NEWSLETTERMARCH/APRIL 1981

Published by the Crafts Council of Ireland, Thomas Prior House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Telephone

LTD.

01 680764

Annual General MeetingThe Annual General Meeting of theCrafts Council of Ireland will takeplace at Thomas Prior House on 14 Mayat 11.30 am.

As usual, this is the annual occasion onwhich the representatives of the variouscraft guilds and associations may putthemselves up for election to theManagement Committee so that theymay take a closer part in the policy anddecision making process of theorganisation.

A visit to the Marlay Park CraftWorkshop has been organised for thoseattending the AGM.

David LordIt is with regret that we announce thedeath of David Lord, who representedthe North County Dublin CraftworkersAssociation on the Crafts Council. A finecraftsman, he attended-though far fromwell-the Fifth National Crafts TradeFair in February and throughout thethree rigorous days was never other thanhis cheerful and hardworking self. Hewill be missed by the community ofcraftworkers and all his many friends.To all who were close to him we extendour sympathy.

ExhibitionsIn the David Hendriks Gallery, from19 June, Sonja Landweer will be showinga new collection of ceramics, her firstexhibition for some time.

Owen Killen Ceramics will be having anexhibition in the Kilkenny ShopMezzanine Gallery, opening 25 June.

The Minister for Industry, Commerceand Tourism with some members of theManagement Committee of the Council.

Council's Exhibition for Lowell,Mass.A scaled down version of the Council'sexhibition Weaving- the IrishInheritance will be shown in the USA inearly summer.

The Cultural Relations Committee of theDepartment of Foreign Affairs hasarranged for the exhibition to be shownin the Lowell Textile Museum inMassachessetts. It will, for securityreasons, be without the items loaned

by the National Museum for its showingin London, but wilf otherwise befundamentally the same. The CentralBank has loaned the six commissionedweavings which it bought after theexhibition had returned from Londonlast year. We understand thatnegotiations are taking place for theexhibition to travel to other centresin New England when it is in theUnited States.

The Cultural Identity of Europe In a recent symposium held in Delphi some thirty thinkers, writers, university members and senior officials met to discuss the cultural identity of Europe, past and present.

Professor Henri Janne, Chairman of the Symposium, stresses in his final report: "Today, all the values that derived from the constituents of Europe's identity are in profound crisis. They are undergoing transformations which, while holding out promises of renewal, are currently tearing them apart. . . . Is there any real hope that the buds on the broken boughs of Europe's culture will actually blossom? This question requires thorough, critical appraisal.

"Total disorder reigns if all these currents are viewed not as actual experience, ways of life and artefacts but as ideologies. Moreover-and this is doubtless the most serious aspect—the acts of individuals and groups no longer match their words. The chasm between the values people still accept and the things they do adds an ethical dimension to the intellectual problem.

"This cultural crisis is superimposed on the evolution of a society which, despite the economic recession, is still a consumer society, where social relation­ships and mental habits tend to become increasingly one-dimensional in the sense defined by Herbert Marcuse. In its megalopolises, it juxtaposes a crowd of people who might possibly recognise one another but who hardly get to know one another any longer. It isolates individuals mentally and forces introspection on them. The mass communications organised by this society constantly inform people about everything, that is to say, nothing, for if everything is repeated in news bulletins which are, of necessity, sporadic and incomplete and if everything is treated as equally important, nothing makes sense any more. It is the meaning of information itself (a sign made up of words and images).

"The result is a deep-rooted feeling of impotence which engenders indifference and withdrawal. How can authentic democracy exist in tne long term? Yes, there is pluralism in everything and of everything, but beyond a certain point pluralism of this kind becomes dispersal and isolation and thus frag­mented homogeneity.

"Throughout history, in traditional societies up to the industrial revolution, culture was the final aim of societal

development. At least, there was a general impression that the functional aim of human activity was cultural production, the unique idiom of society's achieve­ment. It comprised knowledge, art and technology. It left its mark on social structures, institutions, language, personalities, roles, laws and customs.

"Seen in this light, the purpose of producing goods and services in a system based on authority and social heirarchy is to create and maintain a culture which is fairly unevenly distributed.

