Art under the waterfall

 Posted by on February 27, 2014
Feb 272014
 

Blarney Castle – Rock Close
Blarney
County Cork, Ireland

Michelle Maher Dublin CastlePuffballs from the Inside Out

These ceramic pieces are by Michelle Maher.  Maher is a Ceramic Artist who lives and works in Castleknock, Dublin.  She graduated from N.U.I. Maynooth in 1996 with a Master’s degree, after studying English and History.

Ceramic Works by Michelle Maher at Blarney Castle

According to her website: 

My ceramic sculptures are an exploration of colour and texture.  Microscopic organisms often inspire my work and unusual plant forms and the science behind living things continues to fascinate me.  My passion is for large-scale sculptural work and my pieces are mostly for outdoor exhibition.

Michelle MaherSymmetry by Michelle Maher

I often design my work for installation in lakes, ponds, rivers and streams – the interaction of the ceramic with the water is very important to my practice.  Indeed, I have won a number of sculpture awards for large-scale outdoor pieces in a water setting.

Michelle Maher at Blarney Castle

 

These pieces are part of  Blarney Castle’s permanent collection.  The Symmetry piece won the Public Award for the sculpture most popular with visitors to the Castle in 2013.  In 2012, this same piece was exhibited in the National Botanic Gardens and won an award for Sculpture in Context.  Symmetry was inspired by coral and dahlia flowers.

For more information on traveling in Ireland checkout PassportandBaggage.com

Bog Wood

 Posted by on February 26, 2014
Feb 262014
 

Blarney Castle
Blarney
County Cork, Ireland

Bog Wood at Blarney Castle in Ireland

Blarney Castle has a fabulous curator.  There is art work spread out throughout the grounds, and it is all so beautiful chosen for its particular site.  This piece is by artist Pieter Koning.

The pice is actually a 7000 year old piece of bog oak and is titled Organic Growth. Pieter has done many pieces out of bog wood and according to his website: Bog Wood is found in the Irish bogs where it has been preserved for 5,000 years or more. There are three types of Bog Wood: Oak, Yew and Pine. The wood was part of the great forests which covered the central plains of Ireland. The fluidity and impression of movement are very endearing features of these bog wood sculptures.

DSC_3841

Koning was born in Holland in 1948. He turned to sculpture after three years studying sociology and then subsequently worked with qualified stone sculptors for two years.  Koning now lives in Ireland in Teeraha, Caherciveen, County Kerry where he also has his studio.

I was curious about working with bog wood and this is what I found. Bog-wood, is also known as abonos or morta, especially in the world of the pipe smokers.  Which means to me, it must be somewhat easy to carve.  The wood is usually stained brown by tannins dissolved in the acidic water. Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood, with further stages ultimately forming lignite and coal over a period of many millions of years.

Pieter Koning Bog Wood Blarney Castle

 

For information on traveling in Ireland checkout PassportandBaggage.com

error: Content is protected !!