The Cork Textiles Network‘s (CTN) spring exhibition theme is Aistear, the Irish word for a journey of experience. The exhibition includes a wide and varied selection of textile and fabric disciplines from appliqué, felting, weaving, embroidery, batik, and mixed media.
Several of Feltmakers Ireland members belong to the CTN and have artwork in the exhibition, including Maggie McCartney (whose work is on the poster), Cara Shank, Karima Rebecca Powell, and Emily Thompson.
The show also showcases a large collaborative project that CTN members undertook last year: a large wall hanging featuring the work of 36 artists who responded to a specific brief to create a piece of art that resonates with imagination, creativity and skill.
When: The show runs through Tuesday, the 29th of April.
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The opening of ‘Ashes to Fashion‘ has been eagerly anticipated as a landmark cultural moment for Northern Ireland, commemorating 50 years since the devastating 1976 Malone House fire that destroyed almost the entire museum’s original fashion and textile collection. After years of research, curation, and acquisition, a new collection is now on display, comprising around 6,000 objects, with 140 on display, including accessories.
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Feltmakers Ireland’s ‘Water and Flow’ exhibition was officially launched on Saturday, 4th April at 3 PM in the beautiful gallery of the OPW’s Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. The event was opened by knitwear designer Conor O’Brien, who shared insights into his creative journey, from studying at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) to discovering Aran knitting through a college assignment, with guidance from his grandmother. He also spoke about his strong support for using Irish-raised wool in his work, highlighting the importance of local materials and heritage in contemporary design. Learn more about Conor from his website- https://conorobrienstudio.com/
The exhibition features 67 striking pieces of felted artwork, showcasing the breadth and creativity of contemporary feltmaking. The opening was very well attended, with approximately 140 people present to celebrate the occasion. Since the launch, several works have been purchased by visitors.
‘Water and Flow‘ will continue to run until Sunday, 26th April, offering further opportunities to experience this vibrant and engaging exhibition.
Some Photos of the Launch
Photos courtesy of Tom Macagno, Loli Cox, and members’ contributions.
Conor O’Brien and some of the committee saying, ‘Wool’Loli Cox introducing Conor O’BrienConor and Loli CoxFounder Elizabeth Bonnar and Juliane GormanSiobhán Healy Ryan and Elizabeth Redding setting up the refreshmentsClaire Merry and her husband PhilThe gallery was full of visitorsConor O’Brien speakingPeople chattingVisitors listeningMore people at the launchThe only photo of Sam Fagan, our Treasurer, wearing her Foxford Blanket Jacket
The Gallery
Artists with their Artwork
Last year, in the blog post about our ‘Common Threads’ exhibition at the National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny, we included a section featuring members alongside their pieces. As this is an engaging feature, we hope to get a photo of each member in the show.
If we overlooked you at the opening, or you have yet to visit, can you please take a photo of yourself next to your piece and email it to the following address: feltmakerIE@gmail.com
Thank you to everyone who helped make this exhibition such a success.
Many thanks to Conor O’Brien for launching the exhibition with his interesting talk, to our members for contributing their fantastic artwork, and to Annika Berglund and Fiona Leech for displaying everything so beautifully. Additionally, we would like to thank Loli Cox for introducing our guest speaker. We’re also very grateful to the committee members for organising and setting up the lovely refreshments. Finally, we want to thank the OPW Phoenix Park Visitor Centre for again inviting us to use their stunning gallery for our annual exhibition.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Feltmakers Ireland is delighted to present ‘Water and Flow’, a vibrant group exhibition featuring the contemporary artwork of 68 members. This showcase explores the many interpretations of water through the rich and versatile medium of felt.
From gentle streams to powerful oceans, ‘Water and Flow‘ explores the many moods of water: its energy and stillness, its capacity for renewal, and its connection to human emotion, from sorrow to joy.
Using fibres ranging from imported Merino wool to locally sourced Irish fleece, members have created a diverse body of work that highlights both traditional and contemporary felting practices. Featuring an array of textile techniques, including wet felting and needle felting, guild members have created three-dimensional sculptures, wall art, and wearable pieces, each offering a unique perspective on the theme, reflecting the creativity and individuality of the artists involved.
