Basketbarn
Kathleen McCormick of Basketbarn, another winner of an INDEX 100 award, shows a great talent for display. All her colours - it’s a very vibrant palette - come from the natural Irish willow, although often those varieties with brighter colours grow more reluctantly than others. McCormick’s ability to put together a cracking display has made her an unofficial ambassador for a traditional craft that is making a slow but steady comeback in the world of design. It’s a craft that has to work hard to overcome its humble origins, which carry an association with an impoverished rural past. Sciobs, for example, were used in many parts of Ireland to strain cooked potatoes. The spuds were dumped into the basket, which was then placed back over the pot to keep the food warm. The whole family sat around the vessel and ate communally. Sometimes there was no table and the people sat on the floor, and the basket functioned as a table.
 
Nanette Ledwith
Exhibiting at Showcase for the first time, artist potter Nanette Ledwith breaks the usual ‘potter as decorator’ mould. Essentially she is an image maker who draws and paints onto a clay surface. Her wall pieces and bowls are made from slabs of clay placed over a mould and etched, or printed with inlaying slips, before biscuit firing. Ledwith then completes the process by painting the piece with slips and glazes. She’s inspired by the element of surprise in nature, and by sixteenth century Japanese Oribe ceramics, which expressed the rough, imperfect and asymmetrical balance in the natural world. As an artist she’s taken some time to find her medium, which she shows great affinity with, and takes delight in the stage of pottery when the piece is put it in the kiln and the artist must let go: ‘I love the sense of not knowing exactly what you’ll find when you open the kiln!’
 
Design News
It’s not easy to find furniture that’s designed and manufactured in Ireland. Most Irish designers, unless they work by hand, have to send their designs abroad to find affordably manufacture. Sherry Furniture, based in County Monaghan, is an exception, a company with a constitution like an ox. It’s a second generation family business and all their furniture is Irish designed and Irish made. Their latest range, Portobello, from Design Link by Sherry, shows collaboration with another family concern; Tadhg and Simon O’Driscoll, furniture designers and brothers. It’s a well conceived range, urban and functional, and brings the previously upmarket O’Driscoll talent into the middle market price bracket. Designed with space issues in mind, many of the pieces have a multifunctional aspect. Tables extend, storage units show versatility, and even coffee tables offer storage. The pieces come in maple, oak, and the ubiquitously trendy walnut. Sherry Furniture will soon launch a collection with another, as-yet-unnamed, Irish designer, and the company plans, eventually, to bring a well-groomed stable of Irish furniture designers within our price range. Up Monaghan!
 
John Lee
Following the huge success of John Lee’s exhibit at Create 2003, this year promises to reveal some of his most innovative and exciting furniture to date. Lee’s unique free flowing style incorporates intricate marquetry and uses a combination of some of the most highly prized exotic timbers. He has recently received commissions from a number of private Art Collectors which he hopes to exhibit at Create 2005 later in the year.
 
Sprezaturro
Meanwhile, the Dublin-based Shane Holland has built up a reputation as one of the leading designers of lighting and furniture products in Ireland and has now set his focus on international projects by his exhibition of products at Euroluce in April. Euroluce, allied to the ‘Salone Internazionale’ Milan furniture fair, is a world leader in light fairs, and this is the first time that an Irish designer has exhibited at the show. As a product designer who has taken a ‘hands on’ route, Holland feels quite strongly about the importance of continuing our excellent Irish craft tradition alongside development of the best in modern design principles. ‘I think that Irish design has a definite unique perspective which goes right back to our primeval past, our connection to the land and our shaping of things in our environment. It is essential that we designers inspire public perception on the importance of Irish designed and made product ensuring that it does not evaporate with globalisation and chain-store blandness. From the other side it is our duty as designers and producers to offer good value in relative terms of quality and performance.’
 
