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sculpture beginning to slump under its own weight

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added more material in semester 2

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https://nationalinventoryich.chg.gov.ie/basketmaking/

Baskets are made from whatever pliable material grows locally, in our case we use rods of willow, or ‘sailleach’, which are woven together. We have also used hazel, heather or whips of other trees.

Some designs for baskets are ancient, unchanged for centuries, like a Creel, or a Potato Skib, and other baskets have more modern origins. But whatever its origin, no basket has yet been made by a machine. In fact it is the complete sustainable craft,

made locally from local natural materials.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/pollution/#:~:text=The%20three%20major%20types%20of,water%20pollution%2C%20and%20land%20pollution.&text=Sometimes%2C%20air%20pollution%20is%20visible,however%2C%20air%20pollution%20is%20invisible.

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https://www.cobosocial.com/dossiers/kimsooja-cosmic-egg/

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Ideally, I wouldn't have to use the bath to do this- it wasn't quite big enough.
Soaked for about 2 hours until bendy.

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added more material in semester 2

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building structures to display the work on

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building structures to display the work on

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https://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/artists/49-ernesto-neto/

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http://www.dublincityartsoffice.ie/the-lab/exhibitions/under-your-skin

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https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Collection/Resilience/Artefact/Woman-with-a-Back-Basket/929184d4-dbb0-4997-9254-a1a3956236c2

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clay piece. feels as though it could become part of a different body of work

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https://www.frieze.com/article/stuff

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Living in the Landscape- Hidden Treasures

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Living in the Landscape- Hidden Treasures

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https://ifiplayer.ie/?post_type=post&s=hidden+treasures

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Lots of the branches ended up snapping- i think they were too thin and/or not soaked properly

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Woven out of plaited straw, this hen's nest represents an object that was once commonly seen on Irish farms. Typically oaten straw was used to weave the objects, but on occasion wheat or barley straw was also employed. The nests were normally placed in a dark room/space, often in an outhouse, where the hens were more likely to lay their eggs. This particular example comes from Drumcliffe in Co. Sligo and now resides at the Museum of Country Life, near Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The photo below shows Mr Laurence Mulligan from Enaghan in Co. Longford making a similar nest in 1969.

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A Traditional Irish Woven Straw Hen's Nest | Irish Archaeology

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Woven out of plaited straw, this hen's nest represents an object that was once commonly seen on Irish farms. Typically oaten straw was used to weave the objects, but on occasion wheat or barley straw was also employed. The nests were normally placed in a dark room/space, often in an outhouse, where the hens were more likely to lay their eggs.

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I have been collecting patchwork quilts for twenty-four years. Buying and acquiring them in all kinds of conditions from various and interesting sources, encouraging my passion for the study of Irish patchwork, the needlework and the social history which surrounds them, all of which fascinate me. These quilts are historical documents, telling a story of a past life and the families who made them.

Exhibition at Lisburn Linen Museum, 2001 Signature blocks - 1895 Dble. Irish chain, 1880 Star, 1930

I come from a strong needlework background, my grandmothers and great grandmothers made patchwork quilts. My maternal grandmother Millar worked in service where the lady of the house taught her many needlework skills, which she in turn passed on to her daughter, my mother who was the village dressmaker. She is extremely gifted and talented having also made many beautiful wedding dresses in her lifetime.

In the 1950's she kept the famous ragbag of clippings for the women of the village who gathered the scraps to make their patchwork quilts. Receiving the scraps gave them the opportunity to express their hidden talent, being artists in their own right and most importantly, providing a little extra luxury and colour in their homes when in some cases only a coat or a blanket would have covered the bed.

Coverlett, Hexagon patchwork, c.1895 made to brighten bedroom & look "posh" County (Co.) Tyrone, North Ireland (N. I.)

My mother tells me that her grandmother Campbell, my great grandmother, made red and white patchworks. She also made sacks from ticking, material used to cover a mattress, which she filled with chaff, worthless husks of corn. Another example of thrift and nothing wasted. The family slept on these covered with patchwork quilts.

Irish Chain, c. 1895 Co. Tyrone, N. I.

