Meath’s crafters getting set for festival weekend
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Anita Reynolds will give an embroidery workshop.Image 2 of 5
Artist Bríd Fanning will give a portrait workshop for children aged from seven up.Image 3 of 5
Rebecca Maguire will give a pebble art workshop for teens and adults.Image 4 of 5
Harpist Jennifer Leahy will play from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday 17th-18th August.Image 5 of 5
Ballivor furniture maker John Lee will give a talk as part of the craft festival.A festival of craft, design and creativity hosted by the Meath Made Creative Collective will take place this weekend in the Swift Cultural Centre, Trim.
Taking place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th August, the event has been organised as part of August Craft Month and Meath Made will occupy the entire Swift building hosting demonstrations, workshops, a craft fair and an exhibition.
Six workshops are planned in textiles, ceramics, feltmaking, eco jewellery, photography and pebble art, while demonstrations will take place in soapmaking, pyrography, felt making and wood working. Members of the Meath Made Creative Collective will also be selling their work.
Workshops and demonstrations can be booked on the Swift Cultural Centre booking system and advance booking is recommended as spaces are limited. Entry to the Craft fair and exhibition will be free.
Some of the workshops are for adults while others are aimed at children and chairperson Anita Reynolds said it is very much planned as a family day out. There will be live music each day with harpist Jennifer Leahy performing in the foyer from 1pm-4pm, thanks a Meath Arts grant.
On Saturday, 17th August, world renowned furniture designer John Lee from Ballivor, will give a talk at 5.30pm where he looks back on 20 years of work. Entry is €10.
The Craft Fair & Exhibition takes place from 11am – 5pm each day. This is free and no booking is required. It features 16 members from Meath Made who will be selling a variety of their wonderful works. An exhibition of art including paintings, glass works, and textiles from members of the collective will also be on display.
For full details of the workshops and demonstrations including prices and how to book see www.swiftculturalcentre.ie. They include: pyrography demonstration with Frayne Woodcraft; Create Ceramic Bird Feeders with Darych Designs; Pebble Art with Púróga; Drawing a Portrait with Mary Duffy; Build a Picture with Vaida Rasciute; Creative Soap Making Demonstration with Lus Aromatherapy; Stitch a Summer Meadow with Anita Reynolds; Wet Felt Workshop with Boann Irish Felt Designs; Felting the Landscape with Lucia Errity; Weave on a Frame Mini-Loom with Brédín na Bóinne; Wild Bird Decorations with Roisin and Robin Unique Gifts; Crafting Eco Jewellery with Imelda Connolly; Palette Knife Workshop with Dawn McGrath and Create Expressive Portraits with Brid Fanning.
The Meath Made Creative Collective supported by Meath Local Enterprise Office was born following an initial meeting between local craftspeople and the Meath LEO in November 2022.
It was officially launched last November and recently the collaborative had their first stand at Bloom in Phoenix Park featuring work by eight of their members, which was a great success.
Meath Made is looking forward to its first craft festival and hopes that it will become an annual event.
For more details on workshops and how to book see: https://swiftculturalcentre.ie/event/meath-made-creates