"In human history the economy is there­fore a means and not an end. 11 is a tool and as such does not normally constitute a central value, or a goal in its own right.

"Since the industrial revolution, however, a reversal has come about.The economy has become bourgeois society's central aim, determining the priority given to all human activity. Production is an end in itself. The production of goods and services which can be sold on the market is the yardstick of a nation's wealth. Individual accomplishment is measured by profit and career success. The economic order is the key to, and the meaning of, social life. The principal doctrines (whether orthodox or dissident) governing human development (liberalism and Marxrsm) have an economic base. Economic growth has become the sine

Ministers for Culture Report The Council of Europe has just issued the full record of the 1978 meeting in Athens of European Ministers from twenty-one countries, as well as representatives of EEC and UNESCO.

It is interesting to note that only the British Minister mentioned and, indeed, gave prominence to crafts as a cultural medium. The majority were concerned with regarding the arts as consisting of painting, sculpture, dance, theatre and music.

Lord Donaldson's comment on craft was interesting. "We are," he said, "supporting the crafts pretty fully. They provide an entree into the world of art which is less off-putting to the nervous than the full fledged art techniques involved in, for example, sculpture or oil painting . . . there are many people who have taken up pottery or leather work as a hobby, or who have learned a little of this while at school, and who feel closer to this than to abstract art or avant garde theatre. The cultural gap they have to jump from crafts that they

qua non. It was the be-all and end-all of the "golden sixties". Life is moulded by the economy through labour regulations, access to social advantages and consumer practices.

"Culture thus becomes a commodity. Far from being the normal goal of human activity, it has become "enter­tainment" isolated from society's real purpose and constituting a means of increasing the ordinary consumer market (the cultural industries), that is to say, a form of consumption which, as such, is characterised by conditioned passivity. Culture thus loses its ability to create and transform; it disintegrates and becomes one-dimensional. Cultural activities have been down-graded because economic growth has supplanted culture as a basic aim. This is logical, for there is no room for two central systems of values which would be incompatible . . .

"Of course, it must be stressed that historical experience of the bourgeois system and its economic absolution is by no means completely bad, despite the fact that it is basically misdirected. This experience has fashioned a scientific and technological tool and methods of organisation which could conquer new cultural hejghts, provided they were placed at the service of cultural aims and based on satisfactory standards of living and health."

(Council of Europe News Report)

can do, recognise and appreciate, to what is being done by leading experts is much narrower than in the fine arts."

Anyone in this country connected with craft will have recognised this and seen the interest shown by the general public in any exhibition of crafts. We remember that the loldanas exhibition of crafts in Trinity in 1970 was a record breaker. The 1976 All Ireland Crafts Exhibition in the Municipal Gallery was another public success, as was Weaving—the Irish Inheritance in London during the Sense of Ireland Festival last year, breaking the record for attendance at the gallery in which it was shown.

There are levels of crafts, of course, from the happy endeavours of the hobbyist through the many beautiful examples of our professional craftsmen available in the shops right along to the work of the craftsman as an artist. At all levels there is, in the ordinary man or woman on the street, an ability to identify, an understanding that the craft is something that they themselves could achieve.

Ceramic Research Award1981/82

The South Glamorgan Institute of HigherEducation, in Cardiff, is offering artist-craftsmen working in ceramics anopportunity to engage in research of apractical, technical or aesthetic nature,related to their personal or professionaldevelopment. The award is offered inco-operation with the Crafts Committeeof the Welsh Arts Council, with thesupport of the Crafts Council.

The Faculty of Art and Design at theInstitute is extremely well equipped forboth studio and industrial ceramics andoffers good opportunities for researchrelated to most aspects in these fields.The Department is considered to be oneof the leading ceramic departments inthe UK, and it is staffed by a group ofinternationally renowned ceramists.

