Elizabeth O'Kane

Elizabeth O'Kane will also be showing new work in the following exhibitions:

RHA Annual Exhibition, Ely Place, Dublin 2, from 28 May to 18 August.

Sculpture in Context, Botanic Gardens, Dublin, from 6th September to 19th October 2012.

Little League, Riverside Park, NYC, Watercolour

For more information on Elizabeth's work, visit her website.

Studio Visit - Alan Ardiff

The 'Studio Visits' are a monthly blog installment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business. This month we're chatting to jeweller and artist Alan Ardiff. 

How did you come to be a jeweller?
I am an accidental jeweller; having studied industrial design and failed, I fell into the craft department and it seemed a nice warm place to be. However I took to jewellery as I liked the scale of the design and it is nice to be in control of the translation of a design from beginning to end unlike some other media. I was also able to apply my industrial engineering ideas to jewellery design, using intricate processes and articulation to create pieces that are innovative in terms of their kinetic abilities.

 

Fisherman'sTails

Where did you train?
I attended the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. I have not had that highly refined classic training of a master goldsmith and I am first to admit that I really wouldn't have that level of discipline. My real training I would see as my work experience in Turin Italy and also with the renowned jeweller, Paul Preston. His work has been a great inspiration to me as he uses gold beautifully to create forms which tell wondrous stories.

Toast

Where is your studio?
I am split in two; I live and have a studio in the wilds of the west of Ireland where I can spend time to create without the distractions of business side of making the jewellery. I also have a studio in the Design Tower and I work with a great team of makers to make sure my jewellery can be appreciated by a wide spectrum of people.

What is the main inspiration for your designs?
I like my work to be a source of interaction between people, the wearer and admirer. This, I think I have achieved through creating work that has not really been done before, in that I incorporate moveable parts in my jewellery. My ongoing driver is to create work with a new dimension. I am very excited about a new piece called ‘Two for Joy’. It is yet again a development of the articulation I use in my work, in this piece 2 birds move independently.

Head Over Heels

What medium do you prefer to work with?
Gold. It does everything you want and is totally forgiving - it is beautifully luscious and steeped in history. I continue to be in awe of the gold collection in the National Museum of Ireland.

Do you have a favourite tool?
My little hammer - it was my first acquisition and reflects the miniature engineering elements of my work.

What are your goals?
To keep coming up with innovative pieces; I am very happy this year as I have plenty of new ideas but some years this can be a bit of a challenge!

No such thing as aliens

Do you give workshops?
Not on an on-going basis. I have been invited to give courses in design at my old college.

What has been your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement is having people who are fascinated with my work, I am humbled by their enthusiasm. From my beginnings at a work bench in my bedroom to a business with five employees has only been achievable through the tremendous support of my customers.

Star gazing

Where do you exhibit your work?
I largely distribute my work throughout Ireland however I would love it to be more accessible around the world. My website is ideal for people to access my work where there is not a local stockist. An email or call to the studio can take the stress out of making a long distance choice and we welcome people to our Dublin studio.

Thanks Alan! You can see more of Alan's work on his website or facebook page. This interview is part of a series called The Studio Visits.

Walk [Your City]

Sometimes people find it hard to locate us in The Design Tower! The idea of this Kickstarter project appeals and could be a great idea for Dublin city and the Docklands area in particular! What do you think? Would you appreciate walking signs that would help you to discover interesting things to see and do?

Bending perspectives

The docklands area has changed radically over the last ten years. Looking at the new skyline, it's fun to imagine how the award-winning, seven storey Design Tower was once an imposing building in terms of its scale. Nowadays, it still stands proud amongst an eclectic mix of new buildings, including the Daniel Libeskind  Grand Canal Theatre and the 12 storey Alto Vetro apartment block, (scale creatively depicted above and below!)

The Bolands Mill buildings seen in the image below, ceased production in 2001. Both the concrete and brick built buildings have considerable historical significance. The site was sold for €42M in 2004 and was to be redeveloped for apartments and offices.

While looking for information on Boland's Mills, I came across an amazing (but never realised) proposal by Julien De Smedt Architects, in 2008, which sought to build a public baths within the dockland basin:

"The Dublin Docklands Open Air Bath seeks to create a new and open public space that will energize the newly developed surrounding area. A catalyst for growth of new social activity, this public bath also serves as a link across the Grand Canal, consolidating the Docklands Area and continuing an important passage through the city of Dublin. Consisting of a children’s pool, diving pool, semi-Olympic pool, changing facilities, and a café, this addition to the Dublin Docklands maximizes the potential for social development and land development."

