Sligo Credit Union
Bespoke ceramic centrepiece, statement art work for corporate clients.
Sligo Credit Union recently opened the doors of its new gorgeous location. I had the privilege of doing some work for their new floor. The building is phenomenal. Thanks to amazing design, construction and vision from the chiefs at the CU, this is really a very special place now.
I created three large, totally original pieces of ceramic art for the project. It was a real pleasure to be able to capture some of the special aspects of what makes Sligo unique and pour it into the pieces .
The first piece you encounter as you enter the Credit union is ‘The Wave’. This is one of my signature pieces that is normally made in 3D for frames or via glaze combination for jewellery. It was a challenge to turn this into a massive 1.5m floor piece and capture the movement of the water in stationary tile! if you look closely at each tile, the glazework and imprinted lines tell the story of the waves as it throws itself upward.
As you travel toward the reception desk, you will find the next mosaic. Even I haven’t actually counted how many tiles are involved in this one. Sligo or Sligeach means ‘Abounding in Shells’ or ‘Shelly place’ and, like the wave is a 2D interpretation of my framed piece ‘Shelly River’ inspired by my love of the waters of Sligo. The mosaic pieces are scallop shell shape to give the overall impression of the term ‘abounding in shells’ and the turquoise ‘river’ is largely imprinted with actual shells or found beach items from the shores of Sligo.
The third and most inner piece located by the cashier desks is the largest at 2mtr diameter. It is unique to the Sligo Credit Union and is representative of a body of water that draws you in and ultimately how I feel about the waters of Sligo that tend to reach into and become part of life here. Our lakes, rivers and oceans are so much part of who we are and why we love where we live. The innermost part of this piece features ‘thrown’ pottery rings to represent ripples made in the water.
The team were incredible to work with and it was a really positive and interesting process. It’s great to be part of large scale installations and even better to be able to share my passion for this incredible piece of the world in my home town.