NEWSLETTER JULY/AUGUST 1981

RAFTLTD.

Adrienne Crowe at work in the "Mug Marathon" (see story page 5)

Thomas Prior House, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Telephone 01 680764

Successful Conclusionto1981 WCC-EuropeConference in DenmarkNearly 200 participants from twenty-twocountries came together in Copenhagenon 5 June for the final weekendactivities of the 1981 World CraftsCouncil European Conference. Themajority had taken part in the eighteenworkshops, examining various aspects ofthe major craft disciplines, or in a StudyTour organised by the Danish Institute inconjunction with the conference. A smallgroup of participants joined the othersfor the weekend session, between 5 and7 June. This included excursions to placesof interest in Danish crafts, various socialevents, and a full day's discussion on theresults of the workshops and thepossibilities of future WCC-Europeactivities.

The discussion indicated the overallsuccess of the workshops while high-lighting a number of ways in which thearrangements for the next conferencecould be improved. The major success ofthe whole conference was the feelinggained from a large majority of thecraftsmen that the purposes and activitiesof the World Crafts Council provideddirect benefits for them. A numberexpressed their determination toencourage their own WCC NationalEntity-the craft organisation repre-senting the WCC in their country—toimprove their involvement in the WorldCrafts Council.

WCC-Europe believes that it is onlythrough the committed interest ofindividuals that National Entities canstrengthen their own organisation andthus properly support the World CraftsCouncil at regional and global levels.The 1981 WCC-European Conferencecould prove to have been a turning pointin the ability of the region to act moreforcibly on behalf of the crafts inEurope.

The 1981 WCC-European Assembly, theAGM for all national members in theregion, also held in Copenhagen on 7June, regretfully decided to close theLondon Secretariat for WCC-Europe dueto insufficient financial support. ThePolish Entity, CEPELIA, will nowprovide a 'clearing house' Secretariat forWCC-Europe. This will ensure that thework and services will continue whileefforts are concentrated on fundraisingto re-establish a full-time secretariat forthe region.

The Assembly also elected a new WCC-European Board for the 1981/84 period.The new Board members are Ed Salden,Chairman and WCC Vice President forEurope; John Vedel-Rieper, DeputyChairman, and WCC Deputy VicePresident for Europe; Denis Beauge,Secretary; Lou Schmidt, Treasurer; andmembers Aasa Hellman, Rolf Himberg-Larsen, Czeslaw Sawicki and JanWalgrave. The Board members areresponsible for the regional affairs ofWCC-Europe, not representing theirnational interests, but their nationalitiesare, respectively, the Netherlands,Denmark, France, Switzerland,Finland, Norway, Poland and Belgium

Special MeetingAbout fifty craftsmen attended thespecial meeting on 30 July, held by theCrafts Council of Ireland, for the purposeof presenting Council members with anopportunity of airing their views aboutthe craft scene generally and CraftsCouncil's role in particular.

The meeting was quite informal, andrepresentatives of all the craftorgaRisations were invited to Jury's Hotelfor lunch and a discussion afterwards.

Various topics were discussed but it soonbecame apparent that the thing mostworrying to craftsmen was the presentrate of VAT and the even moredisconcerting possibility of the 25% ratebeing raised to 35%. There was somediscussion on this, the two viewsexpressed being that the Governmentshould be pressed to lower the VAT rateon crafts, and that representations shouldbe made to have the VAT thresholdlowered. In the end it was decided thatboth approaches should be made, therebeing something to be gained by successin either direction.

Visit to Belgium Exhibition of Ceramics It was good to see Sonja Landweer exhibiting at the David Hendricks gallery after such a long absence of nearly nine years, though the memories of her last exhibition are still fresh in many people's minds. This year, gone are the feathers but she has retained her remarkable glaze technique using subdued shades of natural colours, browns, greys, rust, etc. However, on occasional pieces, she sues bright pinks and sky blues to sharpen our senses and see her pots in a different light.

