‘The Fibre of Our Being‘ is a series of events exploring contemporary textiles which draw on tradition to reinvigorate their process. It will encompass an exhibition of the same title displaying a wide variety of contemporary Irish Textiles and two full weekends of events and workshops that will allow people to learn techniques in dyeing and crafting with textiles.
The highlight will be a day with talks and displays about the source of our fibres and Irish wool production, with displays from small businesses looking to find new ways to use our indigenous materials sustainably. We will finish with an alternative fashion show in the lively cultural hub of Levis Bar in Ballydehob, Co. Cork.
The event runs from the 12th through the 10th of September.
On Sunday the 27th, there is a talk about Irish Wool, including sheep breeds, processing, history and the need to bring back its value, by Fibreshed Ireland member Kit Christina Keawwantha and other panel guests. Booking is needed for this (and other) events.
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
Several members of Feltmakers Ireland have pieces in the Galway Wool Co-op‘s one-day exhibition, ‘A Meeting of Hands’. The show is part of the group’s Meithal.
Poster for ‘A Meeting of Hands’ Exhibition.
Some of the members purchased their washed Galway wool fleece from Donegal Yarns.
Annika Berglund
Annika Berglund’s ‘Connections’.
One member, Annika Berglund, made a felted wall panel which has protruding felt details using natural Galway Sheep Breed wool. This work, ‘Connections’, includes some black Merino for shading. It is a felted piece mounted over a wooden frame for hanging.
Another member, Juliane Gorman, made a felted top hat inspired by finishing James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ with her local library’s book group. In addition to Galway breed wool, her piece includes dark brown, Irish-raised Jacob wool.
Member Karena Ryan has several pieces on show, including ‘Bhean an Tire’ (Women of the Land). This piece features dried lavender, marigold and silks that have been wet felted into Galway raw wool with free-motion embroidery and Irish linen.
The other participants in the exhibition work in a variety of disciplines and include the following makers: Liadain Aiken, Shannon Byrnes, Malú Colorín, Katie Downes, Michelle Hickey, Ryan Daniel Koenig, Cathlin McKeon, Christine McNamara, Conor O’Brien, Niamh O’Connell, Adela Passas, Elina Plevako, and Olga Profutkina. Apologies if we have overlooked anyone.
Although ‘A Meeting of Hands’ exhibition is by invitation only, you can see a video of all 17 artists’ pieces on the Galway Wool Co-op’s Instagram page – https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu1BxijvikD/
Feltmakers Ireland 