Craft Master

One of Ireland’s top artists working in the medium of glass, Róisín de Buitléar gave a master class over seven days to three apprentices. The three apprentices, one a life long craft hobbyist, one a mature student working in Ikea and one a student in NCAD were all placed into the challenging and hot environment of a fully functioning hot shop in Waterford City – The Irish Glass Company. The three apprentices set about realising their design concepts in hot molten glass which is heated to over 1000 degrees and would resemble honey on the end of a chop stick and there were many up’s and downs as the concepts took many shapes other than their intended form. 3 Apprentices: Aoife May Soden Mature Student/Ikea Employee Dublin/Australia Mature student working in Ikea part-time to self-fund her dream of studying glass. Aoife spent most of her childhood in Australia. Anne Marie Hayes Life-long artist and Finance Worker Dublin/Waterford Anne Marie originally from Waterford is trained painter living in Dublin who wants to break free from her day job in a financial institution and explore her creative side. Any holidays or time-off she has she enrolls on courses hoping to further her creative side. Italy has been her focus of late and she has been studying the stained glass process. Sinead Brennan Student Dublin/Wexford If you can’t find Sinead, check out the hot shop where she is always working on fundamental skills to improve her glass making. This art student from Wexford openly admits to being addicted to her craft and would some day hope to become Ireland’s top glass artist.

Colm de Rís who has been featured on the US shopping channel QVC on several occasions gave a master class in ceramics from his thriving pottery studio in North County Dublin. The three apprentices had to first identify a market and then decide on a product that would best suit their market. Colm gave the group guidance as they battled to control not only the potter’s wheel but also the setbacks from lost pieces in the kiln. All three apprentices produced their end pieces with just enough time to give a final glaze to their products. The Apprentices: Name: Caoimhe Woods Profession: Waitress/Student From: Monaghan Profile: Caoimhe has just completed her final year in the National College of Art and Design. She mostly hand builds in clay so working with a potter’s wheel threw some challenges her way. Name: Ian Carty Profession: Unemployed From: Sligo Town Profile: Ian is currently unemployed and pottery making has been his saviour over the past few years. This is Ian’s big chance to break through in the world of ceramics and his ultimate aim is to start up his own business. Name: Deirdre Beatty Profession: School Teacher From: Dublin Profile: Deirdre is a busy mum of three who is currently on a break from her primary school teaching job to explore her more creative side in the world of craft.

Beth Moran, who relocated to the picturesque Clare Island off the coast of County Mayo from the United States over 30 years ago, gave a master class in floor loom weaving. “Patience is a virtue, have it if you can” was the motto to this seven day master class as the apprentices battled to set up the big floor looms thread by thread as time was ticking by. The end pieces were realised after many set backs for all three apprentices and the locals were very interested in the weaving process. The Apprentices: Name: Oliver Doherty Profession: Textiles Student From: Donegal Profile: Oliver hopes to be one of Ireland’s top fashion designers. The young and exceptionally talented Donegal student was placed in the top 5 young designers for an outfit for Florence and the Machine lead singer Florence Welch in a competition run with a US magazine in 2010. Name: Mary McGuinness Profession: Mature Student From: Kilkenny Profile: Mary has gone back to basics, enrolling as a mature student at Grennan Mill Craft School where she is studying to become a textile artist. When not creating bespoke couture fashion on the side, this mum of three is busy with her passion for sea diving. Name: Caitríona Ní Threasaigh Profession: Wardrobe Artist From: Dublin Profile: Free spirited Caitríona comes to the show armed with a whole wealth of life experiences. She has spent lots of time living and working abroad in Indonesia and in 2008 this humanitarian drove from Ireland to Mongolia in a van for charity.

Glenn Lucas, reputably one of the fastest bowl turners in the world, gave a master class in wood over seven days from his County Carlow studio. The apprentices had to come up with their own design and then went to a local tree surgeon’s yard to select the wood for their end piece from naturally fallen timber. The Apprentices: Name: Chris Lawlor Profession: Cabinet Maker From: Dublin Profile: Chris is a quietly confident 25-year-old from Lucan who fell in love with wood eight years ago when his training as an apprentice cabinetmaker began. He has given demonstrations in wood turning to a number of wood turning guilds around the country and is often met with confusion over whether or not he is taking the class or giving the class. Name: Irene Christie Profession: Works in the Irish Legal System From: Antrim/Kildare Profile: One of only a handful of female wood turners, Irene describes herself as a Minnie Minx and is at times her own worst critic which drives her closer to perfection every time she turns wood. Name: Richard Auler Profession: Organic Farmer From: Germany/Tipperary Profile: An organic farmer originally from Germany, Richard is keen to fly the flag not only for the over 60s but also for the use of timber as a renewable raw material.

The focus this episode is on a heritage craft, using traditional metal work to forge designs in metal. The physically demanding environment combined with the complexities of fussing two pieces of metal together proved very taxing over the seven-day master class run by blacksmith Michael Budd. The Apprentices: Name: Ann Cronin Profession: Education Worker From: Ennis, Co. Clare Profile: Ann is certainly not afraid to get her hands dirty or break a nail. This busy mum of a 14-year-old at one stage worked in an Iron Age village where she worked and lived with only the materials that were available at that time. Name: Edward Cook Profession: House Husband From: Dublin Profile: Edward produces silverware in his spare time from his home studio. As a father of two children aged nine and four, he believes passing on craft skills is important to future generations and it would be a tragedy for these skills to be lost to mass production. Name: Suzanne Rogers Profession: Metalwork Teacher From: Dublin Profile: Metalwork teacher Suzanne, when not indulging in her passion for craft, is travelling the world and learning Spanish.

The winner of Craft Master 2011 was decided upon by the panel of resident judges – Brian McGee, Head of Market Development at the Crafts Council of Ireland and Derek McGarry, President of the Institute of Designers in Ireland and Assistant to the Head of Faculty of Design at the National College of Art and Design. They were joined for the final episode by two of Ireland’s top designers, Louise Kennedy and Paul Costelloe. Viewers of the series will finally discover who has been the lucky winner of the title Craft Master 2011. The winner of the series will be named Craft Master 2011 and will receive a stand at Showcase – Ireland’s Creative Expo, which is the country’s largest annual international trade fair and the most important sales event of the year for the exhibiting designers, manufacturers and craftspeople. The event attracts more than 5,500 retail buyers to the RDS in Dublin from Ireland and over 17 countries around the world, all seeking out the best of Irish fashion, jewellery, giftware and interiors products. With such a fantastic prize up for grabs, each apprentice will have to pull out all the stops to produce a unique piece of craft to secure a place in the final!