Her forms are as delicate and well balanced as ever, with as much attention and work being applied to the interior as to the outside. This is carried through both in the throwing and the glazing. This awareness for the interior form as an entity by itself makes much of her work unique.

I feel the pieces that worked best were her wide bowls with fine and delicate rims standing high off their stands on a slender foot. Sometimes these rims were brought out all the more strongly by the use of contrasting erruptive glazes, roughening the surfaces.

Overall the exhibition was a great success though personally I felt her lidded forms did not work so well, but this is probably due to the fact that I feel the interior shapes are such an important part of Sonja Landweer's work. Michael Jackson

VAT concessions for crafts For some time the Council has been aware of the very severe problem that a VAT rate of 25% presents to craftsmen. Several representations have been made and meetings held with the Department using the services of a VAT expert but so far to no avail.

However, since the new Government came to power the possibility of the 25% rate being raised to 35% has thrown the Council into fresh activity. The new VAT rates could mean the 25% rate being raised to 35% but some things which formerly came under the old rate could be put into the new 15% bracket. The Council's hope is that crafts be included in this rate. Action now stands a good chance of success and with this in mind the Council has made fresh representation to the Government. We will report results in the next Newsletter.

In the course of a visit to see an interesting fabric, traditionally regarded as part of The Mantle of Saint Brigid at the Saint Saviour's Cathedral, Bruges, I was invited to the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique in Brussels. There I was kindly received by Doctor L. Masschelin, Head of the Department of Laboratories, attached to which is a section for the restoration of old tapestries.

In the Tapestry Restoration Studio I saw work being done on a 1570 Brussels tapestry which had been woven for Ghent A small piece, a chair seat, in a floral design, was being restored for a Royal Palace chair. They also showed me a large linen painted fabric laid on a table. It was dated 200 years before Christ and needed much repair. In order to clean it they had raised the table at one end to let the water run over it until the water ran clear. The colours, they said, showed up well while it was wet.

I was shown many Coptic pieces, and of special interest to me were two Coptic bonnets, incomplete but woven in linen of natural colour, with some red and black colours in wool woven into the fabric.

Doctor Masschelin's work is mainly to analyse dye stuffs, by taking first a thread, one or two centimetres long, from the back of the tapestry and then testing it. She says that in early days the Guilds were very strict about dyes, only allowing Indigo, Madder and Weld to be used. She showed me her very good record book of vegetable dyes which included Kermes, and a purple sample from the Murex shell that someone had sent her from America.

These Museum people were delighted to meet someone from Ireland; perhaps this new friendship with Brussels will help in different ways and we can share and exchange our knowledge with each other to our mutual benefit. Lillias Mitchell Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

Woodbending and Furniture Workshop: European Conference The following is a general report on the WCC Workshop and convention which we attended in Copenhagen.

The Workshop was Woodbending and furniture materials. It covered a four-day period and consisted of a series of discussions, lectures, practical demonstrations and visits to Cabinet makers in both Denmark and Sweden. The Workshop leaders were Urarno Gudiksen and John Vedel-Rieper, with participants from Italy, New Zealand, France, England, Holland, Poland, Belgium and Ireland. From all points of view the Workshop was highly success­ful, the organisation was excellent, the timetable being strictly adhered to and no time wasted in the mornings or between lectures, etc. The content of the Workshops was of a very high standard with visits to such world renowned Cabinet Makers as Rud Rasmussens, producers of Kaare Klint's designs.

We ourselves have gained immensely from the Workshop experience not only from the very high standards we have already mentioned but also from contact with other participants in the Workshop. The ability to compare and discuss work with other craftsmen from different countries proved to be the highlight of the Work­shop. The discussions were not only about techniques but also about the problems which all craftworkers have in exhibiting, selling, etc. etc.