A project which did come to fruition is The Lir Dance theatre. We're delighted to have them as our new neighbours. As The Lir website states that "This state-of-the-art academy trains actors, designers, directors, playwrights, stage managers and theatre technicians to the highest International standards for careers in the theatre."

The Lir was developed by the partnership of the Cathal Ryan Trust and Trinity College Dublin and opened in September 2011. It is formally associated with the world renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

We, the designers of The Design Tower, are proud to be located in this exciting new creative hub. For more information about what we do, have a look at our website. Most businesses work to appointment but we welcome visitors to drop by and meet us in person.

Article and photos by Aisling Nelson

"Keep Going Sure It's Grand"

Sculptor Elizabeth O'Kane is currently exhibiting in a small works exhibition called "Keep Going Sure It's Grand, (recession-friendly exhibition)" at The Solomon Gallery, Balfe Street, Dublin 2, (next door to The Westbury Hotel).

Exhibition continues until Friday 30 March.  Elizabeth's work on show includes a bronze Buddha Head, based on the Buddha sculpture she made for the Wunderkammer exhibition.

For more details on Elizabeth's work, visit her website.

Studio Visit - Ayelet Lalor

The 'Studio Visits' are a monthly blog installment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business. This month we're chatting to figurative sculptor Ayelet Lalor.

When did you set up your practice and move into The Design Tower?
I originally set up in a shared studio in Arnotts St, Dublin in 1998, with a group comprising of jewellers, ceramists, lead-work and a prop designer. I had just returned from two years in London where I’d fled after finished 4 years of Art college in NCAD. By 1999 the space was too small and I moved into The Design Tower, sharing what is now my studio with another ceramist. This was a great way to share early set up costs and shared experiences as we found our feet in the craft world, and began to create our niche.

'Brunhilde' detail of ceramic Diva

Tell me a little more about your ceramic work
I have always gravitated towards figurative work, and drew a lot as a child. The Divas (my signature range of ceramic figurines) was born, although they looked very different to what they do now. The Divas have developed and changed through the years, but certain elements have remained true, the exaggerated height and aloof manner for example.

I tend to go through phases in which different work is created, so overall the range of work can appear quite diverse. Wall pieces, heads and busts, series of bathers, corporate awards, large scale figures in clay standing 7ft tall or tiny porcelain miniatures; enjoying what I do is paramount to getting the most out of the idea.

Last year I created a range of Divas based on the vintage clothing from the Dirty Fabulous Boutique on Wexford St. A variety of the vintage outfits were chosen, and each represented by individual ceramic Divas, interpreting  the clothes,  and the collection of 18 pieces was exhibited within the boutique for a number of weeks, along with watercolours of each corresponding outfit. The previous year I became fascinated with the vibrancy and purity of colour that can be achieved from working with pigments, and the Divas created were darker with small areas of strong and vibrant colour. Next year, who knows?

'On the Verge'- detail of ceramic Diva

And you also work in other materials?
I don’t only work in ceramics, although it is fair to say that clay is the basis for most of my other work. The different qualities achieved through changing materials has long since interested me, but it is only in the last few years that I have really experimented with these changes.

Moving into bronze was only a matter of time and the quality of the material lends itself to the work, creating a very different outcome. Busy, colourful ceramics can become  quiet, serene sculptures just by changing the material they are produced in. One of my favourite pieces, Serenity is such a piece, and the fun and frivolity that characterise some of the ceramic heads, becomes a very different creature in bronze.

'Serenity' - Bronze on limestone. Edition of 6.

I completed a masters in 2009 in NCAD, and used the time to experiment more fully in other materials, casting heads in coloured resins, plaster and eventually concrete.This new medium has been a very exciting transition for me, and again the material has very different qualities to clay, or bronze.

In the summer of 2011 I completed a series of concrete heads which were exhibited at Art in the Garden, with Gormleys Fine Art in Belfast, Contemporary Sculpture in Irish gardens, Ballintubbert house, Athy and  Sculpture in Context, National Botanical Gardens, Dublin. One of the pieces, Chryseus, (seen below), received an award for ‘Large work of Distinction’ from the Sculpture in context committee, which I was thrilled with as this was the first time these new concrete works had been seen by the public.

'Chryseus' - Cast concrete and steel.

What are you working on at the moment?
Currently, I am working in my studio, doing private commissions and running classes and workshops, both in clay and in concrete casting and silicone mould-making.

