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AiR Arts Care
Western Trust Crannog Dental Suite
Taking 'Under the Sea' as a theme, I have created artwork in addition to artwork created by students from Rossmarr Special School.
The techniques included block printmaking, cyanotype-making and drawing. The resulting artwork has been collaged to create 'bubbles'.
The artwork is transferred onto circular glass forms that will be mounted directly onto the wall.
The goal is to create an alternative to a traditional aquarium, colourful and engaging.
AiR Arts Care
Here and Now Life’s Road Trip
Taking on this year’s theme of Life’s Road Trip and using the Esso maps that were essential in the past for travel as inspiration, the aim of this proposal is to create individual ‘life maps’.
Utilising personal photographs and artefacts participants will create artwork that will ultimately be assembled into an accordion-style book. The main techniques will be cyanotype and image transfer. Large negatives will be created using collage and assembly of various visual primary sources. These negatives are then used to create cyanotypes. In addition, colour-photocopied imagery will be transferred and collaged together with the cyanotypes.
The format of this book style allows the artist to chronicle a journey, in this case, a life, sequentially. The content would be based on initial discussions with the group looking at the questions posed in the callout. Family photographs, tickets, mementos…. anything that marks an important period or event. What imagery relates to the future? Can we allow space or create pockets for future additions?
The books would be very personal in content but also offer a wider understanding of the journey of one’s life.
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AiR Arts Care
Western Trust LOVEHEARTS
I have recently taken up a position as the Artist in Residence with Arts Care for the Western Trust. This involves developing project work and participatory workshops with clients and staff from the Western Trust.
One of the first projects was to create artwork for display in Altnagelvin Hospital during the Valentine's week and beyond.
Watch here to see how they are made.
DCCI & Irish Consulate 2021
Celebrating Irish Women in Design
I have been asked by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland in collaboration with the Irish Consulate in Chicago to be a panellist on a webinar celebrating Irish design.
I will be chatting with Nora Gainer of the Art Institute of Chicago about my current project Women's Stories - 100 contemporary icons.
Please go to the Consulate's website for information.
RDS Irish Craft Bursary 2019
Design & Crafts Council Ireland
In late 2019 I received news that I had won this year's RDS Irish Craft Bursary.
The RDS supports this initiative which is a €10,000 bursary managed by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) and open to makers in its Portfolio programme. The RDS Irish Craft Bursary is part of the restructured RDS Craft Awards announced in 2018. The bursary is open to all members of DCCI's wider Portfolio programme which is a group of over 150 makers.
This award will support an ambitious project that will see the production of 100 contemporary icons inspired by and dedicated to women. The RDS bursary will support a period of research in addition to the production of this work. This body of wall-based work will explore the narrative format while utilising skills and techniques familiar to the jeweller, thereby allowing each vignette to retain the intimacy more acquainted with the brooch. Assemblage and symbolic references will combine to construct a micro cosmos unique to each protagonist. They will serve to honour and eulogise the individual.
City in Motion 2019
National Museum of Ireland
In October I facilitated a second workshop at the museum. This workshop utilised analogue technologies to create visual representations of the theme City in Motion. Participants explored various photographic techniques including photograms, cyanotypes and (weather-permitting) pinhole photography.
Source material was collated in advance from maps and existing photographs, printed on acetate and available to create unique collages. The goal is to experiment with this imagery in order to create unique negatives that can be subsequently printed as a photographic record.
The cityscape is a constantly evolving environment and this workshop challenges the participant to create a unique visual document of that space.
Update:
Here is a link to a video tutorial for those interested in giving it a try.
Stoneybatter Festival 2019
National Museum of Ireland
In June I facilitated a Pinhole workshop as part of the Stoneybatter Festival. This workshop introduced participants to analogue technology and facilitated access to a darkroom experience where they learned how to ‘make’ a self-portrait. Pinhole photography is utilised to challenge the public to reconsider the process of self-portrait making or to use the vernacular ‘taking selfies’. Participants utilised this effective low-tech method to create an image requiring stillness and quiet.
It is quite magical to see an empty tin produce a quality photograph in a matter of minutes.
