Breda is originally from Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan. She studied Textile Design at The National College of Art and Design and Landscape Design at Dun Laoghaire Senior College. She works in a range of media including wire, willow, feathers and fabric. She also creates limited edition giclee prints of her artwork. She has exhibited widely in Ireland and the U.K.

Read an interview with this artist here:

How did you begin your career as an artist?

I have always loved creating images, sculptures and pieces with a strong tactile element. I graduated with an Hons Degree in Textile Design from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1997. In the same year my sculpture work won the Taylor Art Award. Since then I have worked mainly to commission and for exhibitions. I have exhibited in group exhibitions in Ireland, Scotland and London, with two solo exhibitions in Ireland.

Can you talk a little about the profession of being an artist as you have experienced it?

At the beginning I tried to concentrate mainly on work for exhibitions and submissions, but it can be soul- destroying at times. Generating income from artistic work is a huge challenge and I have felt a lot of relief when I haven’t needed to look to my artwork for income. I have developed many other creative skills over the years that have brought me more reliable income while, allowing me the opportunity to create, design and facilitate new creative work. My artistic side has always influenced how I view things, challenges and opportunities. I think patience is a key requirement when working as an artist because it can take longer than expected to develop a presence and a strong sense of your own worth as an artist. I believe that if you enjoy what you do and work hard at it, that it does pay off, when the time is right. For anyone who is thinking of making art as a profession, I would say trust your instincts, be true to yourself and hold on to what you feel passionate about.

How important is Gallery representation for you?

My sculpture work is often created in outdoor settings with natural materials. There is a totally different energy and presence about the work when it is placed in a conventional gallery interior, the natural materials within the sculptures stimulate all the senses, it seems to catch the viewer off guard. When the irregular natural materials of the sculptures are put against the clean, crisp lines of the gallery if somehow lifts it to a new level and gives it more strength than when it sits in its natural surroundings outside.

How you do keep your profile visible?

I exhibit my work quite regularly in exhibitions and I submit my work for proposals and competitions. I have a website www.bredamarron.com and I put regular updates on www.facebook.com/bredamarroncreations. I have also had my work featured in interiors magazines and newspapers and I have also created a collection of limited edition prints of my drawings and sketches which are available on www.bredamarron.com and in selected outlets which all help in keeping my artistic profile current.

At what point in your career did you make the work in this collection and what was the impetus for making the piece?

The sculpture is called Inner Sanctum and I made it in 1999. It was part of my solo exhibition Entwined in The Basement Gallery, Dundalk. The piece was created at a time when my mam was in remission from breast cancer. It looked at the idea of reflecting inwards, finding a place of serenity and safety from the severity of the treatment and the emotional shock that the diagnoses had brought with it. The piece was created with copper wire on the outside and lined inside with white feathers. It explored the contrast between the strong outer protective layer and the delicate, vulnerable space within, reflecting the emotions of the experience.

Do you still like the piece? How do you feel about it now?

I still really love the piece, it brings memories flooding back whenever I see or hold it. It is a great compliment that the piece has been so well looked after and cared for. My mam has since passed away and it feels like a piece of her spirit and strength is embodied in the Louth Art Collection which is such an honour for me and my connection to my mother, who I loved so deeply.

How has your career progressed?

I am currently creating sculptures which are more figurative, larger and brighter. The sculptures are created on a commission basis and are created for private collections, communities and public commissions.

The profile of my work has recently risen and I have had it exhibited in the Bord Bia Salmon of Knowledge Showgarden at Bloom in the Phoenix Park and also in the Sculpture in Context Exhibition in the Botanic Gardens, where it won a 2012 Sculpture in Context Award for large outdoor sculpture. My work has also been exhibited at The National Craft Exhibition in the RDS recently.

Find out more about this artist here: www.bredamarron.com

Watch a short film of Breda talking about her practice here:

Bernie lives and works in her native Ardee, Co. Louth. She studied a number of courses at the National College of Art and Design and spent many years living and exhibiting in Dublin. She also lived in London for a number of years. The changing environment and its challenges permeate her work and she tries to capture the energy that emanates from such flux.

Read an Interview with this artist here:

How did you begin your artistic career?

My career as an artist started at a really young age, as soon as I took up implements that could render an image: chalk, pencils, stones. It was a constant in my life at all stages. I started formal art education during my teens with tuition from the wonderful Ardee artist, Padraig Lynch. I studied all aspects of fine art at various levels at The National College of Art and Design, working under the tutelage of many artists. There was no specific starting time, just a continuous engagement. I worked as a librarian in Dublin City Council but retained my engagement with my art practice during this time. I now work full time as a professional artist.

What factors were important in helping you decide to make that your profession?

The factors that were important were manifold. Knowing I had ability was the primary factor coupled with a constant and relentless inner drive to create. Another important factor was the motivation and support of a number of people who encouraged me to pursue art as a career including family and a number of colleagues in Dublin City Council and people in Louth County Council who believed in me. Strangely enough, the loss of very dearly loved family members was also a factor in that it threw me headlong into taking stock of how short life can be and how important it is to engage fully with what you know you were put on the planet to do.

What kinds of challenges have you faced in your career?

It’s difficult to assess the challenges but I suppose lack of confidence, on-going uncertainty and not a little fear about putting your heart and soul into the public domain but that’s probably part and parcel of the creative process, isn’t it? Keeping up with technology isn’t always easy either: my website was hacked recently!

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of making art as a profession?

