Feltmakers Ireland Member Caóilfíonn Murphy O’Hanlon is part of a group exhibition, ‘Flourish’, at the Bridge Street Studios in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Caóilfíonn, who you may know as Cushla of Gullion via her business name, works out of studio space at Bridge Street Studios. The Studios are a thriving hub of art, design and craft, which houses eight artist workspaces, classroom space for hands-on workshops, and a gallery and shop open to the public each Saturday.
The exhibition runs through Saturday, the 23rd of September.
In association with Cork Craft Month, the Lavit Gallery presents ‘Into the Weave‘, a group exhibition of artwork that utilises or references the medium of textiles. Represented are artists and makers for whom textiles are the sole material, artists for whom the medium is a new departure or a diversification, and those for whom fabrics are a recurring theme or subject.
Feltmakers Ireland member Leiko Uchiyama has several pieces in the show.
Exhibiting artists include Laura Angell, George Bolster, Ceadogán Rugs (designs by Deirdre Breen and Shane O’Driscoll), Myra Jago, Allyson Keehan, Richard Malone, Evelyn Montague, Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Helen O’Shea, Caroline Schofield, Margo Selby, Matt Smith, and Jennifer Trouton.
This year, applicants were invited to respond to the theme of ‘Pathways’, whether this was interpreted as a series of connections, reflections of travels or environment, experiences or actions, a personal journey or a journey in making.
Adam Frew, Adele Pound, Anne Butler, Elizabeth Johnston, Fiona Kerr, Heather McFadden, Irene McBride, Karen Hamilton, Karena Ryan, Lauren Scott, Maya Todd, Neil Marlow, Patricia Kelly, Patricia Millar, Patrick Colhoun, Pennie Metcalfe, Red Earth Designs, Sam Gleeson, Samantha Moore, Sandra Robinson, Sarah Cathers, Scott Benefield, Shauna McCann, Sue Cathcart, Tamzen Lundy Designs, and Tracey Johnston.
The exhibition runs from the 3rd of August to the 15th.
The Craft NI gallery on Royal Avenue, Belfast, launches a new exhibition this month as part of August Craft Month, an all-island promotion of craft and design.
Exhibition: Tamzen Lundy has art in ‘Pathways’
The Craft NI gallery on Royal Avenue, Belfast, launches a new exhibition this month as part of August Craft Month, an all-island promotion of craft and design.
The exhibition is entitled “Pathways” and runs from the 3rd of August through the 15th.
Tamzen Lundy (previous chairperson of Feltmakers Ireland and now full-time practising textile artist and teacher) has a very personal piece selected for this month-long exhibition.
Her piece is called “Extinguished”. This piece represents the number of children, minors and young people that were killed during “The Troubles “in Northern Ireland. Innocent lives quickly extinguished.
Each life is represented by a lit match, burned bright but short. The ground fabric is wet felted 100% wool, representing the earth and land. Then all is encased between this wool and a shroud of lightweight silk chiffon, representing the ethereal, precious and fragile life and beyond.
The matches are connected by a red linen thread, each knotted and linked together. “The Red Thread that Connects” is an Eastern concept of connectedness, pathway or destiny.
The piece is 85cm x 85cm (Wool, Silk Chiffon, Linen and Wooden Matchsticks).
The work is also supported by a video piece showing the lighting, burning, and the extinguished matches as they pile up over time.
Tamzen was born in Belfast in the late 70’s, and this sense of place often informs her work.
Previous pieces, such as “The Ballymurphy Precedent”, have been shown with Feltmakers Ireland as part of their international exhibition in Finland in 2018. More recently, her sculptural piece “Bridges not Bombs” was shown in Phoenix Park in 2022.
Tamzen is a textile professional with 25+ years’ of experience. She has worked on all sides of fashion retail, design and manufacturing. Since 2020 she has focused her time on her own arts practice, describing herself as a felt maker and textile artist.
Her commercial work is playful and inspired by stories and the Irish landscape; this is sold in several small independent retailers across our Island as well as direct.
