Narrating Process - a Northlands Glass Experience

Remember back when it was summer and some of us lucky few got the chance to travel and take some amazing glass classes? GSoI member Catherine Keenan travelled to our friends at Nothlands Creative Glass, an amazing glassy place not too far away from us - find out about her experience!

'The Worst Journey in the World' James Maskrey

My first experience of Northlands was in 2008 when I got the opportunity of being a teaching assistant for american hot glass sculptor Richard Jolley.  It was one of those complete shot in the dark applications that surprisingly, and dauntingly paid off!  Luckily I wasn’t the only TA, seasoned Northlands gaffer James Maskrey was also there.  This put me in the comfortable position of being Richards second assistant and also to work directly with the beginners to glassblowing.  It couldn’t have been a better experience to build up my confidence in the studio and also in teaching.

I had forgotten what a special place Northlands is and this time I was the student and James Maskrey the teacher.  Since I last saw him in Scotland in James has become a leading figure in British glass, and deservedly so.  He masterfully marries his virtuosity in a variety of glassblowing techniques with his talent for storytelling to make sublimely elegant vessels that subtly suggest narratives in the form of marks, colour, text, and figurative glass miniatures.  A large body of his work brings to light fascinating details of historical journeys such as that of Cook, Scott and Shackleton.

“Narrating Process” was the course title and we had nine packed days to explore themes and means of employing storytelling in blown glass pieces.  There was a clear structure to the course, we had two projects to complete, a short ‘one-liner’ and a more substantially researched final project.  The first day was spent exploring the local area to gain inspiration, we then had allotted ‘bench time’ (glass blowing) and also the opportunity to see demonstrations by Jim.  I was particularly interested in seeing incalmo and murrini and also his ‘Working Solo for Sad Singletons' - how to blow glass without an assistant.  

making murrini

For me this was the first time since I was a college student, seven years ago, to really indulge in the creative process.  Since then I have hired studios to make my work and therefore experimentation has been very limited.  The nine days at Northlands was a chance to play with the material, to be less precious and not worry if the piece ended up in the bin.  It was a chance to generate new ideas and approaches, to be challenged and thereby consolidate what I do and why I do it.  It was essentially a more intense and condensed art college experience, and I loved it!

Catherine's class experiments 

As our masterclass leader, James set the tone for the group dynamic.  There were six in our class, of a variety of ages, skills and backgrounds.  I’m not sure whether it was due to being so closely involved with previous masterclasses at Northlands, or because he was in a rugby team in his youth, but James made great efforts for our group to bond.  One particularly clever ploy was a game he devised, we each had to choose our favourite music track, tell this only to Emma Baker our TA, who made a list of tracks at random and then we had to guess who’s track was whose.  We each threw some money in the pot and the winner got the lot...although they had to take everyone else to the pub and buy the drinks!  I think this investment in the social side of the class was very insightful on James’ part.  It made for a very pleasant working environment, we all enjoyed and benefited from hearing each other’s ideas and half of the experience of going away to do a class should be the time spent with new people. 

The class group

The staff of Northlands are also obviously aware of the essential social aspect to the experience, with amazing dinners arranged every night, a programme of students and tutors giving presentations of their work in the evening, and a day in the middle of the course to explore the local area in groups (I joined the boat trip that followed the breathtaking coast from Lybster up to Wick)

The studio experience was brilliant, with unlimited access to materials and more than enough bench time to make work.  Just being at Northlands however, meeting interesting people in a ruggedly beautiful landscape, was equally enjoyable...and I even saw the northern lights!

Written by GSoI Member, Catherine Keenan

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 

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

Who's Buying? - Glass at Showcase Ireland

Filigrana Vases, BTU Studio Production line 2014

2013 was another good year for Irish craft.
According to CCoI statistics the number of people buying craft has been rising in recent years which is good news for all the Irish-Glassies.
As well as the usual suspects (Jerpoint Glass Studio, Irish Handmade Glass and Kerry Crafted Glass who we caught up with last year) there were some new faces at Showcase Ireland this year including the familiar faces of Scott Benefield and Catherine Keenan. 

Albion - Scott's personal work

Scott was there representing the BTU studio which he founded with his wife and fellow glass artist, Andrea Spencer in 2011. They are based in Randelstown in Northern Ireland. The studio is named after a dated measure of energy, the British Thermal Unit and they produce and annual line of blown glassware and decorative objects. Here’s what Scott had to say about selling at Showcase this year:

"I had really good experience. I thought that the buyers were much more open to looking at something new and even committing to an order in comparison to, say, the British Craft Trade Fair. It was great to meet other exhibitors and staff from the Crafts Council; it gave me an expanded sense of the handcraft scene in Ireland.  

Andrea Spencer, Temporal Properties

The offerings in glass were absurdly few- besides me, there were only three other studios in the Creative Island section. It's far from critical mass levels and so the market in Ireland for contemporary glass remains undeveloped, in my opinion. But the good news is that there seems to be plenty of room for new designers and makers who are working with glass."

BTU's Stand at Showcase 

'Eye candy' - Catherine Keenan

Catherine Keenan was also an exhibitor there, selected as part of the Craft Northern Ireland group. Catherine received her BA in Glass from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and continued her studies in the UK. Since graduating, has continued to work from her native Northern Ireland producing decorative blown vessels and lamp-worked glass jewellery. She is currently based at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart.

