

The choice of what to include in the programme was entirely up to the RTE crew but we feel it gave a positive picture of felting and Feltmakers Ireland.

Congratulations to Leiko! That was a lovely segment about your work.