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©Niamh Harnett
©Fran Veale
©Coalesce
©All rights reserved
©Roland Paschoff

Fiona Harrington

  • Lacemaker
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Rising Star
Fiona Harrington Lacemaker
Contact
Irish, English
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+35 870671860
©Niamh Harnett

Contemporary Irish lacemaking

  • • Fiona creates art using lace
  • • Her work explores Irish culture, heritage and social history
  • • Her interest is artistic and academic

It was while studying for a degree in Textile Design that Fiona Harrington discovered what would become her work, her passion and her art. Although a new-found love, handmade lace wasn’t a first-time encounter for the Dublin-born artist. Through her mother and her country’s culture she was well aware of the significance of lace, as part of Ireland’s social, cultural and economic history. Her extensive knowledge of the craft and its history is no surprise, as her interest for handmade lace is artistic and manual, but academic too. As well as textile design, she completed an MA in Art and Research Collaboration in Dún Laoghaire. Today, she is committed to bringing handmade lace into contemporary design by creating a new kind of art for this traditional craft.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Kate Bowe O Brien
  • ©Roland Paschoff
  • ©Roland Paschoff
  • ©Kate Bowe O Brien
Photo: ©Kate Bowe O Brien
Fragile Economies (detail)

This small delicate sculpture by Fiona Harrington is made from handmade needlelace and half an eggshell. The needlelace is made from white cotton with a number 30 thread, and follows the outline of the broken eggshell, as to dress it up.

Length 5 cm
Width 5 cm
Height 4 cm

Photo: ©Roland Paschoff
Stepping Stones

This two-dimension framed lace wall hanging by Fiona Harrington is made by combining Irish needlepoint and Carrickmacross lace. The lace is made from white cotton thread and the colour is inserted from behind using artist’s quality green, blue and grey acid free paper. The image depicts two children jumping from stone to stone.

Height 38 cm
Width 42 cm

Photo: ©Roland Paschoff
The Lost Sheep

This two-dimension framed wall hanging is made by combining Irish needlepoint and Carrickmacross lace. The lace is made from white cotton thread and the colour is inserted from behind using green and grey artist’s quality acid free paper. Fiona Harrington represented here a lone sheep in the middle of a field.

Height 38 cm
Width 42 cm

Photo: ©Kate Bowe O Brien
Stepping Stones

This close-up of Fionna Harrington’s Stepping Stone wall hanging shows us one of the children playing on the stones. We can see the complex details of the lace that creates the outline, the clothing and the hair of the child. The lace is made from white cotton thread and the colour is inserted from behind using artist’s quality green, blue and grey acid free paper.

Height 38 cm
Width 42 cm

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