Inga Reed wins Craftsmanship Award
The new Crafts Council of Ireland Award for Craftsmanship, awarded at Showcase 2008, was given to the jeweller Inga Reed. The jury singled out a large oval brooch in embossed silver with details in 18 carat gold, tiny golden dishes that ornament the surface of the piece. It was inspired by the seed heads of a number of plants, including Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) and cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) in the late season when the seeds have been scattered but the skeletal supporting structure remains. Reed pays particular attention to the mechanisms behind her jewellery, and this piece showed particularly fine engineering in the pin, which is simple but thoroughly thought out. 'The functionality of the pin was integrated into the design,' Reed explained. 'The mechanism that holds brooches in place is usually hidden, but in this case it is made visible at the front of the piece where it clasps the brooch like a pair of hands.' Reed created the brooch for SOFA 2006 under the Crafts Council 50% Scheme. 'A lot of the work that I make is designed according to what I think will sell. This piece happened when I put that aside to make something that I love without commercial considerations. Winning the craftsmanship award, especially at a commercial show, is a real recognition of the value of making some pieces that aren't linked to the prospect of sales.' Although there is an expectation that high-end pieces are geared to the international collectors' market Reed recently sold another of the pieces designed for SOFA through Design Yard. 'There's an assumption that these pieces won't sell in Ireland – and it's great to know that this is not necessarily true,' said Reed.
 
Showcase Ireland 2008
Ireland's biggest international trade fair for crafts, gift, fashion, jewellery, and interiors took place at the RDS Dublin in January. According to òna Parsons, CEO of the Crafts Council of Ireland, which is responsible for Showcase, the event is a key initiative in CCoI's Strategic Plan 2007-2009. Parsons feels that one of the main problems is that people in Ireland don't know where to buy craft. To this end, the CCoI is piloting a project to sell craft in garden centres, a project that was launched in February at the Arboretum, County Carlow. The garden show Bloom, due to take place in Dublin's Phoenix Park in June 2008, will incorporate a craft trail and there will also be a move to establish regional craft co-ops following the successful model established by CraftMark in Drogheda. The CCoI's Strategic Plan recently identified the Collectors Market as having good potential for growth and exploration, and those with an interest in buying high-end craft will be nurtured with a collector's club called Alainn to link them with the work of Irish makers. 'There's no reason that Ireland couldn't have a national craft week,' said Parsons. 'Our vision is to rebrand craft.'
Among the key features of Showcase was the addition of some new makers to the juried Source aisle, which represents a cherry-picked selection of Irish craft selected by the CCoI. The work displayed included handthrown white earthenware with slip decoration from Sinead Lough Criad—ir. Eve-Ella Jewellery made a debut appearance with contemporary jewellery by Yvonne Ryan. The Index 50 awards are given to fifty unique, high-quality new products in the show. New exhibitor Lynn Kenny won an Index 50 award for one of a cheery range of framed pieces in mixed media and stitch. Mia Mullen won the award for an exquisite pair of salt and pepper bowls made from wood and silver with matching spoons. An elaborate head-piece from the Tipperary Crystal range, designed by Helen Fitzpatrick, was the overall winner of the Best New Product of Showcase 2008. The couture influenced piece showed an elaborate corsage which extended to waist length at the back and was primarily made in leaded crystal with a coating known as Aurora Borealis, which gives it a rainbow sheen. Fitzpatrick, a young jewellery designer from County Armagh, shows indubitable talent for creating wearable pieces from crystal, pearls, and specialist embroidery materials.
 
Interior Design 2008
Returning to the RDS, Dublin, Interior Design 2008 will run from 15–18 May this year. More than 120 exhibitors will showcase the latest trends in design. Duff Tisdall will exhibit several of their contemporary furniture pieces, designed by Arthur Duff and Greg Tisdall and made in their workshop in Dublin, including the Cambon range, which is made in oak and detailed with Burr Oak. Tom Watts of Imagine Wallpaper, which is based in Kilkenny, will present his bespoke wallpaper service that uses digital printing to dramatic effect in transforming residential and corporate interiors. Ceadogan Rugs will host an exhibition of rugs based on Mainie Jellett's work as an Art Deco designer in the 1930s.
 
