This August’s exhibition (August 6 – September 6) at the Award winning Etain Hickey Collections shop and gallery (National Best Shop Front Award and Home Store Winner Irish Made Awards, Irish County Magazine 2018) is a group show of Irish Makers and Artists who have made work for the theme ‘Beasties, Birds and Friends’. For over 10 Years Etain has been inviting different Makers and Artists working in different materials to make work for themed exhibitions. Responding to this year’s ‘Beasties Birds and Friends’ are a group of artists working in different mediums from oils and water colours to ceramics and enamels. The work is as varied as the makers.
Caroline Dolan works in clay and observing the antics of birds in the garden she is drawn to make playful sculptural bird forms with colourful decoration. Each bird has a character its own that reveals itself as she models features onto its thrown and altered body form. Zuzanna Jezikova also works in clay and says that her work is inspired by Irish myths and legends but it also contains elements of psychological archetypes, roles and characters into which we all project ourselves, these may be in the forms of animals or mythical creatures. A sense of mystery and wonder are common threads running throughout Laura Wades work. She constantly takes inspiration from her environment; from a dark silhouette of woodlands to the minute delicate details of its living beings. She uses her monochromatic palette to suggest the importance of balance and tuning into our natural rhythms. Like Zuzanna she also draws on folklore and symbology to conjure curiosity and allow the viewer to contemplate their connection to nature. Thomas Wollen’s local environment and his childhood experiences living in Africa influences all his ceramics. His aspirations are generally simple ones – to produce beautiful work that stimulates debate as well as gives enjoyment.
Felicity Grace has been drawing and painting all her life and recently returned home to her roots in West Cork after living most of her life overseas. She mainly paints portraits and was delighted to be invited to contribute to this themed exhibition and show work that reflects her lifetime love of cats and her background of animal portraiture. Eithne Roberts says cats and birds appear in all her small encaustic paintings, sitting on heads and shoulders, companions for my little characters. As the saying goes “happy is the home with at least one cat and a garden with a tree for the birds”. Sheila Mullins loves Irish nocturnal animals. They are very elusive so any glimpse of them is something to be treasured. “Linocut has allowed me to be both realistic (in the face where I try to capture a vulnerability) and abstract (plumage, spines and fur) in one image.”
Elaine Fallon has made a series of new porcelain pots with drawings of birds and flowers based on her interest in graphic design, childrens’s illustration and designers such as William Morris .For Geraldine Murphy an element of play is really important in her enamel pictures, which she wants to be uplifting. She is inspired by nature and loves animals of all kinds. She brings her rescue dogs to work with her and they often appear in her pictures. And finally Etain Hickey has done lots of drawings of her dog along with birds and hares on her ceramic wall dishes.
Caroline Dolan- ceramics; Elaine Fallon- ceramics; Eithne Roberts – encaustic paintings; Etain Hickey – ceramics; Felicity Grace – Oil paintings; Geraldine Murphy – enamels; Laura Wade – Ink drawings; Sheila Mullins – lino prints; Thomas Wollen – raku ceramics; Zuzana Jezikova – ceramics.
Further details: etainhickey@gmail.com; Etain 087 9437239 Instagram:etainhickeyclonakilty www.facebook.com/EtainHickeyCollections