When I was a small child, my grandmother Millar thought my time spent reading Enid Blyton books was wasteful. Grandmother taught me to embroider and knit. She was born in an era when young girls were encouraged to learn needlework as a form of security for the future starting with providing for the girls bottom drawer in preparation for marriage. Being able to create or make do and mend, having needlework skills was an asset to a young girl if she wanted to go into service in the big house. An example of her influence, a hand embroidered patchwork with Celtic patterns; the Irish wolfhound, an Irish Tower in the centre and the four provinces of Ireland are along the top.

My keen interest in folk art and social history combined with my needlework background has been the foundation and inspiration for my collection and the study of Irish Patchwork Quilts.

Ireland has a long tradition of making patchwork quilts. During the 18th century patchwork and quilting was introduced to Ireland by the English gentry. These ladies of high society, living on their Irish country estates, were known to have taught many needlework skills, including patchwork and quilting to those working in service, in time this craft spread to surrounding cottages, villages and towns. Ireland's tradition of patchwork and quilting thrived and grew rapidly out of thrift and necessity. Traditionally, Irish patchwork comprise of two layers the top and the backing stitched together with wave or chevron patterns. The early patchwork introduced in Ireland were similar, it seems the Irish carried on this tradition, handing it down from generation to generation. The Irish lived in small communities on an island with little opportunity for travel. These factors helped to keep the tradition as it was. It is also thought they could not afford to line a quilt the wool would have been needed for another use.

"Thrift patchwork" in wool, crazy style, c. 1900 Patched in 1950s with the blue checked cotton Belfast, N.I.

In mountainous, bleak and rural areas of Ireland, an old worn blanket or sheet could have been added to a patchwork giving it extra weight and warmth, looking very rough and primitive these patchworks were purely functional made from hand woven fabrics, tweeds and old suiting, they were usually tie quilted with carded sheep's wool or roughly quilted with linen thread

The types of patchwork quilts made in Ireland were log cabin, crazy, Irish chain, signature, mosaic, frame, block, and many examples of appliqué.

Turkey red and white patchwork quilts were very common in Ulster, and were often referred to as an Ulster patchwork quilt. It looked bright and cheerful in the dark cottages with the flickering lights of the turf fires. Quite often these patchworks were hand pieced, then machine quilted, it seems the finished quilt with it's patterns and colour were more important than the hand quilting which would have been time consuming when many other household tasks needed to be done. As not many owned a sewing machine it was prestigious to show of machine quilting, giving the impression that she was better of than she really was.

In the case of families who were too poor to cut up their clothes for patchwork, they would get pieces from sources such as dressmakers, travellers, shop samples, factories and linen mills. Some linen merchants had a day in the week, when they sold pieces of linen to their workers, for the purpose of making patchwork quilts. These linen pieces were often made into frame patchworks quilts that were very fashionable in Northern Ireland. There are many examples of black material appearing in Ulster frame quilts. The black material was originally used for mourning, but also during the second world war black material was used to put over windows to prevent the light getting out during the blitz, hence the name black out material, when it was no longer needed it was put to a good use.

From the late 1800s, Belfast and Londonderry had many shirt making factories, these shirts going all over the world as far away as Australia. As orders increased, the factories developed a system for out workers around the countryside. Due to this industry, many shirt scraps were available which were purchased at the factory shops in bags according to weight. The workers made the patchworks in their spare time and then sold them.

Frame patchwork, c.1940 blackout material & furnishing prints Belfast, N.I.

Stories are told about men picking up the patchwork quilts on their bicycles and selling them for the out workers around the doors, they were very popular and often referred to as The Derry Quilts, The Shirt Quilts, and The Belfast Patchwork. In Northern Ireland, it appears patchwork quilts were labelled according to their source and material rather than the patterns.

These utility patchwork quilts along with scraps from linen handkerchiefs table cloths and pyjama factories, provide a great insight into the Northern Ireland textile Industry reminding us of a by gone era. Flour bags were saved, washed and bleached to use as a back to the patchwork. During the Second World War the American army was stationed in Northern Ireland, they had their own bakery in Crumlin, Co. Antrim. The flour was shipped from America. The bags from this flour are often found on the back of Co. Antrim patchworks made in this time.

Many of the patterns found in Irish patchwork are very similar to American patterns. Nostalgic emigrants whose thoughts lay in the green fields of Ireland stitched their Irish patterns in the new world. They also sent ideas back to their homeland.

