About me
My love of wool started at an early age, growing up on the family farm in Co. Meath. Predominantly a dairy farm, we also reared sheep and lambs. Each season bringing different chores for us as children to help out with. From feeding orphaned baby lambs in Winter, to rounding up the ewes for shearing in summer and various other tasks in between to ensure the health and welfare of the flock. It was not unusual for my father to arrive into our kitchen on a cold winters evening carrying a new-born baby lamb and placing it on a rug in front of the Stanley range for a few hours or perhaps overnight to nurse it back to full health. Today my brothers continue this tradition of rearing flocks of sheep and lambs, I help out on the odd occasion when required.
At school I learned how to knit, crochet and embroidery stitch. We starting off Knitting scarfs and progressing to tea cozies and mittens, followed in later years with stockings and learning how to “turn a heel” with three needles. We were taught basic sewing techniques from running stitch, buttonhole and blanket stitch, progressing to decorative embroidery stitches and threads as we worked our way through various pre printed design patterns on crisp cotton Tray Cloths, Vanity unit Runners and floral designed pockets on Aprons. Skills I appreciate and use to this day.
After a successful career in business, I enrolled in the Drogheda Institute of Further Education studying Woven Textiles and Interior Design. I studied 8 modules over two years, including Art Appreciation, History of Art, Combined Materials, Drawing, Colour and light, Mixed Media, Stitch and fabric manipulation. I absolutely loved this new found creativity, the freedom to be able to combine materials, in an unstructured manner. Embroidery no longer had to adhere to the lines of the pattern and fabrics could be manipulated to create abstract designs which was totally different to my earlier literal learning. Throughout the next three years I continued studying part time, learning how to weave on a Loom, stain glass, enameling and working with copper, finishing off with an Exhibition in the D Hotel Drogheda.
Achievements
I was invited by our local Enterprise board to exhibit my Textile Art at Showcase (Ireland’s International Creative Expo) where my Artwork was selected in the ‘Top 50 New Products’ on two consecutive years. Orders soon followed from Austria and galleries throughout Ireland. My work has featured in “Irish Interiors” Irelands Most Influential Interiors Magazine, each year since 2015. I have completed commissions for clients in the USA, Australia, UK and Ireland. I have exhibited my work at various Exhibitions & Galleries throughout Ireland down through the years including.
Exhibitions & Galleries
“Boann Exhibition” Abbey Gallery, Drogheda, Co Louth,
“Art in Action” Art Source RDS, Dublin, November each year from 2012 - 2018
“Craft in Action” at Brú Na Bóinne Interpretative Centre,
July/August each year from 2012 - 2018 Newgrange, Co. Meath.
“Gifted” Craft & Design Fair RDS Dublin December2017 -2018
Heron Gallery Ahakista and Skull, Sheepshead Peninsula, West Cork
The Design Loft, Powerscourt House, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.
Listoke Gallery – “100 years of Heritage” 2016
Kenny’s Art Gallery Lahinch, Co. Clare
Kaleidoscope, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Irish Design Gallery, Dun Laoghaire from 2015 to present.
Exhibitions in 2020
“Glowing Works That Make the Heart Sing” The Basement Gallery, An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth. March 2020
Seamus Ennis Art Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin November/December 2020.
Stockists
My online Shop at www.BoyneValleyArt.Com
Click & Collect Only in the following stores due to Pandemic
Castle Crafts, Main Street Trim, Co. Meath.
Irish Design Gallery, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
Slane Craft Collective, Slane, Co. Meath.
The Shannon Irish Design Store, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Co. Clare.
Both my parents came from farming families, my mother from Galway on the West Coast of Ireland and where I went on my Summer holidays each year for as long as I can remember. My father from Sneem, Co. Kerry. on the Iveragh Peninsula – a beautiful village nestled between mountains and the wild rugged coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The landscapes of blanket bogs and heather moorlands of the uplands, make it an ideal place for sheep farming. My father was the youngest of eleven children, many of whom emigrated to North America, as was the case with many family member from the South and West Coast of Ireland at that time.
Cliff Walk above Oriel Port
Inspiration: Oriel Port, Co.. Louth. Coconut scented gorse in full bloom. Breathtaking views of the Mourne & Cooley Mountains from the headland cliff walk. .
“Oriel” My Interpretation of the landscape worked up in textiles, embroidery stitch and beading.