My advice to anyone thinking of art as a profession would be to live a lot first , engage in formal art education certainly but don’t necessarily get bogged down into the professional ethos at a very young age but rather, engage in a wide arena of experiences, even do other work. Don’t be under any illusion that it’s a rosy romantic life, it’s very hard work. Be patient and be prepared to listen, look and learn from other practitioners and be curious too.

Can you tell us a little about your work in the Louth County Collection?

The Red Mile is an image of a cow surrounded by fields and trailing a red ditch. I created this in 2008, a number of years after I relocated to County Louth after living in Dublin for years. I had lived on a small holding as a child and to return to this rural environment where cattle were grazing right behind my garden wall was an amazing yet poignant experience. They live their lives, surrounded by beautiful fields and greenery, totally oblivious to their fate. The Red Mile is a nod to the film The Green Mile where the savagery of man looms large and the hero is cruelly killed in the end.

I still like the piece yet I somehow feel a little challenged and possibly guilty when I look at it now. Should I be a vegetarian!?

How is your practice developing?

I have been fortunate to receive a number of public commissions, including a public piece in bronze commemorating the Famine which was unveiled by An Taoiseach in Drogheda in May 2012 and a large-scale painting depicting the political and commercial history of Newry which is based on The Book of Newry by local historian, Michael McKeown. I have also been working with Second level students at Bush Secondary School and have been honing my drawing skills by studying classical drawing in Florence.

Find out more about this artist here: www.berniemcadam.ie

Paul McCann was born in Drogheda and studied at D.I.T. College of Marketing and Design where he specialised in painting. He has worked on many commissions including those for Carlingford Heritage Centre, Drogheda Port Authority, Drogheda Borough Council and An Garda Siochána. He has exhibited his work throughout Ireland. He continues to paint while teaching full-time with Meath VEC.

Donagh McCarthy holds a BA from NUI Galway, an MA from UCD and an MSc from Trinity College Dublin.He was one of the original members of The Droichead Arts Centre, and a former editor of the North East Arts Review. He has exhibited his work across Ireland.

Read more about this work here:
“The Wreck paintings belong to a larger body of work that began, if only in inspiration, in 1999 and was intended to comment on the turn of the century. My idea was to observe the time, to stand witness and mark the change from one age to another. They are loosely based around the shipwreck of The Irish Trader, which came to ground on Baltray beach on the east coast of Ireland early in 1974. This ship was due to dock in Drogheda port when high seas and engine failure saw it pulled past the mouth of the Boyne and lodged onto the beach. Attempts to re-float the ship failed and it was quickly set upon in a salvage operation. Crucially, what is suggested in these works is the perennial contradiction: that which is evanescent and steadfast, that which is beyond us and indifferent, but that to which we belong. They allude to the fact that our thoughts too get stuck, plans wrecked, lives become something else in our daily transition and weathering. I know now that what I thought as a boy to be unusual is commonplace. Our physical and psychological landscape, like our coastline, is crowded with wrecks.”

Fiona McDonald was born in Dublin. She graduated with a BSc Hons in Biological Chemistry from the Coleraine University of Ulster before attending the National College of Art and Design. In her final year, she began experimenting with alternative methods of etching plates using electrolysis. She then completed her MA at the NCAD before going on to study for an MSc in Multimedia Systems at Trinity College. She is a member of the Black Church Print Studio, Dublin and continues to exhibit her work widely.

Joanne McKenna studied ceramics at The Limerick College of Art and Design. Moorish Tower is evidence of her highly individualistic style which is both sculptural and functional and incorporates the forms and details of European Architecture. Joanne is one of the four founding ceramicists of Bridge Street Studios, Dundalk.

Find out more about this artist here: www.joannemckenna.com

Paraic McQuaid is originally from Bellurgan and now lives in Dublin. He studied for his BA in Fine and Applied art at the University of Ulster, Belfast and took his MA in Cultural Policy at UCD. He was the first artist in residence at Draiocht, Blanchardstown. He was artistic director of Life’s No Picnic on the Streets for Depaul Ireland at Electric Picnic 2008-2011.Paraic lectures in Arts Management in the Faculty of Enterprise and Humanities at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology.

Maura Muckian was born in Carlingford and currently works from her studio there. She works mainly in oils, but also uses pastels, acrylic and watercolours. She exhibits her work widely and her work is held in many public collections including those of The Office of Public Works, Dundalk Institute of Technology and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland.

Read more about this artist here:

“If you love it…. do it!”
Maura is influenced by the Impressionist school of painting whose prime concern was the changing effect of light on objects. “My images are inspired by light and colour. I like to think of myself as a colourist and use bold rich complimentary colours applied liberally enabling me to achieve an atmospheric and dramatic effect.”
Maura explains that “from the time I could hold a pencil I was always drawing”. She attended evening art classes while she was working in Dublin and she started painting in oils in 1975. Woodcarver John Haugh invited her to exhibit her work and “people liked and bought my work.”

Port of Annagassan was painted in 1999 and was one of the artworks commissioned for Louth County Council’s new offices. “I was inspired by the still reflections of the boats at low tide. I think the piece captures the tranquillity of the port in evening sunlight”.

A L’ombre Port Louis was painted 1998, and was one of 35 pieces in Maura’s solo exhibition Coloured Ground in the Basement Gallery, Dundalk. “I painted it in Port Louis, France. I was inspired by the magnificent light and cast shadows. This painting brings me back to a beautiful sunny summer’s day spent with my husband and two children in the North of France”.
Maura paints every day in her studio ‘The Byre’, fulfilling commissions and completing work for exhibition and galleries. “I do not feel it is work because I love what I do so much”.

Find out more about this artist here: www.mauramuckian.com