{"id":7138,"date":"2018-11-06T07:30:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T11:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7138"},"modified":"2018-11-06T07:44:36","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T11:44:36","slug":"the-buzz-about-irish-ceramics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7138","title":{"rendered":"The Buzz about Irish Ceramics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>You may not think you can capture the wind, the sea and the stark raw beauty of a mystical land with a chunk of clay and glaze. But you can. Just ask an Irish potter.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n

When I travel to Ireland, I can\u2019t resist picking up a piece of local pottery to bring home with me. I\u2019m not alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a buzz about Irish ceramics; it has that link to nature,\u201d said Karen Hennessy, chief executive of the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland. \u201cThey\u2019re made from a place of practicality to be used as household pieces, not just to put on a shelf to adorn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read on The New York Times<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

To map your own Irish pottery trail, or window shop online, visit the ceramics section of\u00a0Design Ireland<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0a website created by the council. There is also a\u00a0shopping site<\/a>, which showcases ceramists (and other Irish artisans from woodcarvers to weavers). Meanwhile, the\u00a0Irish Craft Studio Experience\u00a0<\/a>provides a map of\u00a0studios<\/a>\u00a0open to visitors, craft galleries and retail shops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
A 200-year-old flour mill is home to Nicholas Mosse Pottery, along the River Nore in Bennettsbridge. Hydroelectricity supplies much of the power. Photo courtesy of website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once in Ireland, I like to visit\u00a0Nicholas Mosse<\/a>\u2019s pottery shop and studio tucked alongside the River Nore in Bennettsbridge in County Kilkenny. For more than four decades, Mr. Mosse himself has produced pottery from within a restored mill that dates from 1503. His wife, Susan, an American botanical artist, designs a new pattern, in simple spongeware style, each year. Mr. Mosse and his team then transmute her delicate designs into handpainted pieces via a 20-step process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Medium jug Clover spongeware pottery by Nicholas Mosse; Photo courtesy of website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A handcrafted\u00a0jug<\/a>\u00a0might sell for 47 euros (about $54) and a large rectangle\u00a0plate<\/a>\u00a0decorated with sage-green clovers for \u20ac52.<\/p>\n

Judy Greene<\/a>\u00a0opened her workshop on Kirwans Lane in Galway in 1982 with a focus on hand-thrown terra-cotta clay evoking the wild Connemara terrain just north of town. Her collections range from dinnerware to flower pots. A seven-inch bluebell-pattern vase might sell for around \u20ac50.<\/p>\n

A favorite stop for a bowl of steaming homemade soup and a keepsake is\u00a0Louis Mulcahy<\/a>. The cafe and pottery studio is nestled along a steep cliffside on the twisty, 30-mile coastal Slea Head Drive in County Kerry near the town of Dingle. Mr. Mulcahy has made his own glazes and thrown pottery for nearly 50 years; his 10-inch-wide denim-hued\u00a0bowl\u00a0<\/a>is a favorite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tea light holders at Arran Street East; photo courtesy of web site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although these potteries are well established, there is a rising tide of Irish ceramists exploring new shapes and techniques from Dublin to Dingle to Donegal. In Dublin, visit\u00a0Laura Magahy<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0four-year-old<\/a>Arran Street East studio, on Little Green Street. Ms. Magahy\u2019s shapely hand-thrown goods glow with glaze palettes named after the various fruit and vegetables sold wholesale at the produce market that is its home. There are sturdy\u00a0jugs<\/a>\u00a0made of stoneware in a glaze \u201cinspired\u201d by a pink grapefruit or pomegranate, or simple\u00a0bowls<\/a>\u00a0in a bright lemon-hued glaze \u2014 to name a few of the myriad colors available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Ruth Power named her three-year-old Dublin-based pottery business,\u00a0Danu Ceramics<\/a>, after the ancient Celtic goddess of earth and creativity. Her handiwork is available online, but is also sold at several Dublin shops, including the\u00a0Kilkenny Shop<\/a>,\u00a0Jam Art Factory<\/a>\u00a0and the Arnotts department store. Tiny<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
INDIGO BOWLS at Danu Ceramics; photo courtesy of web site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

dipping\u00a0bowls<\/a>\u00a0glazed in indigo and adorned with handpainted 22-karat gold luster sell for around \u20ac15. Her rustic\u00a0Turquoise Planters<\/a>\u00a0glazed in a dappled copper patina are priced at \u20ac28.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Also in Dublin is\u00a0the Irish Design Shop<\/a>\u00a0at 41 Drury Street, which features some of Ireland\u2019s hottest crafters including\u00a0Rebecca Killen<\/a>, who is known for her handmade ceramic\u00a0milk bottles<\/a>\u00a0painted in white and cobalt with hints of gold luster that evoke the antique bottles she has collected over the years.<\/p>\n

Discerning shoppers with bigger budgets should consider the clay-based objets d\u2019art at\u00a0SO Fine Art Editions<\/a>\u00a0in the Powerscourt Townhouse Center. Beyond Dublin,\u00a0Mill Cove Galleries<\/a>\u00a0specializes in Irish ceramics, operating a gallery in Kenmare and another on the Beara Peninsula with four acres of sculpture gardens.<\/p>\n

For serious collectors who might not make it to Ireland, the\u00a0Portfolio\u00a0<\/a>website spotlights more than 140 Irish artists, including ceramists such as\u00a0Grainne Watts<\/a>,\u00a0Adam Frew<\/a>,\u00a0Alison Kay<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mike Byrne.<\/a>\u00a0The site also provides detailed information about where to track down their one-of-a kind artworks, which can run from \u20ac100 to more than \u20ac1,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lovely thing about buying Irish ceramics is there is a piece for every pocket,\u201d Ms. Hennessy said.<\/p>\n

By\u00a0Kerry Hannon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
A version of this article appears in print on\u00a0The International New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0Order Reprints<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Today\u2019s Paper<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Subscribe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"Share<\/a>