Cork Cycling Festival 2011 and the History of Silk in Ireland

This years Cork Cycling Festival runs from Saturday 16th July to Sunday 24th July 2011. So, the piece I made for the Kerry Bike Festival is on its way to Cork, as this year they are sharing the Visual Arts Exhibition. (See this post!).

Its looks set it be a great festival and I hope to make it down one of the days. I am delighted however to have sold the piece, so it wont be coming home!! It was going cheap, but I was in the midst of Body and Soul chaos, and couldn't face the thought of it coming back, so its better to put an affordable price on it. Also it was all made from recycled materials, and just because its in a gallery doesn't mean it has to be over priced. With the proceeds I bought this book.

Just published, its written by Mairead Dunleavy, who sadly passed away last year. But I'm sure she would be delighted her book was published, because if it hadn't, we would have lost a gem. I have another of her books the excellent Dress in Ireland, a bible for Irish textile history. It is such a shame Dress in Ireland is now out of print. There are so few books on Irish Textiles, and written by Irish people.

I'm on a mission to try collect all the books on Irish textiles I can. I must compile a list here, so if I'm missing one, you good folks can tell me.

International Freeform Guild 2011

I seriously need to catch up on blogging, before I make/do anything else. So, here we go...

While I was in the midst of packing for The Body and Soul Festival, the International Freefrom Guild opened its online show. 50 Freeform Artists from around the Globe were challenged to create one freeform piece interpreting a chosen theme.

We had a vote on the theme for this years show. During the voting, recycling was winning the vote, so I was trying to be organised and started on a recycled project. (That's another blog post!). This is a new thing for me, I'm usually an up all night the night before the deadline kinda gal. Then, to my dismay and well, delight, my actual favourite theme won the vote: Mythologies, Stories and Fairy Tales.

When I lived in Dublin, many moons ago, I spent 2 years doing night classes at the loveliest but strange little college Saor-Ollscoil na hÉireann in Stoneybatter. (Which celebrates its 25th year this year). I enrolled, just to do Folklore, but it was actually a degree course, and so I ended up doing a few other subjects; History, Archaeology, Environmental Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies (was more conflict than peace...) and more. Anyway back to Folklore, the course was taught by Dr. Micháel Ross. I loved every minute of this course, you could just listen to Micháel forever, a born storyteller. I ended up writing essays on Tolkien's use of old English poetry in his work, on present day Wiccan activities in Ireland, and The History and Construction of Irish Tower Houses, and well, lots more. It gave me an excuse to read lots of very unusual yet interesting books. The place is like mecca for knowledge; all ages, all types of people. I wasn't interested in doing the degree really, I just wanted to learn, and be around other people who like also liked learning.

So, I had to make something for this exhibition, something freeform, crocheted, based on mythology, and since I'm still in my lace phase, it would have to be lace, and of course it has to be Irish, and because I love Celtic illumination, and especially zoomorphics... etc. Enough said here's the piece....

Cú

Crocheted with a fine black wool yarn.
(Yarn weight and type unknown. Hook size, cant remember...)

So, the exhibition can be viewed online here http://www.freeformcrochet.com/2011/Pages/index.html and it can also be bought! Its published on Blurb http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2241770. All proceeds of which go to very worthy causes!!

Since I had a lace piece made, I decided to enter it into the Lace category of the RDS Crafts competition. I have never entered before because as much as I love the promotion of Irish craft, I don't like how expensive it is to enter, (€15!!). It seems that Irish artists and craftspeople are constantly having to pay out for the privilege of just entering competitions, exhibitions, etc, let alone the actually crafting, framing, travelling, etc, expenses. We are struggling to make ends meet, and galleries, arts centres, administrators and the likes have nice regular wages. It just doesn't sit well with me. The piece got into the finals which was quite a surprise, I never expected it to. I should be delighted, and I don't mean to bah-humbug, but a part of me wished it hadn't, as I then had to get it framed, and couriered it up to Dublin. I'm trying to save up for a new marquee for doing festivals and every penny counts at the moment. No marquee, no Electric Picnic!!

So, anyone want to buy a lovely framed piece of Lace??