Gail Mahon in Making It
The ceramicist Gail Mahon of GFM Design is currently artist in residence at Northwest Regional College, in her hometown of Derry. Mahon is participating in Making It, a two-year business start-up programme for designer-makers and applied artists run by Craft Northern Ireland and supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Mahon's contemporary decorative and functional vessels show an innovative combination of ceramic and textiles, with bowls, bottles and bed warmers offering textural elements in the form of knitted blankets, and leather and canvas labels. B.Bird & Word and Doodle & Draw are limited production handbuilt earthenware ranges using slipcast, finished with clear gloss and oxide detailing, and collaged with quirky transfer images. Nude & Rude is a commission range of bottle and bed warmer forms in exposed stoneware clay with a splash of glaze and oxide, layered with provocative transfer images. The bed warmer is wrapped with a knitted wool blanket with foot pocket for warming toes, adding a tactile dimension to the ceramic form. Mahon was selected as a winner in The BCTF Award for Excellence in the British Craft Trade Fair held in Harrogate in 2007.
 
Jason Ellis' Figurehead at UCD
The sculptor and conservator Jason Ellis, who has worked on the conservation of some of Ireland's public monuments including the memorial statues in Dublin's O'Connell Street, has just finished a large commission for the UCD campus at Belfield. Ellis won the competition to make the piece, entitled Figurehead, in early 2007 and the project has taken a year to come to fruition. The work measures 7 metres in height and is carved from 22 tonnes of Kilkenny limestone. It is an abstract work consisting of three repeating forms that stand on top of each other to form a tower. Each tier is smaller than the one below and is very slightly different in curvature. The stone is honed, using hand tools, to produce a dark, almost black,Êlustre. The plinth is of the same honed limestone and is integral to the piece. A team of quarrymen, stone cutters, engineers, and installers have helped realise the project, which has taken nine months to complete and the sculpture is believed to be one of the country's tallest free-standing works in stone. Figurehead will be on view at the Roebuck gate of the campus from March.
 
'You'll Never Walk Alone' in Kilkenny
The population of Liverpool has enjoyed strong links with Ireland since the mid-19th century, and their longstanding cultural affinity is underscored by an exhibition of contemporary craft by English and Irish makers. 'You'll Never Walk Alone' runs in the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, from 8 March – 27 April. All of the Irish artists in this major exhibition have been drawn from Portfolio, a directory of some of the country's top craftspeople, and disciplines include furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, baskets, and jewellery. The Irish artists have each been paired with an artist from Northwest England: Stevan Hartung with Edward Teasdale; Cheryl Brown with Emma Rodgers; Sonja Landweer with Halima Cassell; Michael McCrory with Li-Sheng Cheng; Cormac Boydell with Thomas Hill; Berina Kelly with Kate Moult; Karl Harron with Amanda Notarianni; Cara Murphy with Laura Baxter; Jane Jermyn with Rebecca Dixon; Joe Hogan with Molly Rathbone; and Sara Flynn with Mary-Ruth Oda.
 
Shackleton Thomas in Dublin
The work of the Irish-American company, Shackleton Thomas, which sells the handmade furniture of Charles Shackleton and the pottery of Miranda Thomas will become available in Ireland at New England Designs in Dublin, in the spring of 2008. Shackleton moved to the United States in 1981 with the glassblower, Simon Pearce, before starting his own furniture making business. Work will include pieces such as the Anna Liffey Collection; inspired by a set of Irish fork-back dining chairs that previously inhabited the Mill House dining room of the Anna Liffey Mill, owned by the Shackleton family. Their work is included in many international collections, and Thomas' Peace Bowls are used by the United Nations as gifts for dignitaries.
 
