"Goodnight Chicken"

Hand-dyed fabrics, vintage lace, free-motion embroidery, fabric painting and machine-stitch sketching are just some of the techniques used to create this frame-stretched piece for the exhibition "Art is a Wound Turned into Light" at NUIG for Mental Health Week, which opened on September 30th 2015.
This piece was a slightly new direction for me to explore. I enjoyed allowing the piece to evolve in the same way as I treat a page in my sketchbook. I just gathered fabrics and lace scraps in my studio and allowed the piece to evolve as I worked.
Working in this way is all about enjoying the process and not worrying about the outcome.

Exhibition opening Friday 20th 6pm

 

The Western Branch of the IPS Exhibition 'Go Leor Quilts Galore' opens on Friday at 6pm in Geata Na Cathrach, Fairgreen Road, beside the Revenue Offices. It will run from the 21st to 2th September from 10am to 5pm each day. Admission is free and it promises to be a great show of quilts. Drop in if you get the chance!

An evening of fine wine, local food and craft at Claregalway Castle

 

On a recent September night I was invited to the recently restored Claregalway Castle (to join the castle mailing list for future events see http://www.claregalwaycastle.com/). I was delighted to be part of this unique event. Bonfires showed the way to the castle entrance.

A court jester performed in the courtyard.

 

With trumpets, pomp and ceremony, Les Fins Gousiers d'Anjou (http://www.finsgousiers.fr/ arrived to kick off the celebration and tasting of fine wines from the Loire valley paired with cheeses, breads, chowder, oysters and cakes from the Galway region.

The castle was open for exploration with a few gargoyles guarding the tower.

www.madeingalway.ie is a website created to promote the food and craft produced in the county and a number of craftspeople were in attendance showing ceramics, woodwork and textiles.

Here's a selection of the work I exhibited on the night.

Watch out for more events showcasing 'Made in Galway' and be sure to visit Claregalway Castle whenever you get a chance!

An exhibition of quilts by Mogs McDonnell and her students in Headford

Mogs McDonnell is an inspirational textile artist and tutor working from her studio Bolg na Talún near Headford, County Galway. To celebrate the work completed by her students every year, an exhibition is held in the Parish Hall.

 



 

Here Mogs models her wearable art coat created for 'Fashion sans Frontieres' at the Birmingham Festival of Quilts 2011.

I particularly loved the 'cathedral windows' quilt Mogs made together with the active retirement group in Kilcoona.

 

This hexagon quilt was also amazing.

And this smaller quilt was very striking.

(apologies to the makers as I neglected to note down all the names!)

There were many other lovely pieces on show and the opening event was well attended. Be sure to watch out for this annual display as it is always a treat!

"Crossroads" an EQA exhibition at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham

Follow this link to see photos of all the Irish entries at the "Crossroads" exhibition at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. http://midwestpatchwork.blogspot.ie/2012/08/eqa-crossroads-exhibition-at-festival.html Mine is the second from the bottom on the left.

"Stitching the Legend" exhibition at Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey

"Stitching the Legend" an exhibition of work by the Textile Art Forum finishes on Saturday 30th June at Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim.

Here are just a few photos of the exhibition taken by Jan Blair.



"Stitching the Legend" an exhibition by the Textile Art Forum

 "Branches in the Setting Sun" (detail)

 "Branches in the Moonlight" (detail)

 "Salt fell like Snow" (detail...in progress)

 "Framed Sketchbook" (detail)

"Stitching the Legend Sketchbooks"

Photos of some of the work making it's way northwards for "Stitching the Legend" an exhibition by the Textile Art Forum at the Flax Gallery, Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey from 8th to 30th June.

The Textile Art Forum is a group of textile artists including Jan Blair (Co. Meath), Amanda Northey (Co. Antrim), Frances Sawaya (Co. Cavan) and myself.

My work for this exhibition is based on local legends of Knockma (Cnoc Maigh) near my home in Co. Galway. This hill is said to have been the residence of Finnbharra, king of the Connacht fairies. One story tells of how Eithne, a local chieftain’s wife was spirited away by Finnbharra, forcing her husband to search for her and combat fairy magic.