Interested artist-craftsmen are encouragedto visit the Faculty to see the facilities,to meet the staff, and to discuss researchideas before returning their applicationforms. All application forms must bereturned to reach the Welsh Arts Councilby 31 May 1981. Application forms andfurther information are available from:

Craft and Design DepartmentWelsh Arts CouncilHoist House, Museum PlaceCardiff CF1 3NXTelephone 0222 394711

1st International Exhibition ofMulti-Media Non-PreciousJewelleryMost craftsmen are being effected by theeconomic situation but this is particularlytrue for the jeweller. Because of this,there would seem to be a case to redefinejewellery. Many jewellers, until recentlyworking largely in traditional preciousmetals and gems, are now using a widerrange of materials, such as plastics, paper,sponge, cork, textiles and ceramics. Theseare not substitutes but are used for theirown individual characteristics.

The experience of using these materialscan often cause the designer to go beyondthe production of one-off pieces, tothink in terms of editions and multipleproduction. Ten years ago a handful ofjewellers pioneered this new approach,but now new and exciting ideas arecoming forward all the time.

The British Craft Centre is now planningto provide the first opportunity to record

t i l l

"Chinese Waters"-ceramic sculpture byVicki Olverson.

this burst of creative activity. An openinternational exhibition JewelleryRedefined will aim to assess the relevanceand implications of the new ideas, and toshow the selected work extensively bothin Britain and abroad. This will be anexhibition of international multi-media,non-precious jewellery, to open at theBritish Crafts Centre in London inOctober 1982, before going on tour. Itis planned to present this every four yearsalternating with the already well-established International Exhibition ofMiniature Textiles, organised by theBCC with the support of the WorldCrafts Council—tUnited KingdomCommittee.

Entries for Jewellery Redefined areinvited not only from professionaljewellers but also from designers workingin other disciplines. Research has shownthat graphic designers, photographers,textile and ceramic artists, and others,are also likely to make an excitingcontribution.

Further details, conditions of entrv andapplication forms will be available inJune. Anyone wishing to receive theseshould send a self-addressed envelope,

marked International Jewellery 1982 to:

Diana HughesExhibition DirectorBritish Crafts Centre43 Earlham Street, Covent GardenLondon WC2HTelephone 01 835-6993

Musical InstrumentOpportunities

In co-operation with the Institute forIndustrial Research and Standards, a newdevelopment of a traditional musicalinstrument has been patented and acraftsman-producer is being sought tobring the product to the market.

The development would probably suit acraftsman making musical instrumentsbut not those requiring a high level ofmusical technique, such as classicalinstruments. Alternatively, a craftsmanin wood or light metal who is capable ofprecise work might be suitable.

Enquiries to the Crafts Council.

WCC-EuropeThe European region now includestwenty-three member countries. Someof these countries are representated byorganisations such as the Crafts Councilof Ireland, others by National Stateorganisations such as Cepelia in Poland,which is the State co-operative involvedin international marketing for crafts.

A number of countries have beenrepresented by various groups, notnecessarily craft oriented, but thisappears to be changing and the recentNorwegian grouping into WCC—Norwayis an indication of a move towards anentity truly representative of craftsmenand craft related organisations, and notmerely a small section of artist-craftsmen or others representing onlythemselves. In the Norwegian entity,both State based and craft basedorganisations are involved. TheNorwegian Society of Applied Art andEnvironmental Design acts assecretariat and craft industry, homecraft production, textiles, metal, etc.are represented by individuals related tothe Societies or Guilds covering thesedisciplines.

Denmark'81The Crafts Council of Ireland has made aproposal that the 1983 European GeneralAssembly be held in Ireland and theacceptance of Ireland as the host countrywill be decided at the General Assemblyin Denmark in June.

As the Irish delegation will be making astrong case, and some preliminary workhas already been done, it appearsvirtually certain that the proposal willbe agreed.

While the business session will be held inDublin, it is intended that the workshops,which will be a central feature, will beheld regionally. The regional associationsand guilds will have a part to play in thisconcept and, while the workshops willbe of serious and involved content, therewill.be ample opportunity for theinternational craftsmen to meet on*aninformal basis with Irish craftsmenduring the four or five days which theywill be staying.