Photo left: Tulips, machine appliqué and quilted, no filler, Common pattern in Ire. , ancestors immigrated to PA and sent pattern home; called American quilt Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, N.I., late 1800s

In the 18th century, many waves of Scots Irish Presbyterians emigrated from Ulster to America. They sailed out of the ports of Belfast, Londonderry, Portrush, Newry and Larne travelling in simple wooden ships bound for many destinations in America. Pennsylvania was their favourite colony. They left an indelible mark in the society of Eastern and Western Pennsylvania. In time they experienced the cross culture of European folk art often seen on painted furniture. The European folk symbols of hearts, birds and tulips are very often found on early Ulster appliquéd quilts. On occasions, I have spoken to different families in Co. Antrim especially in the town of Ballymena, where there is a very strong descent from the Ulster Scots. They often talk about their family connections in Pennsylvania who sent quilt patterns to their grandparents.

Snowflake or Joined Hearts quilt, hand pieced
& app., machine quilted, typical pattern in Ulster, co. late 1800s

When the pattern was followed and the quilt made in Ireland it was always referred to with great pride as "The American Quilt" even though their grandmother made the quilt in Ireland, . When people left Ireland and made good in America they sent money to their families back home. There was a well-known saying in Ireland if someone did a job that was easy, they would say it was money from America. Because of this strong connection, America was very important to the Irish especially to families with Irish/American quilts. They were treasured because of the connection so far away. The quilts were kept as the "Good Quilt" to be used only on special occasions.

The period of the potato famine (1845-1849) was a turning point in Irish history when mass emigration took place taking their traditions with them. This exodus made it very difficult to leave families behind, in most cases forever. The last night at home was often referred to as the American Wake. Many emigrants carried their belongings tied in a patchwork, using it on the long journey, while others made patchworks on route. Some letters reveal that when they arrived on the beaches their quilts were washed and laid on the rocks to dry. Other letters tell that patchwork quilts were sent from Londonderry to America for wedding presents and others to the young immigrants who had just settled in the new world.

The older generation in Ireland think it very strange to show interest in old patchwork quilts because they were made during hard times, it reminded them of doom and gloom. When people became better of and could afford to buy other bedding including the candlewick, they often burnt the old patchworks to forget about the hard times. When they look back, they think of it as being shameful to have had to cut up their cloths for patchwork quilts.

I like to try and identify where the fabrics have come from. I have on occasions come across tattered, dirty and worn quilts, which most people would look upon with distain. I like them in any condition because I have always seen beyond that. They are examples in their own right. I think of the person who made the patchwork quilt, the limited availability of fabric, the pattern used, be it naïve or artistic, the hidden talent, what motivated the maker to put it together, the admiration of how something was produced from very little or what was recycled and of course the pleasure in admiring a another persons work from days gone by.

Rectangles on the Run, c. 1900, made from many different fibers, "thrift patchwork", co. Down

Roselind is a quilt maker and historian, living in Belfast, N.I. with her husband. They have three grown sons, living in the UK. We met when she took my quilt history tour. We share similar interests and intrigue in the history of sewing techniques and quilts in the US and the UK. Thank you Roselind for sharing your knowledge and photos of your collection of Irish quilts. She can be reached a wjamesshaw@hotmail.com.

See also: The Irish Chain Quilt ~ Irish or Not?

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Early Irish Patchwork Quilts and Traditions by Roselind Shaw

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I have been collecting patchwork quilts for twenty-four years. Buying and acquiring them in all kinds of conditions from various and interesting sources, encouraging my passion for the study of Irish patchwork, the needlework and the social history which surrounds them, all of which fascinate me.

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how to exhibit the work?
Suggested that i use a form that speaks to the object that i want to display- coat woven forms in jesmonite. Look at the work from last year too- what about that still can be useful to me now?
Think of forms and structures that can do this.

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Emma Donaldson

Curated by Sheena Barrett

The LAB is delighted to present this exhibition of new and recent work by Armagh-based artist Emma Donaldson. Emma's objects, as she calls them, rather than sculptures, are the result of explorations of memories and experiences of the past through materials available around her, the 'stuff of now'; domestic material, stained cotton, painted papier-mâché and gloss paint. These objects appear human in scale, inviting close conversation. Closeness creates an unease, however, owing to the vulnerability of these swelling forms, standing upright on their delicate armatures. Emma's work invites you take time to connect with the artist's objects as constructions that mediate between her inner world and the physical world around us.