Apart from our own Workshop, we also had the opportunity to see exhibitions of various Danish crafts. This was a great opportunity to see Irish crafts in an international context and find that in a lot of disciplines, Irish craftwork was of an equally high standard. The confidence gained from this was a very positive attitude which we took home with us. From our point of view, the WCC European Conference benefitted us greatly and we would hope to be able to participate in such events in the future. Dermot and Mary Toland

RDS CraftsCompetition andExhibitionThis year's Royal Dublin Society CraftsCompetition attracted 823 items, thebiggest since the competition was revivedin 1968. A more important factor wasthe big improvement in standards whichwere deemed by the judges to be thehighest reached in the history of thecompetition. This achievement was verygratifying for the RDS, particularlyduring the year when the Society iscelebrating the 350th anniversary of itsfoundation in 1731.

Speaking during the prize-givingceremony and preview of the CraftsExhibition on 30 July 1981, Mr JamesMeenan, President of the Royal DublinSociety, pointed out that the develop-ment of crafts in Ireland had been amajor concern of the Society since itsearliest days.

During this function a special welcomewas extended to representatives from theCrafts Council of Ireland CraftworkersAssociations who had been invited to thiRDS reception following a meeting inDublin earlier in the day.

The prize winners are listed separatelyand six other first prizewinning craftworkers were selected for interview at alater date to decide the winner of the£1,000 Scholarship or DevelopmentGrant.

Thousands of visitors thronged the standwhere the prizeqinning entries from thecompetition were exhibited during theHorse Show. Most items were sold andmany commissions were negotiated.

A unique feature of this year's displaywas a special historic lace exhibitionwhich attracted a great deal of attentionand admiration.

The craftworkers who wish to receivedetails of next year's competition shouldsend their names and addresses to theArts Administrator, Royal Dublin SocietyBallsbridge, Dublin 4. Telephone 680645,extension 312.Betty SearsonRoyal Dublin Society

Photographs above show some of the prize winners in the RDS Crafts Competition.TOP: bowl by Brian Clarke won a first prize.CENTRE: Joe Hogan's woven willow basket was also awarded a first prize.BELOW: looking like a strange full moon, the beautifully turned wooden plattermade by Michael Dickson also won a prize.

RDS CraftsCompetition 1981The following is the list of prize-winnersin the Royal Dublin Society CraftsCompetition 1981.

Class 1 Ceramics for Use1st John Murphy, Antrim2nd Geoffrey Healey, Bray, Co Wicklow3rd Helena Brennan, Dun Laoghaire

Class 2 — Decorative and SculpturalCeramics1st Bernadette Stewart, Belfast2nd Kathleen Edwards, Co Donegal3rd Rosemary Gray, Kilworth, Co Cork

Class 3 - Glass2nd Adrienne Diamond, Dublin3rd Keith Leadbetter, Co Kilkenny

Class 4 — Stained GlassThere were no awards in this Class.

Class 5a — Work in Any Metal1st Brian Clarke, Co Wicklow3rd Andrew Grierson, Co Cork

Class 5b — Smithwork2nd Norman Braiden, Belfast3rd Thomas Brooker, Co Down

Class 5c — Work in Tin and Copper byTravelling People3rd Michael Power, Carlow

Class 6 - Gold and Silver1st Peter Donovan, Kilkenny

Class 7 — Jewellery1st Desmond Byrne and Martin Doyle,

KDW2nd Liam Costigan, Kilkenny3rd Trevor Power, Co Wicklow

Class 8 — Enamelling2nd Aine Murphy, Co Wexford

Class 9a — Turned Wood1st Br. Ciaran Forbes, Co Limerick2nd Michael Dickson, Co Antrim3rd Barry Fitzgerald, Co Carlow

Class 9b - Any Objects Made in Wood1st Desmond Conlon, Blefast2nd Eric Campbell, Co Tipperary3rd Bridget Dinne Bolton, Co Wicklow