All this mystery and romance led me through a process of sketching, collaging, printing, fabric-painting, inkjet printing on fabric, free-machine embroidery and quilting. My own sketchbook led me to create another sketchbook, which I sent to the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project and this one can now be viewed online at http://www.arthousecoop.com/library?utf8=%E2%9C%93&display_name=ester+kiely&theme_id=&commit=Search&country=&city=&province=&state=

Catalogue:

1. Panel Signature Piece: She Looked up through the trees 50x50cms £50

2. Wall Hanging: Branches in the Moonlight 92 x 51cm £140

3. Wall Hanging: Salt fell like Snow 102 x 71cm not for sale

4. Wall Hanging: Branches in the Setting Sun 92 x 51cm £140

5. Panel: Fairy Tree at Knockma I (8x8in) £55

6. Panel: Fairy Tree at Knockma II (8x8in) £55

7. Panel: Fairy Tree at Knockma III (8x8in) £55

8. 5 x A6 Covered Sketchbooks £20ea

9. Framed Sketchbook not for sale

Cork Textiles Network Exhibition at Bishopstown Library, Cork

Random Shuffle 2: An exhibition of textiles and ceramics

Photo: Kim O'Sullivan

Random Shuffle 2, an exhibition of textiles and ceramics will take place at the Café Foyer, GMIT Main Campus, Dublin Road Galway from 10th October to 30th October.

The exhibition features the work of Graduates of GMIT Art and Design as well as the works of the members of Groundworks Studios in celebration of Year of Craft and will be officially opened on 14th October by Bridgette Brew at 4pm.

Cork Textiles Network presents "Colour of Sound"

Cork Textiles Network presents "Colour of Sound" an exhibition of textiles at the Cork School of Music, Union Quay, Cork from Thursday 24th November to Thursday 20th December, 2011.

The Brooklyn Library Sketchbook Project

I heard about this project last year and really liked the sound of it so I thought I'd sign up this year and get involved. To get involved you just need to sign up, pick a theme, pay the basic admin fee (about $25) and you will receive a blank sketchbook in the post. Fill your sketchbook and return it by the deadline for inclusion in the touring exhibition.

For more information check out.... http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Branching Out: National Exhibition of the Irish Patchwork Society at the Botanic Gardens

I was delighted an image of my work (top right) was chosen along with 7 other pieces (4 from Galway in total!) for the invitation to 'Branching Out' the National Exhibition at the Botanic Gardens, Dublin. The exhibition runs until 2nd August and the official opening is at 11.30am on Tuesday 5th July. The Western Branch will travel to the exhibition by bus on Saturday 9th July (members can contact Joan Colleran for details or see http://www.westernips.blogspot.com/). More information about the exhibition celebrating 30 years of the society can be seen at

http://irishpatchwork.blogspot.com/ and also on the Crafts Council's Year of Craft website
http://www.craftinireland.com.

Galway Craft on display at the Galway County Hall

Galway City and County Councils wish to promote Galway craft as part of the Year of Craft Celebrations in 2011. My work is included in a display along with 7 other craftspeople at the Galway County Hall, Prospect Hill, Galway from 4th July to 1st August. The display includes woodwork, ceramics, jewellery, slate and textiles. I hope to include some photographs here soon, but if you're passing the County Hall, do drop in!

"Outside the Box" a showcase of Irish Fine Art Craftsmanship

The work of fellow Cork Textiles Network member Jenny Monks will feature in "Outside the Box" a showcase of Irish Fine Art Craftsmanship at the Twenty Twenty Gallery, Cork from 9th to 20th June.

"CrafTiNg" an exhibition of textiles by the Cork Textiles Network

Some of my work will feature at the Cork Textiles exhibition 'CrafTiNg' which opens on Thursday 2nd June in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. The exhibition will run until Thursday 16th June. For more information see www.corktextiles.com.

"Now and Then" an exhibition by Cork Textiles Network

I am delighted that a piece of my work "Stone walls, Tall grasses and a Blue moon" was selected to feature in this exhibition (and in the centre, bottom row of the invitation) which opens at 6pm on Thursday 21st April, 2011 at Leahy & Associates Architects Ltd., 4 Camden Quay, Cork. The exhibition runs until 2nd May 2011. For more information see www.corktextiles.com.