Emma Donaldson (born Belfast, lives in Armagh) studied Painting at Wimbledon School of Art, Royal College of Art, Graduate School of The University of Houston and Histories and Theories at the Architectural Association in London. Her mixed media practice incorporates drawing, writing presented visually, The Light Project and more recently object-making. She has exhibited in the US, UAE, Europe and UK; recent exhibitions have included trouble = progress at MCAC, 2013 Portadown, Futures '13, RHA, 2013, Dublin and The Past is Unpredictable at F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studios, 2014, Banbridge and a major solo show at the University of Hertfordshire Galleries, UK, 2014.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a commissioned text by Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll.

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Emma Donaldson

Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll

The universe, stretching some 13.8 billion years in time, beckons and invites on a never-ending voyage of discovery. Gazing into the light of a long gone star, we contemplate what has made it possible for us to become who we are. We search for the memory of our origins - the origins of the world - as if by looking into the life of the past we can define our identity at this point in time. How did we get here? We look for answers by tracing the light of dead stars; we re-discover to remember.

'When I consider the small span of my life absorbed in the eternity of all time, or the small part of space which I can touch or see engulfed by the infinite immensity of spaces that I know not and that know me not, I am frightened and astonished to see myself here instead of there... now instead of then.'[1]

On January 19, 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft took off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a long journey towards the dwarf planet of Pluto and its moons. When the spaceship finally circulated around its target last July - nearly a decade later, it allowed us to glimpse at previously unseen edges of the solar system. With every poetic image transmitting down to Earth: of the planetary sphere backlit by the sun, of its mountainous, living landscape, our knowledge of the universe and its limits expanded, our imagination awakened. The volcanic beauty of Pluto's surface opened up a possibility that somewhere out there, we may eventually come across signs of other life; that ultimately we are not alone. For an instance, infinity flickered before our eyes, for once we became separated from the fear and anxiety it usually instills in us. We were in awe.

'Art is a form in which we attempt to express infinity. 'The work of art . . . is a form, namely of movement, that has been concluded; or we can see it as an infinite contained within finiteness'.[2]

At first glance the objects made by Emma Donaldson (she distinctly refers to them as objects rather than sculptures) fit neatly into this cosmic narrative. The infinite swirls of their form and the protuberant lumps on their surface allude to the outer reaches of the solar system - bristling with activity. Yet here they are, standing tall and lean in the gallery space, of human proportion and presence. Their upper bodies rest on long, limb-like plinths, their hollow faces stare straight into the eyes of the viewer. These alien, strangely shaped figures bear little resemblance to us but somehow they feel familiar and recognisable. As suggested by the titles: Trunk; Body; Her, they are intentionally body-like and connecting to the body. They hold our stare in a bold confrontation to make us acknowledge their anthropomorphic state. But a careful examination of the works, like the studying of the stars, reveals a set of complex physical properties that stretch far beyond the impressions of the initial encounter. The fascination with the structural configuration of the objects - the way they are constructed and how they physically occupy the space - gives way to a preoccupation with their material composition. Made of simple everyday fabrics and resources such as old bedding, bandages, hosiery or papier-mâché, the artworks suddenly stop feeling otherworldly, and cross over from the field of cosmology into the realm of the domestic.

Donaldson deliberately employs materials that are low-fi and originating from what she refers to as 'the stuff of life': ordinary things of everyday use, things that are banal and mundane. The reason for this is two-fold: first, such materials illustrate the marks of daily wear and tear, the traces of usage that reflect the passing of time; second, in Donaldson's case, using these materials as medium becomes a visceral and labour intensive process- they 'require an immediate engagement with the artist's body in order to come into existence and take form'.[3] The artist's movements are firmly recorded and easily traceable in the material history of the objects. We can imagine her folding, layer by layer, the cloths that constitute the hollow sphere of Body whose empty eyeball follows us in astonishment. Looking into it, we can see a stratum of foam of varied density that holds to the memory of its shape. Nearby, the tumour-like Untitled is a blend of different patches of fabric, including medical dressing, pieces of hosiery, and muslin cloths, all hand-stitched haphazardly in an effort to contain this growing malignant mass. Each stitch evidence of the artist's earlier gesture - a tangible memory of her body movements made at some point in the past. Through the act of observing, we are simultaneously recovering them and bringing them back to life. We are the link between the past and the present.

'The whole of time is held within our gaze. Infinity opens our eyes, the blink of an eye snaps it shut. Eternity is just forgetting.'[4] Our desire is to remember.