There has been a definite shift in the market in the last few years, and unfortunately a lot of galleries have closed.Positively what this has meant is that new ways of working have had to be found and sometimes it's good to get a bit of a kick!What this has meant for me is that I am working on more private commissions, which I enjoy as working directly with the customer can often throw up new ideas that wouldn’t have come so naturally otherwise.

This will start with an informal meeting to find out what what the customer is looking for. This could be anything from a personalised Diva (working from a photograph), to a sculpture that contains elements of something more private. We can go through images of other work for suitable examples of colour and form, and finally I will produce a watercolour illustration from the design.Once the customer has signed off on the drawing it can take between 4-6 weeks for a commission piece to be completed, depending on size.

And you mentioned you run classes?
I originally taught ceramic night-classes in NCAD for over 6 years, but due to lack of numbers these classes eventually collapsed. For over the past two years now I have run classes every week in my studio, for beginners and advanced levels, and some students have remained with me the whole time. Its very enjoyable to be able to hand on my knowledge, and get instant feedback.

I also occasionally run workshops in more specialised areas, concrete casting, silicone and plaster mould-making, and recently in Porcelain-paperclay and decal application. I can run these workshops at any time, so if there is an existing group of people interested, I can work to suit them. I only need 3-4 people to run a workshop.

'In Flower' - porcelain on limestone

Tell me about the piece you made for the Wunderkammer Exhibition
I chose to respond to a sculpture of a Buddhista at the Bender exhibition in Collins Barracks. The Buddhista is the name given to a being in the state before it turns into a Buddha, and this resonated with me, like a caterpillar encased inside its pod before it changes into  butterfly.

The piece for the exhibition was a head cast in plaster and mounted on a polished black limestone slab. The face was tilted, turned up to the sky, as if awaiting this ephemeral transformation that was to come. The head was coloured with a wash of blue to help emphasise this spiritual transition.

'Transition' - Cast and stained herculite on limestone.

Thanks Ayelet! It's great to see the variety of your work in this feature. For more information, visit Ayelet's website or Facebook page. Ayelet also runs ongoing courses on a range of ceramic skills. Get in touch on 01 672 9799 to see when her next course starts.

This interview is part of a series which is archived on the blog - meet the rest of the Design Tower designer/makers!

The Design Tower Winter Workshops

Have you signed up for our exciting range of winter workshops taking place in the Design Tower? We'd love you to book your places now or register your interest for future classes. Classes are very small to allow one-on-one tutoring. For more information, contact the individual designers as listed below.

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This unique series of workshops comprises instruction in such diverse creative activities as drawing of a life model to jewellery making, leather design to paper-making. These limited classes are given by some of the leading practitioners in their fields. The small classes take place in the studios of The Design Tower over the the course of a couple of weekends.

Leather workshops with Roisin Gartland - Contact Roisin: 01 671 0020
"Anna really enjoyed looking through my beautiful leather off-cuts. She chose an unusual piece of patterned leather to make a strap for her handbag. I've had some of these pieces of leather for twenty years and it was great to see them inspiring a new design..."


Portrait sculpture with Elizabeth O'Kane - Contact Liz: 087 917 4947
"Learn the art of portrait sculpture. Go on to sculpt friend's and family's portraits! Class caters for total beginners to professional artists."

Silversmithing with Seamus Gill - Contact Seamus: 01 677 5701
"One of the most popular elements of our last course was learning how to hammer a flat piece of metal into a curved bowl. The students learned the art of patience. The sound effects in the studio were fantastic!"


Jewellery making with Da Capo - Contact Se and Lee: 01 675 3867
"It was great to see the different levels of proficiency and how they felt they individually progressed over the course of each day. Even though some had no prior experience in working in 3d, when they had their finished pieces of jewellery that they themselves had made, the sense of achievement and the smiles on their faces were great to see."

Porcelain sculpture with Ayelet Lalor - Contact Ayelet: 01 672 9799
Change of course dates -  17th and 19th Febuary.
"Over two days discover the pleasure of working with delicate porcelain paperclay. Learn how to apply decal transfers, and to create forms that are transformed when light is seen through it, creating beautiful translucent structures. Suitable for beginners and advanced levels."

Jewellery making with Breda Haugh - Contact Breda; 01 670 5738
“Jewellery in precious metals is a wonderful combination - join my workshop to begin the journey to explore this for yourself.”


Paper-making with the Paper Conservation Studio - Contact Pat; 670 7984
To Launch this series of workshops - Pat Mc Bride from the Paper Conservation Studio is offering a place on their paper-making workshop. To be in with a chance to win, simply friend the Paper Conservation Studio on Facebook.


We're looking forward to meeting you at our workshops. Please help us to spread the word by sharing this post!