Ireland'83The European General Assembly of theWorld Crafts Council, which is beingheld during June this year, is very mucha workshop:oriented conference. The

Above:A member of the Handweavers Guild ofCork, Mie Preckler, and JacquesQuisquator, run weaving courses at theirstudio, Rossmore Weaving Workshops,near Clonakilty, Co Cork.

craftsmen taking part will be attendingspecific workshops in their particulardiscipline, and these will be situated invarious centres in Denmark. The formalbusiness sessions will be confined to thefinal weekend. The main emphasis is onthe exchange of techniques and of anup-grading of skills through workingwith other international craftsmen.

A number of craftsmen from Irelandwill be attending on this basis and grant-aid has been organised for them throughthe relevant agencies.

The exposure of some of our craftsmento a wider influence can only be to theadvantage of craftsmanship in Ireland asa whole. Being insular can mean morethan living on an island.

Factors of SuccessIn a recent article in the Craft Reporton Toronto-born potter, Jani Walsh, herrecipe for success as a production pottersince 1970 is stated as her being in theright place at the right time—competitionwas at a minimum in Toronto at thetime and there was a new and largemarket to tap.

There were other factors: "I hadreceived a formal training in art and thisprovided me with a design sense. Ireceived a rigorous apprenticeship andthat is the way in which I really learnedabout the meaning of production pottery.Also, I realised early that I had to becomesales and business oriented to survivefinancially, and I was fortunate to havethe initiative to follow through. Mostimportantly, I feel that my success flowsout of my love and devotion to mywork."

% For ArtTen States in the US have enacted"Percent for Art" legislation whichprovides that a small portion of all fundsraised for public construction goestowards financing original commissionsof art or craftwork for the structurebeing built. The States are Alaska,Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa,Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey,Oregon and Washington.

The percentage varies, but is in the rangeof 1% or 1/2%. The New Hampshire Bill,for instance, creates a now lapsing fundconsisting of Vi% of all appropriations ofgeneral funds for construction of newbuildings as provided by the capitalBudget Bill for the purchase of worksof art and craft and historical objects.

Ceramic Art in Blessington Strokestown Craft CentreDuring March the Tulfarris Art Galleryheld an interesting and large exhibitionof ceramic art. The artist-craftsmen whoshoWed a number of works includedPat Connor, Naomi Brandel, and PeterWolstenholme, whose work is alreadywell known. Also featured were worksby some of the young ceramic artists-Rosemary Gray, Lisa Young, DeirdreMcLoughlin, Vicki Olverson and SeamusLaffan.

It was an impressive exhibition, andbeautifully mounted. The only pity isthat it was at a time of the year when itgot minimum exposure. We hope thatwe may see more exhibitions at Tulfarrisdevoted to crafts.

The new IDA craft workshop develop-ment in Strokestown will be openedofficially at the end of April by theMinister for Industry, Commerce andTourism.

Some of these custom-built advanceworkshops—at the point of publication-have been occupied by Kilteel Crafts(John Cassin), Cerama (Jeremy andPauline Tyndale-Biscoe) and Paul Doyle.Negotiations are in progress whichshould see the cluster filled by theend of the year.

Irish Patchwork in LondonRuth McDonnell, the Dublin patchworkartist-craftsman, had work exhibited atthe exhibition in London by the QuiltersGuild during March. The exhibitionfeatured both traditional and moderndesigns. The thirty-one exhibition pieceswere chosen from a total entry of over300.

The Quitters' Guild was formed in the UKby a group of people interested in variousaspects of quiltmaking and is about twoyears old. The membership is over 800,which clearly shows the interest andenthusiasm for the patchwork andquilting revival and for the craft as avibrant form of self-expression.

Furniture ExhibitionDeclan O'Donoghue from Cork, a younggraduate of the John Makepeace Schoolof furniture, is one of four graduates whoheld an exhibition of their work in thevillage of Badminton in Avon, England,from 1 to 12 April.

The few young craftsmen who decided,when they graduated last year, to carryon working together have converted agroup of farm buildings into a well-equipped furniture studio/workshop.

Parnham training has produced craftsmenof the highest standards and this appliesto the four who showed a range of pieceswhich included tables, desks, chairs,small boxes and other works made withskill and care, not only in theconstruction and finish but in the choiceand use of the wood used.