The idea of 'body memory' plays an important role in Donaldson's art practice, that as much as the brain, the body too is capable of storing memories. Accumulated somewhere at the cellular level the sensations and events that we have once experienced live on. Donaldson, through the physical act of making her objects, charges them with the memory of her movements. They become the embodiment of her body memory, taking on the role of a chronicler that references the history of the maker. Far from being autobiographical, the objects are rather a manifestation of the concept, whose indefinite and intangible layers are now stored within the limits of the artwork.

There is no limit to how far back, how deep in time we can reach. Our bodies are the link between now and then, and like the stars that connect us to the origins of the universe, they too, can be studied and analysed to carry us to the beginnings of who we are and what made us who we are today. By connecting to the body, we are able to uncover indefinite layers of memory and release previously unknown histories about ourselves.

The voyage of the New Horizons continues and much like the memory existing in the cells of our bodies, it will endure long after we're gone. By travelling into previously unexplored territories on the edge of our solar system, it reaches out to infinity and in doing so, reflects it back upon us.

Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll

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[1] Rudy Rucker, Infinity and the Mind, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.

[2] Umberto Eco, The Open Work, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1989, 21.

[3] Alissa Kleist, Catalogue essay for The Past is Unpredictable, a group show with work by Deirdre McKenna,Emma Donaldson and Ursula Burke at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge, August 2014.

[4] Heinz-Norbert Jocks, 'The Magic of Infinity', in: In-Finitum, ed. Axel Vervoordt (Ghent: Vervoordt Foundation, 2009), 59.

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Emma Donaldson - Curated by Sheena Barrett | Dublin City Arts Office

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The LAB is delighted to present this exhibition of new and recent work by Armagh-based artist Emma Donaldson. Emma's objects, as she calls them, rather than sculptures, are the result of explorations of memories and experiences of the past through materials available around her, the 'stuff of now'; domestic material, stained cotton, painted papier-mâché and gloss paint.

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The structures used to display her work correspond with the object/ becomes part of the work

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Director(s): Distributor:

Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries. Since the 1960s the area of Sachin in western India has undergone unprecedented, unregulated industrialisation, exemplified in its numerous textile factories. MACHINES portrays only one of these factories, while at the same time representing the thousands of labourers working, living and suffering in an environment they can't escape without unity. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality and oppression, humans and machines.
Includes a post-film conversation with Director Rahul Jain, moderated by Steve Greene, Special Projects Editor, IndieWire.
Rahul Jain is from New Delhi and grew up grew up in the Himalayas. He recently graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film and Video from the California Institute of The Arts and is presently pursuing a Writing M.A in Aesthetics and Politics. He is interested in distance, otherness and the everyday. Machines is the debut production of Rahul Jain.

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Director Rahul Jain presents an intimate, observantly portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India. Moving through the corridors and bowels of the enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a journey to a place of dehumanising physical labor and intense hardship, provoking cause for thought about persistent pre-industrial working conditions and the huge divide between first world and developing countries.

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Multiple as a way of communicating the amount of material- like how it was used in the 60s and 70s as a way of talking about consumerism -there's a link there with plastic, mass production etc.

Biomimicry-- deriving design principles from biology and using them as stimulus for ideation. I'm gathering what is around me (trying to buy as little as possible and use what is in my home/ 5km around me to make these pieces.

How we inhabit the world- what does that mean? Could we take from processes already available as solutions (using what is readily available)

Adaptation

clothing- woven objects as a huge contributor to this problem too- using parts of old clothes in these pieces.

Where the lines of natural and man-made converge

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Using cable ties to hold this frame together

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Using cable ties to hold this frame together

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this works quite well and means I have a stronger structure to weave onto

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added some materials later on in the year

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Igloo sculptures

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Mosul, Iraq 2016.
©©Francis Alÿs
Public domain videos can be downloaded and shared with others as long as the authorship is credited and there is a link back to the website of the author. These videos cannot be altered in any way or used for commercial purpose nor cannot be displayed or exhibited without the consent of the artist.

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Mosul, Iraq 2016. Color Matching Mosul, Iraq 2016. ©©Francis Alÿs Public domain videos can be downloaded and shared with others as long as the authorship is credited and there is a link back to the website of the author.

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sugar, beeswax, steel, brass, stone

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJRzAg8Nx3A