Class 10 — Musical Instruments1st Anthony O'Brien and Andrew

Robinson, Dublin2nd Kevin O'Callaghan, Co Cork3rd Samuel Patrick Murray, Co Down

Class 11 - Rod, Rush and Straw Work1st Joe Hogan, Co Galway

Class 12a • - Work in Irish Leather1st Carmen and Edmond Chesneau,

Co Wicklow

Class 12b — Work in Any Leather1st Brendan F Brennan, Dublin

Class 13 - Floor Rugs1st Annie Dibble, Dublin2nd Mary Scally, Co Offaly3rd Denis J Murphy

Class 14a — Knee Rugs, Bed Covers, etc.1st Jacqueline M Clarke, Belfast

Class 14b — Woven Lengths2nd Junko Okamura, Co Wicklow

Class 14c — Designs for Woven FabricLengths1st Catherine M MacAleavey, Dublin

Class 15 — Constructed Wallhangings1st Anna Niamh Hurley, Dublin1st Jill Bright, Co Cork2nd Marian Young, Co Derry2nd Eileen Henderson, Co Kilkenny3rd Frances Nugent, Co Dublin3rd Brigid Rose Cunningham, Dublin(joint prize-winners)

Class 16a - Fabric Printing - a length1st Mel Bradley, Co Wicklow2nd Geraldine O'Sullivan, Co Cork3rd Una Wallace, Co Westmeath

Class 16b - Printed Panel1st Margaret M O'Dwyer, Dublin2nd Mary Rose Cullen, Dublin

Class 17 — Resist-dyed Fabric1st Matthew O'Connell, Dublin2nd Elizabeth G Martin, Co Meath3rd Frances Culhane, Dublin

Class 18 — Limerick Lace2nd Sheila Regan, Co Dublin

Class 18 — Carrickmacross Lace1st Marie Cullen, Co Cavan2nd Kathleen Flanaghan, Co Monaghan3rd Sheila Regan, Co Dublin

Class 18 - Irish Crochet1st Mrs J Beagan, Co Fermanagh2nd Teresa Bradley3rd Mollie Moore, Wicklow

Class 18 — Other Lace Techniques1st Mollie Moore, Wicklow2nd Margaret Cussen, Dublin

Class 19 — White Embroidery1st Sister Rosaleen McCabe, Dublin2nd Kakuko Okamura, Co Wicklow

Class 19 — Decorative Embroidery2nd Alison Erridge, Shannon3rd Dorothy McCrea, Dundalk

Class 19 — Patchwork and Quilting1st Rita Whelan, Dublin2nd Patricia Baxter Cardwell, Co Down3rd Caroline Hamilton, Co Antrim

Class 20 — Woven, Embroidered, Printedor Knitted Article for Ceremonial Use1st Margaret Graham, Newry2nd Wilma Kirkpatrick, Co Antrim

Class 20 — Woven, Embroidered, Printedor Knitted Article - other garments1st Lucy Erridge, Co Clare1st Inez Nordell, Dublin 9(1st place shared)2nd Kakuko Okamura, Co Wicklow3rd Avril Halliday, Belfast

Violin made by Kevin O'Callaghan wona prize in the RDS Crafts Competition.

Mug Marathon Where the idea of a mug marathon came from is a bit of a mystery; I think it evolved from the pressure of work after a late Trade Fair. As a result of having to work very fast, there was one day in which I made 300 mugs in an afternoon . . . a long afternoon. What is most tiring about that sort of production is the preparation of the clay, since I do not have a de-airing pug-mill, it all has to be processed by hand- kneading up a hundredweight of clay is no piece of cake.

What if I did not have to prepare the clay? How many mugs could I make then?

Since the turn of the year the media had been telling me that it was the year of the disabled: St Michael's House have pottery workshops for training the mentally handicapped. Though the public was doing a tremendous amount for the physically handicapped, it seemed to me that there was virtually no mention made of the mentally handicapped.

Putting various ideas together, the concept of a mug marathon to raise money for St Michael's House, both through sponsorship and through the sale of the mugs which would be fired and finished by St Michael's House, began to materialise.

