And yet another custom-made cushion

This cushion was made for my Wizard of Oz-loving niece who recently had an interesting meeting with a SWAT team in Mexico (don't ask!). One side says 'There's no place like home. Click your heels like Dorothy or call the SWAT team like Mairead'. The other side has a transfer of a print by street-artist Banksy, where Dorothy's basket is being searched by a SWAT-like policeman. Lots of blue gingham, Wizard of Oz print fabric and red ribbons were used in the making of this one.

Another custom-made cushion

This is another cushion for my niece who just graduated from industrial bio-chemistry. This time (with the help of my husband!) I took the periodic table of elements and searched for the chemical notations that would come closest to spelling her name. So one side says 'Brihgid's cushion'. I know she likes the combination of red and black so I used these colours and added satin ribbons and covered buttons.

Custom-made cushions

Here's a cushion I made for my computer programming niece for Christmas. One side has a keyboard with the phrase 'No place like -> home' added to the keypads. The other side says 'Jess chillin' with a little picture of her favourite 'Mario' character added below. Pinks and purples are her favourite colours so I used these and added some girly ribbons to tie it.

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas everyone!

GROUNDWORKS Studios is now officially open!

GROUNDWORKS Studios was officially opened tonight by James Harold, Galway Arts Officer. The launch exhibition was well-attended and ran for the entire weekend. All of the hard work in getting the premises to this stage paid off as the exhibition looked great. For more information on the group see http://www.groundworksstudios.com/

Christmas pudding anyone?

I'm getting a little bit silly now with Christmas just around the corner! December's meeting of the Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society (http://www.westernips.blogspot.com/) tomorrow is the Christmas party and the challenge is to make a Christmas gift item. So here's my version of a Christmas pudding teacosy.

GROUNDWORKS launch event 11th December

"Jump for Joy" and "The Rocker II" are 2 of my pieces selected for inclusion in the GROUNDWORKS launch exhibition from 11th to 13th December. A wide variety of work from contemporary textile and ceramic artists and GMIT graduates will be on show. The opening is from 4-8pm on Friday 11th at the Lyrr Building, Mervue Business Park, Galway. Come along and join us for a glass of wine!

Christmas Craft Fairs

A photo of some of my notebooks and brooches at the Christmas Craft Fair at the Menlo Hotel, Galway yesterday.

I was very impressed with the variety and quality of local craft at the show. I particularly liked:

• Wire sculptures of windblown Hawthorns and figures mounted on found objects by Glenn Gibson (http://www.glengibson.net/)


• Beautifully soft hand-knitted shawls and scarves by Agnieszka Rupnik (www.2knitornot2knit.blogspot.com)


• Delicately embossed ceramics by Louise Browne (http://www.livinggingerdesigns.com/)


• Lovely bear illustrations by Morgan O'Brien (http://www.morganobrienart.com/) whose work I remember from the programme for the Baboro Children's Art Festival in the past.

And there were lots of other goodies like home made cakes, jewellery, painting, pottery, etc. This was the first time this fair was held and it has the potential to grow if more people knew about it! It would be a wonderful place to get unique, handcrafted gifts from local craftspeople so hopefully it will happen again next year and the crowds will come!

In the meantime I prepare for my next fair at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Saturday 19th December.