Below:Helena Brennan, who represents theCraft Potters Society of Ireland onthe Crafts Council.

Craft Training Workshops The initial participants in the Kilworth Craft Training Workshops have been chosen and will commence work at Kilworth in early May.

Those chosen are Elizabeth Corcoran, a potter from Crookstown, County Cork; Terry Dunne, Dublin, a weaver; Rosemary Gray, also of Dublin, a potter; and Rose Marie McGonagle from County Donegal, a jeweller.

Elizabeth Corcoran has been working for the last two years with Radley and Maria Searle in County Roscommon, and previously had a year's apprentice­ship with Fred Williams of Aherla Stoneware. She holds a National Institute of Higher Education/AnCO certificate in pottery and ceramic technology. She is an experienced thrower and has worked in stoneware.

Terry Dunne completed his training at Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design with a National Council for Educational Awards Diploma in Textiles with distinction in 1980 and has made some tapestries to order and commission.

Rosemary Gray has completed four years at the National College of Art and Design and holds a Diploma from that College. She has been a prize winner at the RDS National Crafts Competition in 1978, 1979 and 1980 for sculptural ceramics. She has done summer work with Carley's Bridge Pottery, Fergus Pottery and in Beleek. She has participated in the Butler House Scheme at the Kilkenny Design Workshops and has had a one-woman show at the Kilkenny Shop in Dublin. She has exhibited at both the Tom Caldwell and Tulfarris Galleries.

Rose Marie McGonagle has a Diploma in Design (jewellery) from the Regional Technical College in Letterkenny, County Donegal and spent a period in the Butler House Scheme at the Kilkenny Design Workshops and exhibited, with others, at the Kilkenny Shop in Dublin in early 1980. Like all the others she has already sold some of her work and intends to set up her own studio eventually.

Each will spend nine months in Kilworth during which time they will develop a range of products and a marketing strategy, and will

participate in a varied programme of lectures aimed at increasing their knowledge of the commercial aspects of being a professional craftsman.

Award Winners The Irish Post—AIB Community Awards 1980 involved an award for Ms Mary Mullin who served for a number of years on the Crafts Council of Ireland's Management Committee.

The awards, which are described as essentially an exercise in celebration—in reminding the Irish community in the UK and at home of Irish individual and community achievements.

The award to Mary Mullin was for her achievements as Chairman of the Sense of Ireland cultural event in the UK last year. The award was extended "to her and, through her, to all who contributed in any way to A Sense of Ireland which dominated London's West End for six weeks a year ago.

The Irish Post comments that " i t is difficult to quantify what it achieved but, a year later, the newspaper is of the opinion that its achievements were profound—particularly in the area of the second generation, many of whom found within its diversity an element of Irish-ness which will remain permanently sustaining."

The Crafts Council of Ireland contributed Weaving—the Irish Inheritance which was the most successful exhibition ever mounted at the UK Crafts Council's gallery in Waterloo Place. Mary Mullin is to be congratulated for this well-deserved honour. The award, appropriately enough has been designed and made by Kilkenny Design Workshops with which Mary Mullin was closely associated for some eleven years.

The Mid-West Crafts Awards, sponsored by Shannon Development and the Industrial Credit Company, were presented by the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism during February.

The award winners were: Brian Gleeson of Ballycasey Workshops for a range of gold and silver jewellery based on the Burren flora; Michael Byrne of Limerick, for a ceramic cup and jug set; and Eugene Lambe of Fanore for his proposals for the manufacture of a traditional Irish flute.

The prizes were £1,500, £1,000 and £500 respectively and all three craftsmen have been approved for grant assistance by Shannon Development.

Crafts Council of Ireland was represented on the panel of judges.

Miss Ann O'Kelly of 4 Eglinton Park, Dublin 4 — telephone 693565 — is agent for Dryad weaving accessories and Russel Dye Kits and is in a position to offer to craftsmen assorted dyed and undyed wools and silk yarns in quantities from 1 oz upwards. Prices are in the range of 50p per lb., to £4.50 per lb.