Irish Arts Review

Creative CollaborationsAuthor(s): Kevin O'Dwyer and Eleanor FleggSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 25, Irish Craft 2008: The Annual Craft Edition of the"Irish Arts Review" (2008), p. 16Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20493446 .

Accessed: 12/06/2014 17:09

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Irish Arts Review is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Irish Arts Review(2002-).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.118 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:09:11 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Creative Collaborations Kevin O'Dwyer is using the Crafts Council Bursary to explore the fusion

of glass architectural forms with his silverware, reports Eleanor Flegg

T he Crafts Council Bursary was founded in 2005 on the uinderstanding that the success of Irish craft

|hingecl on the creative development of craftspeople and that this should be supported financially.

The annual award offers applicants up to CE20,000 to alleviate the pressure of earning while they

pursue specific creative goals.

In 200? the awarci was presented to the silversmith Kevin O'Dwyer for a project that proposed

to explore the possibilities of working with silver and glass in combination. O'Dwyer is using the money for materials, flights and specialist resources as he travels to the US to

collaborate with two leading American glassmakers. He intends to develop a series of silver

~ j rl(tT - , , and glass designs, leacling to functional and non-functional pieces.

'Glass, like silver, is a material that can be manipLulated either hot or cold; its suirface can

be patterned, laminated, cast, or polished to create strong sensuous forms or architectural

elements,; he says. 'The combinationi of these materials over the past two centuries has focused on

traditional formns for functionai use. I'm looking at a way of taking this pairing into the 21st century'. 65

O'Dwyer is exploring thils area collaboratively with two leading American glassmakers: Jon Kuhn and Andy

Shea. KuLin creates architectuiral glass forms from cut, polished and fusecd glass and is considered an innovator

in the fielcd of laiminated and fuised glass technliqlues. O'Dwyer will use his studio facilities ancd expertise in a

hands-on resiclency to create a series of glass arcihitectural forms that will be incorporated into his silverware.

W-- W<-~ 'The residency will be one of exploration, experi-mentation and innovation,' says O'Dwyer 'It will also be a hands

4;' C . s on opportunity to create prototypes and finished elements.' g . vt~ZY ~ ' Andy Shqei, who manipulates lhot glass into sensuous forms, has been described as 'one of the

Godfathers within the USA glass cominunity'. O'Dwyer will work at Shea's hot glass studio developing a

series of pieces that explore the possibilities of combining the flowing forms of silver and glass in a series

;>. lof functional an scuilptural forms He is aware, however, that collaboration often hlas unexpected results.

'My proposal was all about pushintg a dlialogue between two artists and seeing where it goes. We have

plans, but there's always a) element of surprise.

Having completed hiis first period of work with Shea in the sunmer of 2008, O'Dwyer describes the

collaborative process as very exciting. 'We're working on a series of vessels, incorporating the

silver and the

glass in flowing forms - and it's really getting to be a lot of fun. The clear glass works well with silver. I feel that

t'''';N,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tr l 0' d

:...,.,-- ---,.; ..-,-l ,f i w# : , .-: work prgresses. I stedby expernenti n with s ent boes, : tigtfrrs& C'Wi-g e '

X : e : /1- - . f. ;00fluid. The Busary is a great opportunity to push yourwork forward - it has given me the chance to develop the -i - u \ ; Xstif , EE ideas-that have been in the back of my mind foryears?E

16-Elolnor Fqgwrllt.s muril foroomo of Ild lg

-R,~~~~~~~

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.118 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:09:11 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions