Stories
Fiona & Jack: Lacemaking
Lacemaker Fiona Harrington based in Ireland & Irish fellow Jack O’ Meara
While studying for a degree in textile design Fiona discovered creating lace. Through her mother, the Dublin-born craftswoman already knew the significance of lace as part of Ireland’s social, cultural and economic history. Today, she is committed both to reviving forgotten Irish techniques and to bringing handmade lace into contemporary design.
Jack is an emerging designer and maker whose practice has mainly revolved around embroidery. With a keen interest in Irish history, he is eager to preserve and reinterpret aspects of history that relate to textiles, and place them in a contemporary context.
Obair na mBan
Made using Irish handmade lace techniques, this piece depicts three female figures in reference to the Irish triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone). Here, they are depicted as the Magdalene, the Revolutionary and the Bean Feasa (wise woman) Peig Sayers, all of whom are intimately connected to Irish history. To construct the piece, master lacemaker Fiona and fellow Jack delicately inter-looped fine threads into tiny networks of miniature stitches. The tension and the spacing between the stitches help to define the various patterns. The title of the piece means ‘women’s work’ in Irish.
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