Gradually the details were filled in. Half a ton of clay was donated to the cause by M Kennedy and Sons Ltd which was a marvellous gift. Paul and Angela Martin kindly offered to prepare the clay in their pug-mill. We chose Wesley House as a venue, since it has a washable floor, a coffee bar and super loos, with a shower and all! To help us on, the Methodist Church in Leeson Park gave us the use of these premises free of charge, with the enthusiasm of their youth group thrown in for good measure, and they looked after the security and helped with the cleaning up afterwards. Denis Synott, pottery Manager in St Michael's House, organised the conversion of the hall into a small pottery factory for the weekend, and his colleague, Michael O'Farrell, ran the publicity end of things.

So everything was set. The only possible problem was me. I had given myself the target of 1,000 mugs; the question was— could I do it? Could it be done in a marathon session? And if so, in what period of time?

I had many discussions with other potters. Basing calculations on my normal throwing speed, I reckoned that I could

do it in about 24 hours; however, the general concensus of opinion was that I never would keep up that pace and would probably slow down considerably; there were visions of staggering in to the finish. A fortnight before the marathon, I was so lacking in confidence that if there had been any way that I could have cancelled it, I would have!

How does one prepare for something like that? I rested as much as possible, taking over twelve hours sleep at night.

Finally the day came, Friday 5 June at 3.00 pm . . . the first mug was thrown before a faithful crowd of family and friends that had rallied to offer moral support. My hands shook so much during the first fifty that it is a wonder that they came out at all. The digital watch brigade were keeping a close eye on proceedings and announced that I was making a mug every forty seconds. The faithful fans were amazed and, to be honest, so was I. I am told that in a

• Marathon Run the athletes settle into a pace and keep it until the end. Perhaps that is true of all similar efforts because I certainly kept the same pace through­out the marathon—forty seconds a mug.

There was a break for a while every time a board of fifty mugs was completed, while two stalwart men would carefully remove the board, replacing it with an empty one. Getting back on to the wheel was pure agony. The pain of making the first five mugs was something extra­ordinary until the cramped muscles settled down to work again.

I had been expecting a certain amount of trouble from the old skin and bones and had asked Una Martin to come down about midnight. Una, Paul Martin's wife, is a physiotherapist and it was thanks to her ministrations that I was able to complete the marathon.

I had just reached the 650 mark and the agony was excruciating when I took some time off. Una tackled the cramped muscles and spent ages pulverizing them back into action. After a shower and a change of clothes, I started again and flew home. By 6.30 am, eighteen and a half hours after commencing, I had made 1,000 mugs. I took a break and then did an additional fifty as a lap of honour.

I have the happiest memories of the event because it showed me the great amount of goodwill that there is in people: the numbers of people that came down to see what was going on and the support of the potters who helped with the weighing out of the 350gm balls of clay, and especially Elizabeth Eaton and Anne-Marie Emch

who did the dogwatch with me from 2.00 to 8.00 am. Believe it or not, several people got up during the night just to come down and cheer me on.

Sunday was a really super experience. All afternoon potters came in for as long as they were able, to put on a hundred or so handles, people like Patrick Weston, Paul Martin and family, Geoffrey Healy, Brian Keogh, Mary O'Connor, Una Timmins and Alan Shattock and family . . . it was quite a party!

During the evening, Denis Synott and two of the trainees, Fergus and Eddie, plyed their way back and forth between Wesley House and St Michael's House until the hall was cleared. Then, with five mops and several old towels, the youth group got the floor washed and dried, and set out the tables for an accountancy exam to be held in the hall at 9.00 am the next morning. What a transformation!

It was five days before my hand healed enough to allow me to go back to work but it was worth it. At the time of writing, the mugs have yet to be glaze fired, but all being well, kiln gods permitting, they should be available, complete with commemorative stamp on the base, by the publication of the newsletter. They can be purchased from all the usual St Michael's House outlets.

