RDS Christmas Craft fair 2014 - The Glass Edit

It’s all over now but I was delighted to get out to the RDS Craft Fair last weekend for both Christmas shopping and GSoI journalistic reasons. Maybe I was just more attentive but there seemed to be more glass on offer than there was the last year I attended in 2012.

Word amongst the stalls was generally quite positive, there seems to be more buyer confidence this Christmas than in recent years and  I was told by many that weekend was especially good for sales.

Here’s  the lowdown on all the lovely traders I had a chat with:  

First up was Terrence McSweeney from Kerry Crafted Glass. I had met Terry before once at NCAD and once at an RDS Craft fair from Christmases past - He's a yearly staple at this stage, generally to be  found in the main hall along the perimeter.  All of Kerry Crafted Glass is made using recycled glass and his priduct range covers, lamps, mirrors, all kind of table wear and decorative ornaments. 

Tara Crystal Chandeliers: Here again we see more of the former Waterford Crystal employees that are putting their long earned skills to use. Tara Crystal specialise in bespoke lighting and occasionally do other commissions such a trophies. All their woks uses traditional Irish lead crystal for brilliant clarity and optics. 

 

Jonathan Ball: Jonathan is an artist and craftsman who described himself to me as being 'into too many processes'. His primary materials are glass, metal and wood. Glass is the newest of his passions, having recently graduated from the glass programme at Edinburgh College of Art.  Amazingly Jonathan only set up his new glass studio in Leitrim this September and has managed to produce the huge quantity of work he had on show in a few short months. 

 

Catherine Keenan's stall had a beautiful display of her both her jewellery and her decorative sculptures. Her colourscape necklaces and matching earnings were doing particularly well and were also featured in The Gloss magazine last week. 

 

 Jerpoint Glass is another yearly staple at the RDS and was looking delicious always with a great variety of colourful vessels and also some decorative pieces. Jerpoint Glass is a family business in Kilkenny started by Keith and Kathleen in 1997 which now delivers to customers worldwide. The new Zest Collection pictured below, was particularly eye-catching.

I didn't get a chance to speak to Ruzica Ruane of Cadenza Glass Beads because she was too busy with customers which can only be a good thing but I think this was her first year at the RDS. Ruzica's lampworked beads create beautiful statement jewellery pieces and if you're interested in leanring some of her techniques she also offers workshops for small groups at her lovely custom built studio in Dun Laoghaire. 

Some more glass jewellery - kiln-formed this time - from Shards of Design . Based in Dundrum in Dublin and operated by Fergus Quearney, this company had lots of playful fused glass jewellery, decorative wall pictures and clocks.

I had a great chat with Richard Parish who's been working with fused glass for a number of years now from his studio in Edenderry, Co Offaly.Richard was mostly selling decorative Christmas pieces at the RDS but he also works to commission on architectural pieces and special awards. 

Some more glassy exhibitors I didnt have a chance to talk to were Agnes Preece Stained Glass Lamps, Celtic Heritage Kinsale and Rainbow Stained Glass. 

Well done to all the exhibitors and we hope you all had great successes from your time at the RDS. 

PS: Also on display over the 5 days were the award winning works from the RDS Craft Awards 2014 - Here's some photography that does them no justice, but it was great that so many people got the opportunity to see them - congratulations again Dennis and Sadhbh! 

Dennis Brown - calligraphy on glass, winner in both the RDS Glass and RDS Calligraphy categories 

Sadhbh Mowlds 'Into the witches eye' - winner of the GSoI award 2014

Written by Meadhbh McIlgorm
GSoI Media and Communications Officer 

The Irish Invasion - Pilchuck Session7, 2014

Fred Curtis and TA Conor in the Cold shop 

Glass. Rarely seen glass. Mother Teresa. Water/Waader/Wawsher. Hot Glass. Painting Party. Crown Jewels. Irish Glass. S’mores. Beer. The Pond. Falling into the Pond. Cold Glass. Volleyball. Cartwheel Races. Golden Apron. Laughing. Crying. Glass Music. The Bell. Hot Shop Party. Climbing Walls. Silent Auction. Crazy Hair. Glass. Glass. Glass. Pilchuck was something else. A week just wasn’t enough.

The cold shop on a beautiful day

Unlike other summer classes at Pilchuck, Session 7 was an open-studio session where students were free to work in all areas of the campus. This session attracted students of all levels and backgrounds many using the open studio experience as a chance to explore glass for the first time. A diverse and intriguing programme was on offer from instructors Róisín de Buitléar (hotshop), Fred Curtis (coldshop), Walter Lieberman (glass painting), Armelle Bouchet O’Neill (kilnforming) and Amber Cowan (flameshop).The enthusiasm of the students, the knowledge, skill and personalities of the instructors and the addition of inspirational live-wire Laura Donefer as the Artist in Residence into the mix resulted in the creation of some distinct, exciting, experimental art and enthralled students.