Here and Now 2019
You are Here
Arts Care | Foyleville Day Centre
You Are Here refers to the maps we often use to locate ourselves in relation to a particular environment. The clients using Foyleville Day Centre have been diagnosed with various stages of dementia. Memory is so important to these individuals and they often relate their past through various localities. This artwork will give a visual opportunity for this.
This work will be completed by the group at Foyleville Day Centre with individuals introduced to several art techniques. The goal is to create a large-scale wall mounted artwork.
Using the map of the city as a template and utilising a simplified version of papier mâché a 3-dimensional map will be created. This artwork will be serve as a method for locating individuals in the city in relation to the centre which is pivotal to their individual geography. The river will be recreated through cyanotype printmaking.
Several key sites in the city will be created, possibly using laser-cutting technology. These ‘markers’ will be applied to the map as pushpins.
Twilight project 2019
Arts Care
I was asked by Arts Care artist in residence, Bronagh-Corr-Mc Nicholl to collaborate with her on a project based in several care homes throughout the north west. Participants were challenged to create a meaningful artwork utilising a portrait and exploring various printmaking tachniques.
IASP Conference 2019
Arts Care
In 2019 the International Association for Suicide Prevention conference was held in Derry. The organisers wanted to include an art-walk in the schedule of activities for attendees in the city. Arts Care were tasked with the job of coordinating this and invited artists to participate. I facilitated two workshops; pinhole photography and medal casting.
I undertook the pinhole photography workshops with the New Horizon group. We based ourselves in a temporary darkroom in the nerve Centre. A selection of black and white photographs were created documenting the city centre. Subsequently they were re-coloured digitally to create very colourful graphic images that were printed large-scale and installed on the city walls.
The second workshop took place at the Well Womans Centre. The participants designed and cast a series of medals that were presented to the keynote speakers at the conference in the Millennium Forum. The goal was to create a medal that would embody the essence of the city and would be a legacy object.
Images:
Artwork installed on City Walls
Re-coloured pinhole photographs
Medal casting
Well Woman's group
Signatories 2019
National Museum of Ireland
The collection 'Signatories' was purchased by National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks.
This series of contemporary icons was inspired by the exhibition curated to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Each icon depicts a signatory of the proclamation and includes visual references to the GPO , letterpress process and the dates of execution. Techniques used to create the work include etching of the proclamation in brass sheet with image transferred onto metal.
The Museum is the ultimate home for this work as it closes the circle from design inspiration to completion.
Creative Schools 2019
St Safan's National School
Later in 2019 I was asked to work with St Safan's National School on their Creative Schools project. They wanted to use the funding to up-skill both students and teachers and engaged the entire school community. I designed a project that addressed three different sets of skills working with three different classes/age-groups. I facilitated a workshop with the teachers to introduce the techniques prior to the in-class workshops. Techniques covered included; printmaking, photograms, pinhole photography and 3-d sculpture. One of the outcomes was the creation of three workshop kits with the necessary materials and tools required to repeat any of the processes.
The outcomes were showcased in an exhibition that was open to the public.
Images:
Photograms
3-d sculpture
Pinhole photography
Printmaking
Watch process videos here
Creative Cluster 2019
Buncrana Cluster
I was invited to design and deliver a project as part of the Creative Cluster programme, initiated by the Department of Education and Skills.
Three schools collaborated; Scoil Iosagain, St Mura's and St Oran's National schools. The theme we chose was Love Your Beach with the intention to engage the entire community to take an active role in maintaining local beaches.
The project took place over several weeks and included a beach clean-up and art workshops inspired by this. We even got coverage on RTE's Seascapes radio broadcast hosted by Fergal Keane.
Art techniques explored included cyanotype, plaster and sand casting. The students used items from their beach explorations to make impressions in the casting mould and these were cast in pewter, creating individual medals. These medals were awarded to each student and a selection of VIP guests by the then Minister for Education Joe Mc Hugh.
Images:
Cyanotype
Plaster casting into clay
Sand casting pewter
Medals
Watch process videos here
Residency Sept/Oct 2017
AiR Sandnes, Norway
I am in sandnes Norway for a month-long residency where I am undertaking the expanded SELFmade project to incorporate the MADEhere element, documenting the spaces in addition to faces of the community.
Follow progress via my Blog