Trolls
Trolls: Figures in Norwegian Contemporary Ceramics at the National Craft Gallery 4 Feb - 28 March In a departure from the Scandinavian norm of cool, pared-down design, curator Harald Solberg decided the theme for this snapshot of Norwegian Contemporary Ceramics was to be a curious supernatural creature - the Troll. Trolls are to Norway as leprechauns are to Ireland, so it’s an interesting theme for serious ceramic artists. The exhibition presents work by both established names and emerging talents. Each of them offers an innovative take on the classical theme of ceramic art, the figure. Some are weird, some kitsch, some frankly hilarious. Elins Aasheim’s playful ‘Too Many Cigarettes - Too Many Late Nights’ presents us with two bulbous red-eyed figures facing up to each other. Kari Skoe Fredriksen’s family photographs transferred to plates are an ironic comment on the ceramic tradition of commemorative plates. And, as one would expect from a show entitled Trolls, folk tales and legends are brought to life. Monica Marcella K Askim’s tiny figures are made to fit into the palm of the hand; tactile, but not twee. Homelands at the National Craft Gallery 1 April - 15 May
 
Homelands
The National Craft Gallery is pleased to present Homelands second major touring exhibition of FIBRE.ART.WALES, formed in 1999 with the aim of raising the profile of Welsh contemporary fibre art. Fibre Art is a fine art expression that uses any flexible, linear material in a traditional textile process. It is not a new field, but it is an enduring one and its roots can be traced back thousands of years to when mankind first discovered knotting techniques. The title ‘Homelands’ for the exhibition indicates a theme that is interpreted in individual ways: geographical exploration, Welsh heritage and culture, and Celtic myth and tradition. Most of the exhibitors are exploring the media of fibre itself, using it in an innovative and imaginative way. A book illustrating a selected representation of work from each artist was published to coincide with the show.
 
Weaving a Spell
One of the twenty-five Irish artists who participated in the prestigious Philadelphia Arts and Crafts Show last November, Gillian Freedman designs and makes hand-woven tapestries and contemporary tufted rugs from her garden studio in Dublin. A sense of harmony and colour are vital in the creation of ambience at home and Freedman’s art rugs add panache and individuality in equal measure. The tapestries and rugs are cleverly multi-functional and work equally well on the wall or on the floor. Having studied Fine Art History at TCD, Freedman went on to study painting and tapestry weaving at West Surrey College of Art. No surprise then that her work is inspired by nature and the rhythms of life around her. What starts out as a drawing or painting can evolve into a tapestry;
 
Amharc Fhine
Gall II - Contemporary Craft Artists, Ground Floor Gallery, Draíocht, 3 February - 27 March Amharc Fhine Gall II, an exhibition of contemporary craft showcasing the work of nine artists living and working in County Fingal, is the second in what has become an annual group exhibition in Draíocht celebrating the excellence and diversity of artistic talent in the Fingal Area. The nine featured artists this year are Elizabeth Bonnar, John Bonnar, Aidan Breen, Geraldine Clarke, Niamh Harte, Michelle Maher, Tony Perry, James Rogan, and Sarjit Verik. Their work showcases a variety of media including ceramic, jewellery, wood, lace, and felt. ‘The work in this exhibition is proof of the rich and varied perspectives of craft workers from all part of Fingal. This exhibition is a celebration of their combined visions, and an indicator as to the wealth of creative talent in Fingal,’ says Rory O’Byrne, arts officer for Fingal County Council.
 
Greystones
Greystones is becoming the favoured destination for people who like to drive to the shops at the weekend, but who hate characterless retail parks. Tucked in off the N11, Kilcroney Furniture, Bray, is well placed to meet that market. It’s also one of those treasure troves that people tend to keep quiet about. Anny Verwijs, who has been running the business for more than 25 years, has a keen eye for quality and refuses to be tied down to any particular style. With European ranges from France, the Netherlands, and Italy, the furniture is an eclectic mix in different types of wood: cherry, oak, elm, and maple. The coffee table with sliding top from the French Seltz range of furniture comes in beech and elm and is part of a full Seltz range that includes dining and bedroom furniture.

Eleanor Flegg writes regularly for some of Ireland’s leading interiors and gardening magazines.