My sincere thanks to everyone who had anything to do with the whole event. Adrienne Crowe

European Conference Workshops BORNHOLM POTTERS

It was my honour to represent and report on behalf of the eighteen participants from Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finlan Scotland, Ireland and France in six workshops. We had a most successful gathering at Bornholm. This was due, in great measure, to the geography— Bornholm is a small island. The workshops being close together, discussion of problems was continued at all times: in the workshops, at meals, when digging clay on the beach, building kilns raku, salt or sawdust. Experience and skill was shared.

It was also possible to visit all the work­shops and the host potters helped, not only their participants, but other members of the group also. This exchange of ideas and skills in all locations-workshops, museums, the co-operative shop and while travelling-provided a continuity. Slide shows with views of background locations helped identify individual problems and appreciation of solutions.

The host potters never hesitated once in providing instant travel to wherever we chose to go. The group chemistry worked very well indeed.

On the negative side, there were aspects of the arrangements that gave concern:

It was felt that participants should be allowed the choice of cheap accommodation close to the workshop if possible; 2 Concern was expressed about the

communication between the WCC and the host craftsmen. In the main the initiative was left to the craftsmen and there was no recommended approach; 3 To pursue pottery making and allow a full cycle of production, it was considered that ten days should be made available for a meeting; 4 It would be preferred that participants should be full-time and committed potters; 5 In any future developments of workshop contacts, the participants were concerned that the interests of those taking part should be considered. Perhaps a questionnaire could be designed and processed in good time to accommodate a difference of philosophy or technical requirements of different members; 6 Whilst, as participants, we would naturally like the cost of any future meeting to be reasonably low, we would hope that administration costs would be kept to the minimum but that the hosts would be adequately rewarded; 7 That consideration should be given to some means of providing a fun to allow the less well-off to attend.

Finally we, the participants, would like to put on record our appreciation of the warm and good hearted response we had from our friends and colleagues from Bornholm. May we meet again soon in Ireland. Peter Brennan

GOLD AND SILVER

We have all agreed that this was a success­ful workshop and that basically the concept was a good one. On the other hand, we felt that we should have had more time to get to know each other, to enable us to see each other's slides and discuss each other's work.

We were required to produce a finished piece of work ready for an exhibition. This meant working long hard hours. This pressure of work brought about a type of individual isolation which we feel could have been avoided by reducing the importance of the exhibition, or by introducing some common theme, be it the exploration of some special technique which each participant could incorporate into his or her individual piece, or a common project where each participant could contribute to the completion of a single item.

We were disappointed that we could not see more of our workshop leader, who was also a participant. It seems that he was involved in a lot of administrative work which necessitated him being in another part of the building working alone and also being available to us, answering the ever-ringing telephone and solving the many administrative problems which seem to have occurred.

We all had expected more information before the conference concerning the other participants, so that we could have known in advance who we would be working with. This would necessitate definite confirmation of participation by the participants well in advance of the conference.

Crafts Council Conference Bookings for this Conference are now being received at the Crafts Council offices and we would like to remind craftsmen that early booking is essential.

For the first time, pressure of space makes it necessary to limit the number of people who can attend so to be sure of obtaining a place, please book straight away.

This year's Conference, with its excellent input of overseas craftsmen and large number of local craft workshops open to delegates, (not to mention the promise of good food as provided by Susan Mosse/Kilkenny Design Workshops

and a selection of accommodation from sleeping bag and bunk to Grade A hotel) looks as if it will contain something of interest for all craftsmen. Well established full time professionals, or students contemplating a workshop of their own will find, among the many craftsmen and semi-State representatives present, someone who can help them with their particular problems.

October seems a long way off but actually it isn't. Booking now is essential if you want to take part in this Confer Conference, the first of its kind ever run by Crafts Council of Ireland.

In this case there would be the possibility of having the most suitable people in each workshop.

We feel also that much more control should be given to the workshop leader to enable him in the case where there are a lot of applicants, to choose the people most suited to the workshop. Brian Clarke