Current work

Triptych: Clay, Glass, Bronze - The National University Ireland Art and Design Prize 2010

Bone Vessels

My work is about the importance of the senses and instinct in how we relate to the world.

The abdomen is the centre for so much feeling and experience. Hunger for food and pleasure stirs us there,

while fear and anxiety makes it clench and ache. It is the home for so much of our non rational being,

and also the site for the growth of future generations.

The abdomen is held and cradled by the pelvis and this is the reason I have chosen to use the bones of the pelvis

as my starting point for a series of shallow vessels. The hand built vessels take form in a searching way in a dialogue

with the material. A rough shape is slowly being refined towards a final form that that only becomes clear as the work

progresses. There is often a period in the middle of the making process where the piece seems like a failure that should be

rejected, before more work finally reveals a form that works, that has tension and grace. Their main aim is to appeal to

the senses, with rough and smooth textures, soft curves and pierced holes with thick and thin sections.

The project evolved to include work in glass and bronze, further exploring the language of materials.