Fred with his TA's

This was my first time at Pilchuck and I was both delighted and nervous to be tasked with serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA) to the great Fred Curtis, Master Glass-Cutter from the Waterford Crystal Factory. I spent my time in Pilchuck’s fantastic cold shop, organising materials and equipment and attending to the students. Despite being a fellow Wexfordian, this was my first time meeting the famous Fred. My glassy adventure began at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, where I met Róisín, Fred and Antoine Brodin (one of Roisin’s TA's). The ground-breaking Caution Fragile! Exhibition was just about to come down. It was really great to witness such inspirational pieces of Irish Glass in such an important international venue. I was delighted to get the chance to see it before the end.

Fred Curtis getting out of his comfort zone in the Hotshop

 My day at the museum set the tone of the trip; I was already in awe of Fred, relaxed, laughing and surrounded by Irish artists. For such a small nation we were exceptionally well represented that session, to to the roll call there was: Róisín De Buitléar, Fred Curtis, Meadhbh McIlgorm, Aoife Soden, Andrea Spencer (English but now lives in Antrim so we're claiming her), Rozarii Lynch (Irish now living in Seattle) and myself - plus other honorary Irish (shout out to Conor McClellan Fred’s other TA, Irish in name)! It was great to see the appreciation that the students and staff, including the other instructors, showed towards us, with Fred being held in particularly high esteem. His reputation had definitely crossed the Atlantic with his demonstrations attracting the awe and complete attention of the audience. His cold shop grew in popularity throughout the week with students of all abilities getting their first experience of the infinite possibilities of cold glass.

A bunch of Irish people and some honorary one's half way around the world :) 

The week was a whirlwind - nonstop from start to finish. The campus was a real hive of activity with artist talks on all week when we weren’t making use of the world class facilities. Two talks of note were presented by our own Róisín De Buitléar and Fred Curtis. Róisín gave an excellent heartfelt presentation on the plight of Waterford Crystal and her work in response to this. Fred’s slide show took a different direction with a montage of some of his most famous and technically ingenious pieces. Its fair to say there were a few amazed expressions while Fred presided over the room.

Pilchuck Olympians Aoife Soden and Roisin de Buitleir

The old mantra of “work hard play hard” definitely rang true in the misty mountains of the Pacific Northwest. There was a real sense of fun about the entire week and this manifested itself in a number of interesting guises: From the tamer pursuit of hiking up the mountain to inspiration point - bottle of wine in tow and floating along the lake with fellow Irish TA Aoife Soden, to some more exuberant activities including an end of session hot shop party, dancing in the ‘Trojan Horse’ and the international athletic extravaganza that was the Pilchuck Olympics. With such a frantic week in the creative bubble of Pilchuck Fred, Aoife, Antoine and I eased ourselves back into the real world with a visit to the Dale Chihluly Gardens and Glass before leaving. A fantastic end to a truly ‘awesome’ week! ;)

At Chihuly Gardens, Seattle. 

End of adventure selfies

Written by Sinead Brennan 

Glass in the Gardens @Sculpture in Context 2014

Benjamin Just, 'Bonsai Model', Glass Wood Pvc, 20x40x10

Hard as it is to believe that a whole year has gone by since I told you about ‘GLASS GALORE @Sculpture in Context2013' - I’m delighted to say that we have done it again and glass art is once more making a big impression at Ireland’s largest and most prestigious annual outdoor sculpture event Sculpture in Context.

Madeleine Hellier, 'Jinny Joe, Jinny Joe Bring me back an Egg', Engraved Watch Faces

Gracing the gardens and glasshouses Dublin’s Botanical Gardens every September/October since 2002 this exhibition features over 150 pieces from both Irish and International artists.There is always fantastic variety with works in all mediums from both established and emerging artists. 

We have counted an amazing fifteen lovely pieces made with glass this year.

 Here's the list of their creators:  

Gwyn Grace, 'Bog Sundew Tentacles', Glass

Benjamin Just

Eva Kelly

Gwyn Grace

Lisa Sarsfield

Madeleine Hellier

Mags O'Dea

Margaret Tuffy 

Merce Canadell

Rose Sinclair-Doyle

Sadhbh Mowlds

Michelle Maher

Susan Cuffe

Rose Sinclair-Doyle, 'Past Whisper', Glass, 35x25x8

Margaret Tuffy, 'Small Breaths', Blown Glass

Continuing the theme of glassy excellence, I'm delighted to report that one of the three cash prizes for an Outdoor Work of Distinction in Any Medium’ was awarded to Merce Canadell, a final year student in the National College of Art and Design glass department, for her piece Embracing Water. Her cast glass piece is partly submerged in the water feature in one of the greenhouses where the running water makes the sculpture glisten and seem to come alive. (Though you should obviously try to see it in person – there is a great shot of it at the end of this short youtube video).

