Welcome to Adventures In Time & Lace, where we explore modern thinking in one of the most traditional needlecrafts – lacework!
Irish artist Fiona Harrington’s award winning lace is born out of her talent as a fine artist and her desire to preserve the heritage and history of lacemaking in Ireland. Her lace pieces are adorable!
Harrington originally studied Fine Art, however, as we learn in her biography, traditional textile making…was in her blood. Her mother was a lace-maker who had come from a long line of hand-weavers so when the opportunity to train at the Kenmare Lace and Design Centre presented itself, she accepted it with open arms. Here she learned traditional Irish lace techniques including Carrickmacross and Kenmare Needlepoint. She completed a degree in Textile Design at the National College of Art in Dublin and from here she went on to develop an individual style of contemporary Irish Lace.
Harrington is passionate about Irish lace and it’s own unique styles and stitches. You can also see that Harrington is passionate about her home, the Irish landscape. She captures little pieces of Irish life and nature.
Fiona’s work is inspired by her surroundings, the everyday scenes of the Irish countryside which are so commonplace, they are often overlooked. She sees an almost reverent beauty in trees, flowers, animals, hedgerows and believes that through the meditative process of lacemaking she can connect with that beauty on a deeper level.
I love how, from a distance, Harrington’s work is quite visually simple or minimalist and it is not until you get much closer that the intricate detail of her lacework is revealed. Her pieces are woven of the finest thread and can take 50 – 60 hours to complete.
To see more of Harrington’s work you can visit her website and read more about the history and details of Irish lacemaking.