More information about Tamzen, as well as workshop dates, can be found on her website – www.tamzenlundydesigns.ie
Poster for ‘Wonderful WOOL’ with a piece by Hélène Dooley.
This exhibition shows the versatility of wool, a wonderful natural product which can be felted wet or dry. A variety of wools have been used in the various exhibits – combined in different ways with other materials such as silk, viscose and cotton. There are 3D objects, hangings, pictures and wearable pieces such as hats, scarves and coats.
Cutting the ribbon. Left to right, back row – Shelley Steele, Jane Fox, Ann McCullough, and Gail Cooke. Front row – Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna (Mayor of Larne) and Anne Bennett. The Mayor is wearing a shawl made by Shelley, purchased at Shelley’s 2019 exhibition.
The exhibition features work by 15 members of the Association – Anne Bennett, Annika Berglund, Nicola Brown, Niki Collier, Gail Cooke, Hélène Dooley, Noelle Ferris, Jane Fox, Juliane Gorman, Ann McCullough, Laura Moffett, Jacki Sleator, Shelley Steele, Astrid Tromp-Hofman, and Leiko Uchiyama.
Jane Fox is pictured with one of her pieces from the display, “Woodsman and Dog”.
Visitors have said:
“Amazing talent and fabulous exhibition.”
“Just wonderful!”
“Beautiful!”
Anne Bennett with her ‘Spring Hug Shawl”.
All the exhibits have been created by members of Region 14 of the International Feltmakers Association. Our members come from across the island of Ireland, including feltmakers of international renown and those just starting their creative journey.
Shelley Steele with two of her pieces.
The exhibition is open to the public from Friday the 7th until Thursday the 27th of July and includes Saturday opening on the 22nd of July.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10.00am – 4.00pm.
‘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.”
The Galway Wool Co-op is holding an art exhibition on the 22nd of July at their annual Meitheal in Althenry, Galway.
They invite artists, designers, and crafters in Ireland to engage with the themes and concepts that connect the Galway Sheep breed to the Irish landscape. The Co-op aims to creatively enrich the knowledge of Ireland’s authentic sheep breed with a wider audience.
Submissions are now open. Collaborative pieces are welcome. You will be able to sell your work – there’s no commission fee.
To participate, please DM via Instagram* @michellehickeyart by midnight 31st of May. She will email you the details.
Where to get Galway Wool? This Irish-raised wool fibre can be obtained from Donegal Yarns. It is 7.50 euro, per kilo. If that is too large an amount, perhaps folks can pool together? To purchase, call Donegal Yarns at +353 (0)749738055
*If you are ~not~ on Instagram, please email Feltmakers Ireland member Juliane for further info.
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.)
Feltmakers Ireland are pleased to share that committee member Annika Berglund will be showing some new work in the winter group show at the Olivier Cornet Gallery (facebook.com) in Dublin. The title of the exhibition is “On Paper” and it is co-curated with Jackie Ryan. The show can be viewed virtually or you can make an appointment to go and see it in the gallery.
Annika’s pieces were made especially for this exhibition.
“A Year of Circles and Edges I and II: made of Wool, silk, mulberry paper, cotton and jute thread and recycled wood.
A Year of Circles: made of Wood and Wool, but inspired by the ancient Korean paper technique called Joomchi.
Our member Leiko Uchiyama is taking part in an upcoming Exhibition- entitled Borris Connections.
Last year Leiko gave a workshop together with Felt makers Ireland, it was well attended, lots was learnt, and everyone went away with a new piece of work and new techniques. We even had some of these displayed at our Knit & Stitch Stand in Nov 2019, which drew lots of admiration.
Leiko’s work is stunning and the other artists showing their work are sure to be of a high standard.
Please #supportartists #artistsgonnamake but they need your support more than ever. Go along to the exhibition, be inspired, share, and spread the word. Support each other.
9th July- 30th August, The Granary, Borris, Co. Carlow…
Please send us a review if you attend, we will publish photos and help spread the love.
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