Trinity commission for Kevin O'Dwyer
The silversmith Kevin O'Dwyer has been commisioned by Trinity Foundation to create an artist's impression of the Naughton Institute, Trinity College Dublin, to be presented to Martin Naughton during the official opening ceremony this spring. Working with the drawings, he selected key elements of the building to inspire the commission, made in silver, bronze, and granite. 'I selected sterling silver for the large front fa�ade of glass. The silver was engraved with the lines of the glass panels to give a sense of scale to the piece.'
 
New ceramic award
In recognition of the considerable wealth of contemporary Irish talent in non-utilitarian ceramics, the Hallward/Mill Cove Galleries have launched a new ceramic sculpture award. The competition is open to all artists living in Ireland, with submissions due by 17 July 2008. An exhibition of the work of selected entrants will open on 11 September at the Hallward Gallery in Dublin and the award will be presented at the exhibition opening. The winner will be afforded the opportunity of a solo exhibition at the Hallward in 2009/10. The aim of the competition is to exhibit the best of contemporary Irish ceramics, to reward achievement and, through this medium, to develop a deeper understanding of our own cultural values and traditions.
 
International success for ceramic artists
A young ceramic artist from Limerick,ÊKaren Morgan, has been selected to take part in Ceramic Art London 2008. Taking place in the Royal College of Art, London, Ceramic Art London, is considered one of the world's leading events for Contemporary Ceramics. Morgan, who graduated from the Crafts Council of Ireland's Pottery Design and Skills Course just over a year ago, will take her place alongside some of Europe's most important practitioners. Morgan's functional and sculptural pieces are all hand thrown in her studio in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. Her soft and fluid forms bridge the gap between functional and fine art.Ê'I find the natural textures and tactile qualities of the naked clay most seductive therefore I keep my glazing simple in colour and often dry,' said Morgan. The ceramic artist Michael Moore has been shortlisted for the 2008 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale hosted by Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum. Moore's work was selected from 684 entries from 58 countries and is among 114 submission works qualified to entry into the final selection. Moore hopes to travel to China in the summer of 2008.
 
Le Brocquy's design commemorates Yeats
A limited edition medallion featuring Louis le Brocquy's portrait of WB Yeats has been presented to the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, home of the exhibition 'Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats'. The medallion was commissioned by the Cultural Collection of Ireland as a limited edition collector's item in platinum, sterling silver, and 22ct gold. Le Brocquy's portrait derives from a long series of paintings described by the artist as 'a personal adventure to try and rediscover, to touch the fringes of his enormous personality, to enter perhaps into the interior landscape that lay behind those ancient glittering eyes.' Le Brocquy's mother, Sybil, was a friend of the Yeats family in Dublin, and the artist as a boy was familiar with the poet, his appearance, and his manner. On the reverse side of the medal, le Brocquy's image of the Horseman is inscribed with the relevant quote from Yeats' famous epitaph.
 
Defining space
CAST architecture was invited by Hugh Campbell to curate an exhibition, 'Defining Space', as part of an international conference held in Dublin in 2007. Seven architectural practices founded by Irish architects in the previous seven years were selected to participate: these were: Architecture53seven, Portlaoise; CASTarchitecture, Dublin; Clare Lyster Studio, Chicago; GKMP architects, Dublin; Robert Jamison Architects, Belfast; Lotus Architects, Dublin; and ROEWU architecture, London. An oak table, sitting in the entrance hall to Newman House, acted as an organising device for the work. Each participant was allotted a specific plot on the table, A2 (594mm x 420mm) in size. The architects were encouraged to occupy and inhabit their prescribed plot with the intention of articulating a variety of architectural attitudes to the definition of space and to afford the participants the opportunity to begin or further develop their intellectual and architectural positions. 'Defining Space' continues at the Michael Tierney Building in UCD, Belfield.