"Branching Out" an exhibition by the Western Branch of Irish Patchwork Society at the Galway City Museum

PLEASE NOTE THIS EXHIBITION HAS CLOSED EARLY DUE TO RENOVATIONS AT THE GALWAY CITY MUSUEM. APOLOGIES TO ANYONE WHO MISSED THE EXHIBITION DUE TO THE SHORT NOTICE OF THE CLOSURE

"Branching Out" an exhibition of quilts by the Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society will open at 3pm on Saturday April 16th at the Galway City Museum, all are welcome! It promises to be a great exhibition, so don't miss it!

On 7th April, 2011 the Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society presented the museum with this beautiful quilt "Western Reflections" showing some scenes of life in the West of Ireland. The quilt will remain part of the Museum's permanent collection.

For more information about the Western Branch of the IPS see http://www.westernips.blogspot.com/

"The Narrative Line" An exhibition by Alice Kettle and Bernie Leahy

Before travelling home from Downpatrick on 12th March I took a detour to visit the Island Arts Centre in Lisburn for the last day of an exhibition of textiles by Alice Kettle and Bernie Leahy which is a touring exhibition organised by the Crafts Council of Ireland.

I've seen work by both artists before but was interested to see them both together as they are very different in style and technique although both rely heavily on stitch.

I am a fan of Bernie Leahy's work and marvel at her stitched drawing skills! The image above was taken from Google images and it is quite small so it's hard to see the detail. The piece itself was approx 20 x 30inches if I remember correctly. There were larger stitched drawings, bronze sculptures with stitched components, victorian lockets with stitched drawings and some plaster-dipped children's dresses with stitched drawings. I liked the variety of work and the mix of materials used. I also like the contemporary/conceptual element of her work. If you'd like to see more check out her website at http://www.efiberart.com/

Alice Kettle uses lots more colour and machine-stitching in her work, which is generally larger scaled. I wonder how she manages to manipulate these large canvas-based pieces on her sewing machine? The finished pieces undulate with the heavy stitching, a quality I think adds texture, depth and movement. Her work reminds me of Chagall's paintings, which I saw in Nice, France when I was a student in the late '80's. Alice Kettle also showed paper collages and ceramics in the exhibition. For more of her work see http://www.alicekettle.com/

The Island Arts Centre is one to be proud of where craft, fine art and the community live together happily! It is a large centre with lots of rooms for workshops. On the day I visited 3 or 4 of them were occupied with groups of all ages enjoying a variety of workshops. Naomi Whan teaches a number of textile workshops here (for info on her work see http://craftni.org/directory/maker/naomi-whan)

The centre has at least one (maybe more) artist studios. One of those is currently occupied by artist-in-residence, Andrea McCullough - a ceramic artist. I liked her quirky 'love-potion' bottle and brought one home to see if it works!

The centre also seems to have a vibrant community arts scheme with the resultant work by community groups also on display.

The centre supports local artists through an award/purchase scheme and the collection is displayed throughout. I was delighted to see that textiles feature prominently.

Tread Softly Exhibition by Crafts Council of Ireland at Cork Public Museum

I attended the opening of 'Tread Softly' an exhibition of textiles by members of the Crafts Council of Ireland at the Cork Public Museum on Friday 4th March.

The exhibition continues until 30th April, so if you get a chance to travel to Cork it's definitely worth a visit.

"Seamless" off the body, on the wall: Textile exhibition at Colaiste Stiofain Naofa, Cork

My aunt was influential in teaching me how to sew when I was about 6 years old. I recently inherited her sewing box, filled with her threads and sewing notions for mending, altering and embellishing clothing. Some aunties may seem/seam so straight! But my aunty lived an interesting and full life in Ireland, UK and the USA. She seemed quite exotic to a very impressed 6-year old! These nostalgic treasures inspired a series of 4 8x8inch block pieces. (photos of the 4 pieces to follow shortly!)