As part of the Glass Society of Ireland’s (GSOI) ongoing commitment to highlight excellence in glass, increase the visibility of our craft and raise public awareness, we are delighted to award the GSOI inaugural Graduate Award for excellence at student level in the medium of glass.The graduate shows of 7 students were considered for the award, 6 from MTU Crawford College of Art (MTU) and 1 student graduating from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD). In appraising the work we considered how each artist engaged with the materiality of glass, the technical aspects of the finished work and how the art was presented or curated.
All the work was presented professionally and in respect of the spaces within MTU we were very impressed with how each student curated their work in a very considered way with a clear theme and a strong personal narrative resulting in a very engaging experience for the visitor. The body of graduate work across both campuses fully exploited the qualities of glass through a vast range of glass making techniques which included painting, slumping, casting, tracing and firing, fusing, inclusions, pate de verre, screen printing, laser cutting, sandblasting and traditional leaded stained glass to create large and small-scale works in both 2D and 3D.GSOI would like to thank both Dr. Caroline Madden of NCAD and Ms. Debbie Dawson of MTU for their assistance in making the graduate work available to us for appraisal. The future of glass art in Ireland is very bright indeed under their direction. We wish each of the graduates every success in the next stage in their glass careers or education and we hope they will stay in touch to keep us updated on their progress.
AWARD:
The GSOI inaugural Graduate Award for Excellence in Glass is awarded to Evan McKenna,
NCAD, for his use of traditional practice to create contemporary works which show a great
understanding of process and which bears well for a future in the craft. It is hoped the award will encourage Evan to continue in this field and support him to invest in his practice. The GSOI will also work with Evan to explore opportunities for studio time with a member of GSOI to provide mentorship to him at this stage in his promising glass career.
A second award of Notable Mention is presented to Joanne O’Mahony, MTU, with particular
reference to the considered curation of contrasting glass techniques in her graduate show.
Glass Society of Ireland
GSOI