Merce Canadell, 'Embracing Water', Cast Glass, 150x40x35

Some returning stars from last year’s exhibition are recent NCAD graduates Gwyn Grace, Mag’s O’Dea (who was awarded a prize last year) and Sadhbh Mowlds (The GSoI Prize winner at the RDS awards this year). The NCAD students are ones to be watched in this exhibition for sure!

Sadhbh Mowlds, 'The Good People', Blown Enamelled Glass Wood

Mags O'Dea, 'Nurturing The Seed Within', Blown Glass, 10x10x26 

Another familiar face from last years show is Eva Kelly - whose mixed media piece 'Buried Treasure' features some very sweet cast glass dog bones. Well done also to Benjamin Just, who has not one but two glass pieces chosen for this years exhibition.

Benjamin Just, 'Tree Rings', Glass, 40x10x10

Eva Kelly, 'Buried Treasure', Cast Glass and Mixed Media, 25x19x10

Sculpture in Context 2014 at The National Botanical Gardens will run till 17 October 2014. Admission is free and it's a great visit for all the family to enjoy. Opening times are 9-5 weekdays and 10-6 weekends and bank holidays. Free tours of the exhibition every Tuesday 10.30am - 11.30am and every Saturday 3pm - 4pm. Full programme of all  the artists and works is available at reception. More details and contact info see their website. 

Lisa Sarsfield, 'Accumulate I', Acetate Silk Glass, 10x30x25

Written by Meadhbh McIlgorm

Photos by Eva Reddy 

RDS National Craft Awards 2014

This year the Glass Society of Ireland were proud to be able to sponsor a prize at the RDS National Craft Awards. The GSoI Ireland sponsored prize was €300 this year and was won by Sadhbh Mowlds a recent graduate of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Sadhbh's main interest is in blown glass and she is travelling to Berlin Glas EV this summer to hon her skills. We were delighted to be able to provide some support for this young artists to continue with her craft. Congratulation Sadhbh and we look forward to hearing how you get on in Berlin - keep in touch!

In the main glass category was awarded to Denis Brown (who also was awarded for his work in the calligraphy and lettering). His layered glass panels were created at his studio in Sandyford. For more information on Denis you can visit his website HERE 

We were also happy to see many familiar faces that got selected for the exhibition which will be open for the duration of the Horse Show and will then travel to this year's City of Culture, Limerick and will be on display at the Hunt Gallery. Those selected for the exhibition in the catagory of glass were: Rose Sinclair Doyle, Eva Kelly, Denis Brown, Sadhbh Mowlds and Mc Gonigle Glass Studio.

Eva Kelly with her beautiful
pate de verre collar

Rose Sinclair student at NCAD
entering her final year in 2014

We hope that next year we will see even more entries into the glass category!

For a full list of this years awards click HERE

Glassy Future Makers of 2014

This year’s Future Makers Competition has been a great success for Glass Society of Ireland members Karen Donnellan, Emma Bourke and Mags O’ Dea. The awards ceremony took place again this year in Fallon and Byrne’s function room in Dublin on June 11th. 

Karen received the Exhibitions Assistance support award, worth €800.  She plans to use this funding to assist with her solo show Resonance which will be held from August 9th to October 15th as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival.  Her work will be displayed next to Róisín De Buitlear’s at the National Craft Gallery and both exhibits will innovatively explore the sonic qualities of glass.

 Present Moment Reminder - Karen Donnellan

Emma Bourke, who is currently a GSoI board member, was awarded a substantial Residencies and Training award.  This €1000 support award will allow her travel to Sunderland to continue training with the scientific glass-workers who own and run Wearside Glass at the National Glass Centre.  We must also mention her success earlier this year in receiving the Golden Fleece Award with which she purchased two new kilns and renovated her home studio in Mayo.

Drop of Desire - Emma Bourke

Emma receiving her award

Mags O’Dea received a Materials Support award in the student category. Mags just completed her BA in Glass Design in the National College of Art and Design and this DCCoI assistance will be very helpful in kick-starting her career.  Her winning piece was from the same body of work that was displayed in NCAD’s Graduate exhibition held last week in the Thomas Street campus.

