A lamp made from Galway wool has been shortlisted for an award in the home category of Showcase 2024 – Ireland’s design and craft fair.
Sustainable textile artist Karena Ryan of Tuam, Co. Galway, will travel to the RDS to present the lamp at the event, which takes place from Sunday, January 21 until Tuesday, January 23.
The product, titled ‘Solas na Gaillimhe’, was handmade by Ryan using raw Galway fleece, dried lavender, marigolds and rose petals.
Speaking to Agriland, Ryan said she has been using wool for a long time in her practice, but only recently started incorporating Irish wool with “traceability back to Irish soil”.
“I wanted to use the Galway wool because the sheep are from the county that I live in and I wanted to keep my art practice as sustainable as possible where there’s not as much movement with processing and buying the wool from abroad; to keep it close to home,” she said.
“I’ve been using wool for well over a decade in my practice but it’s only in the last year, or year and a half, that I got into spinning workshops in in Ardrahan.
“The lady there shears her own sheep and dyes the wool and everything else. So I bought some Galway wool from Donegal Yarns. You can just buy the raw fleece. I bought maybe 5 kilos of it and I just started felting.
“It’s cleaned, which is fantastic because that’s the job that I would hate doing. So it’s all cleaned and processed and then I can work with it straight away.
“Most people would just spin with it and then have it in yarn and they could knit or weave, but I would use it raw in felting.”
Solas na Gaillimhe
Ryan hand felted Solas na Gaillimhe during a spell of good weather in her back garden.
“I have dried lavender in it, silk rose petals that I had dried from my wedding bouquet and marigolds and whatever I found in the garden,” she said.
“I have all that embedded into the wool and then I added essential oils. You could add lavender or camomile or whatever essential oils.
“And then when the lamp is on, that essential oil is smelled throughout the room, which is gorgeous.”
Ryan is also bringing more of her artwork and products to Showcase 2024, including hand embroidery onto vintage Foxford blankets as well prints and card.
Irish wool and sustainability
Ryan said she has an interest in Irish wool, the future of it and how it can be used by artists, designers and in fashion.
“I wanted to learn how to use it in every aspect of life,” she said.
“I use the wool here to insulate plants in the cold, frosty weather. I just put it around the plants.
“I also use it to stuff my pillows. I have some Galway wool pillows and cushions that I have samples made of. It takes carbon out of the atmosphere as well.”
Ryan said there has been a push in recent years to promote Irish wool from native Irish sheep and that this is a boost for the sustainability movement.
“I think there’s a big push now on promoting Irish grown wool from native Irish sheep which is great for sustainability.
“I was teaching for 20 years as an art teacher so I’m used to repurposing stuff all the time and Galway wool is so robust and strong, you can really manipulate it as a fabric.
“You can do so much with it, that’s the beauty of it.
“I get so many ideas as I’m doing a piece. I’m thinking: ‘Oh, what can I do with that for the next piece? What else can I add into this?'”
The winner of Ryan’s category at Showcase 2024 will be announced at 11:45a.m on Sunday, January 21.