The Opening
The exhibition will be officially launched by knitwear designer Conor O’Brien on Saturday, 4 April at 3 PM.
Where and When
The exhibition is at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre Gallery and runs from Thursday, the 2nd of April, to Sunday, the 26th of April. The hours are 9:30 AM to 5 PM, daily, with the exhibition closing on its final day at 3 PM.
The gallery is conveniently accessible by Dublin Bus number 99 and is located within the historic Phoenix Park. There is ample parking near the Centre.
We warmly invite you to join us for the opening or visit throughout the month to experience this dynamic and engaging exhibition celebrating feltmaking in Ireland.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
The exhibition ‘Dressing Dublin: Made in Blackrock‘ explores the former local textile industry, the people who worked in it and how it was influenced by national and international economic forces. The project showcases the small area around Brookfield Terrace and Carysfort Avenue in Blackrock, County Dublin, which produced, until the 1980s, locally made textiles, hosiery, shirts, workwear, and much more.
The exhibition runs through Monday, the 9th of March.
If you cannot make it to the exhibition, you can learn more through Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@DLRofficial
There is a 30-minute film, an audio tour and an extended interview hosted by fashion historian, Laura Fitzachary.
The 22-minute film has interviews with former employees, Liam Dodd and Christine Fitzachary, which captures this history before this part of our local heritage disappears. Through these conversations, we can also review the current state of the clothing industry in Ireland today.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
As part of Made in Wicklow’s ‘For the Love of Creativity’ series, Claire Garvey presents ‘From Canvas to Cloth’, an exhibition featuring 15 bespoke, hand-crafted, and hand-beaded pieces of wearable art. Each garment is inspired by one of Claire’s ten favourite paintings, with influences ranging from the bold strokes of Van Gogh and Miro to the intricate worlds of Botticelli and HR Giger.
Claire Garvey is a bespoke designer with a couture shop in the heart of Temple Bar, on Cow’s Lane, Dublin. She has designed for the Oscars, the Emmys, the X-Factor, and the Cannes Film Festival. She specialises in one-off outfits for musicians and celebrities and is a celebrated advocate for ‘slow fashion’ and sustainability, hand-making every piece in her workshop with a focus on recycled trims and exquisite craftsmanship.
When: The show runs through Sunday, 1st March, 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Free entry.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
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The Association of Textile Artists of Slovakia invites artists to participate in its 24th annual international juried exhibition of textile miniatures. There is a size limitation of 20 by 20 by 20 cm.
The theme of the exhibition is EMPATHY.
From the organisers:
“Empathy is an apparently natural human feeling – the ability to perceive another person in our surroundings and to enter into their experience of joyful as well as complex, even tragic, situations.
Empathy is not a given.
It does not arise automatically simply because we share the same space or follow the same news. It is a fragile state of attentiveness – the ability to momentarily withdraw from one’s own world and allow oneself to be affected by the experience of another. Without the need to judge, correct, or seek solutions.
At a time when suffering becomes a distant image and reality is reduced to rapid information, empathy slows us down. It compels us to stay. With a gaze, with a gesture, with silence. It is neither loud nor spectacular. It is inconspicuous, and precisely for that reason vulnerable. It requires the courage to remain open even where it would be easier to look away.”
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Textile groupElement15‘s ‘ROOTS: An Exhibition of Textile Art and Poetry’ is now showing at Green Acres Gallery, Co Wexford.
The show features the group’s artwork and the poetry of Jane Clarke.
Element15 is a collective based in Co Kildare. Individual artists develop their own practice in tandem with each other, distinct but connected. Element15’s exhibition, ‘ROOTS‘, is inspired by the work of Co Wicklow-based poet Jane Clarke.
Elaine Peden and Marie Dunne, members of the Feltmakers Ireland guild, are part of the Element15 and have pieces in the exhibition.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Poster from the exhibitionKarena with some of her work
Feltmakers Ireland guild member Karena Ryan has a solo exhibition, ‘Inherited Threads’, at The Leitrim Design House.
Karena’s collection of textile work interlaces together ancestry, memory, and the quiet connections that bind us to the land and to one another. Rooted in stories passed down through generations, her pieces reimagine fragments of the past through fibre, stitch, and texture, serving as acts of remembrance held within cloth.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.