Part of Mag's graduate exhibition 

Mags receiving her award 

The Future Makers Competition is held every year with various other awards and supports apart from the ones mentioned above.  Since the change from the Crafts Council of Ireland (CCoI) to the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCoI) it is not only a great opportunity for crafts people but for designers too.  Congratulations to Karen, Emma and Mags who received the supports out of a fierce competition of around 100 entrants.  We look forward to seeing how the funds will help their already beautiful art and hope to see even more GSoI members getting shortlisted and receiving awards from Future Makers over the next few years! 

Written by Laura Quinn, 

GSoI Student Rep, Dublin

Ulysses Cylinders Public Lecture

by Fiona Byrne

In the lead up to the opening of the Ulysses Cylinders exhibition by Dale Chilhuly and Seaver Leslie with Flora C. Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick a lecture was held at Dublin Castle. This lecture looked at the making of the exhibition, glass in Ulysses and also gave an insight into why the artists and organisers decided, almost forty years after the exhibition’s original conception, to recreate this iconic show.

The evening began with introductions from Paula Stokes and Róisín de Buitléar, who have both been instrumental in getting this exhibition to Ireland for its very fitting launch to coincide with the Bloomsday festivities. A screening of the making process of these beautiful pieces took place and the complexities of the artistic process were clear. These pieces have been lavished in gold, had delicate and intricate glass drawings melted into their surface, and then skilfully blown to their final shape. This labour intensive process encapsulates the love and effort on the part of everyone on this project to make the vision of the Ulysses Cylinders a reality.

The passion for the project is infectious. Seaver Leslie gave a wonderful talk about his role in the project and his respect for his fellow artists, including Joyce himself, is worn on his sleeve. His modesty is such that he comes across as a man who is proud to have been allowed to be part of this project and not as one of its main characters. However, once he began to speak you can feel the connection and depth of knowledge that he has for his subject matter.

He stressed the links with Ulysses and Joyce that go beyond a mere visual representation of the book. ‘Proportion is everything in the making of art’, Leslie tells us, echoing the harmonics of proportion in Ulysses. The joy of discovery also links these two artists we learn as Leslie recounts the story of finding a description of glass blowing in Ulysses and describes the emotion and pride he felt at his discovery. This is something which translates to the objects in the exhibition, as Róisín de Buitléar pointed out, you have to walk around each piece to get the full picture, you have to actively seek it.

Relationships are important in this project and ownership is not seen as an issue. Leslie expresses how all art steals and borrows inspiration from others. This exhibition is about collaboration and creation, using the ideas and talents of a group to push the art form to new levels. His collaboration with Chihuly began a long time ago when Leslie first encountered Chihuly working the hot work shop in college. He described how Chihuly’s vibrancy attracted an entourage of fun, creative people.

The contrast between the more singular process of a painter and this very team orientated process of glass blowing served to draw Leslie in to the world of Chihuly. He describes himself as being hidden in a forest and Chihuly being out there causing a storm. I for one am glad he chose to come out of his metaphorical hiding place and add his talents to the Ulysses Cylinders project.

Soul is the word which occurred again and again, finding something deep and essential within art, taking it, and making it your own. Leslie leaves us with the thought that Ulysses is a spiritual book and not to be daunted as, ‘you will find what you need’ from it.

After Leslie has spoken Dr. Luke Gibbons takes us ‘Through the glass darkly’ in his talk about the importance of glass in Joyce’s writing. He tells us that Joyce asked us to look at the glass and not just through the glass. To illustrate this he described the first scene of the Dubliners where there is a young boy looking up at the stained glass windows in a church.

Joyce used glass as a carrier of meaning in various ways, once saying that ‘only a transparent sheet separates me from madness’. Gibbons informs us of the fortuitous meeting of Joyce with Thomas Pugh of Pugh’s glass manufacturers. In Pugh he found a man who had claimed Ulysses as a seminal work but who operated outside of the academic circles, this, Gibbons tells us, was Joyce’s intended audience.

Though if seems artistic collaborations can sometimes go awry. Gibbons tells us of the mix up with a commission involving the artist Matisse who was asked to illustrate Ulysses. However misunderstanding the commission he illustrated Homer's Odyssey instead, leaving Ulysses without illustrations.

This project has had its set back also. Thirty nine years ago a tragic car accident stopped the original exhibition in its tracks and resulted in Chihuly losing the sight of his left eye.  Today the Ulysses Cylinders exhibition is on display at Dublin Castle after a long time in the making. This beautiful collection of objects holds more stories than those illustrated on their surface. They are alive with narratives waiting to be unlocked by the viewer.