Catherine's Stand at Showcase 

"I was in an area that was mostly fashion accessories and jewellery, as I was focusing on getting wholesale orders for my lamp worked glass jewellery. However I also brought my blown glass in order to draw people to my stand and also make clear the connection between the blown glass and my jewellery. I got a great response to my work, people were instantly drawn to the colours, particularly in my new 'Colourscape' range of jewellery.  I gained a substantial number of new stockists mostly throughout Ireland, also one on Iona.
In terms of the market for glass in Ireland: I found a lot of shops liked my blown glass and I had some good discussions with higher-end galleries but it is a rather small and select group of buyers who have a particular interest in glass. I think is the main issue that people often don't understand the cost of producing a piece of glass and therefore don’t understand the value.
That said however, when I have exhibited through the Crafts Council of Ireland, or at the RDS National Crafts Competition, I have tended to sell.  It seems clear to me that they are getting the select audience for high end craft, who appreciate the work and quality of blown glass."

'Colourscape' Necklaces and 'Eye Candy' Blown Glass

So there you have it folks, word from the experts is that there's plenty of room for more glass in the Irish market place, especially if we can communicate the production costs more effectively to the average buyers. Thank you Catherine and Scott for sharing your experience with us.

Well done to all the glass-practitioners at Showcase this year - lets double our numbers for next year! 

Written by Meadhbh McIlgorm
GSoI Media and Communications

Bright Adventures: Interview with Karen Donnellan

In my new position as one of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) glass artists in residence, I have the pleasure of sitting beside one of the most interesting emerging artists in Irish Glass today: Karen Donnellan. We have been acquainted for some time, meeting at glassy events and giving the awkward nod of acknowledgement which says ‘I know who you are...ish’ on campus. While she was a familiar name to me, I was otherwise concerned with important student matters (drinking and danc- I mean intensive study) but now we’re desk-neighbours. The significance and scope of her practice to date has seriously impressed me. 

'Ensō II', Pâte De Verre,Karen Donellan, 2011

Karen is my favourite kind of hippy; one with a great work ethic. The circle often features in her works and she treats the intricate, repetitive methods of her making process as a meditation or mantra. At its core, her practice explores the potential for healing via the manipulation of universal energy. It is thoughtful, considered work, made with care and informed conceptually by her extensive study of metaphysical philosophies. She also practices what she preaches; I've seen her burning sage to clear a space of “dense energies” and she’s a qualified Reiki healer.

'Essentia' -  Karen Donellan  

Since she graduated with her MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), New York in 2011, Karen has worked and exhibited extensively. Many readers will be familiar with her Essentia series which featured in last year’s Future Makers prize-winner’s exhibition at the NCAD Gallery and most recently at the Irish Craft Portfolio Exhibition at the RHA. 

Sometimes as an artist, you come across a web-page that is the visual equivalent of a particularly delicious ice-cream. Recently my little bit of internet delight has been J/K: Light Glass and Space: The blog began as part of an ongoing collaboration between Karen and American glass-artist John Hogan and thus far has led to their exciting Emerging Artist Residency (EAR) at Pilchuck Glass School last autumn. This blog is packed with my favourite kind of internet eye candy; sculptural light and experimental glass.

After combing though the blog for an unhealthy amount of hours I asked Karen if she would do a short interview about the experience and her future plans:

MM: The work you made at Pilchuck is visually very different to your previous work from your MFA. Was that because it was a collaboration or have you moved your work in a different direction?

KD: A lot of people have said that; that it doesn't look anything like my work, but I wear ridiculous colours all the time! I worked with colour the whole way through NCAD and the light and projection has always been an interest. In core year at NCAD I worked a lot with plastics, water and light. Then again during the masters, I spent some time experimenting with an overhead projector and seeing how different glass objects projected. I've dabbled on and off with those ideas and maybe I wasn't encouraged or didn't have the confidence to bring it any further but it’s always been an interest.

Collection of 'curios' , cut polished and laminated glass,  J/K 2013

MM: How did you decide to collaborate with John Hogan?

KD: We met at Pilchuck in 2012 when we were both Teaching Assistants. We were sharing the same studio space and assisted each other a bit in the hotshop. John works as a glass blower and designer in Seattle. He’s also done a lot of casting and cold working. (He did a residency last year in the Czech Republic with the maestro Milan Handl.) John showed me his work and I was just really into it – he was using a lot of dichroic glass and gave me some to try out. I’ve always been fascinated by dichro. You don’t see it used much in contemporary work, it’s completely underrated! I suggested a collaboration and when the Pilchuck residency came up we just said, “let’s go for it”!

Projection. J/K 2013

ME: You did loads of different things during your time at Pilchuck, is this collaboration going to continue?

KD: Yes, definitely. The work we've made so far is really experimental and even though it was a seven week residency it felt like we had only got going when we had to finish. The work developed in various directions but on the next residency we’d like to hone in on the rear projection systems.

MM: So I guess the last question is what’s next for you?

 KD: Work-wise I’m getting to grips with neon and developing some new projects around glass and sound. I’ve also just begun working on some lighting designs with Suzannah Vaughn and Perch. At the end of the month I’m heading to Cill Rialaig in Ballinskelligs for a retreat residency. The plan is to get away from glass for a while and just read, draw, paint…and maybe print.

Since I spoke to Karen for this interview there have been several exciting developments: Firstly it’s been confirmed that she will teach a pate de verre workshop this August at the Glass Furnace in Turkey. She has also been awarded an Emerging Artist Lecture at this year’s Glass Art Society Conference in Chicago.

Finally, massive news for J/K – Karen and John will continue their collaboration with a week’s residency at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio from March 14^th – 19^th. I can’t wait to see what they do next!

'Golden Rectangle' - hand made sheet glass, wood. 73x16x5, J/K, 2013

Written by Meadhbh McIlgorm,
GSoI Media and Communications Officer

(top image: Scan of dichroic glass, J/K 2013)