Miriam Wade

IDI Awards

2011-11-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

I recently attended the IDI Awards in the Sugar Club on the 27th of October. Myself and a few classmates were up for awards under different categories. In the graduate fashion category, Mona Atkinson won an IDI Award, Ben Millett won out of the product design category, Honor Scanlon won out of the textile category. I was lucky to win out of the craft product category and The grand prix award for Best Graduate Design.

Honor Scanlon Mona Atkinson

Ben Millett Miriam Wade

Future Makers exhibition 2011

2011-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

I went to Cork Thursday 3rd November, to attend the Future Makers seminar and gallery exhibition. The seminar began at 10.00 a.m with an opening talk from Daniel Charny about "The power of making' exhibition in the V&A in London. Many of the talks were from some of the exhibitors and how the award they received has helped them in continuing and setting up their practice. It was very inspiring hearing their stories and advice on setting up to make a living from their craft. A lot of the re-accuring advice was to get professional photos taken, apply for every grant, award and exhibition out there in Ireland and abroad and to get your work on the internet either as a simple blog or website. At lunch I got a chance to see the exhibition, which was great as I had two of my pieces on exhibit as part of future makers. They seemed to draw a bit of attention on the day which was great to see. The exhibition closed on the 4th of November and received great feedback from many visitors.

2011-10-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

These are simple pierced out gun earrings I made for a friend. They are made from sterling silver and have a scratch finish. I had thought of oxidising them but decided the silver finished suited them better.

This neckpiece was inspired by bells and the sound they make when jingled. Each bell was formed from flat 1mm copper and domed into shape. They all contain a little ball inside that causes the sound when moved. Both the copper bells and chain have been oxidised.

Best of Graduate Design 2011 Exhibition 16th September-5th November

2011-09-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night was the opening of the Best of Graduate Design 2011 exhibition in the NCAD gallery in Dublin. It is running until the 5th of November and shows work for twenty-two 3rd level design courses in Ireland. It was a great turn out with representatives from the Institute of Designers in Ireland, Professor Declan McGonagle (director of NCAD) and the exhibition was opened by the Chairman of the Board of NCAD, Dr Joe Mulholland.

The work on show ranged from Fashion and textiles to Craft and Industrial design, depicting a diverse example of new designers in Ireland. A lot of exhibitors are up for different awards with the Institute of Designers in Ireland. These exhibitors will also have their work featured in the IDI Best of Irish Design Handbook. Below are some of the work that can be seen at the exhibition.

Ben Millett

For more information on the IDI Awards check out http://www.ididesign.ie/designawards/.

Best of Graduate Design 2011

2011-09-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Just came across two webpages that has featured images of my work from the Best of Graduate Design 2011 exhibition that opened last night in the NCAD gallery in Dublin.

Craftinireland.com
http://www.craftinireland.com/events/details/institute-of-designers-in-ireland-best-of-graduate-design-exhibition-2011/

DesignDublin.ie http://designerdublin.ie/events/institute-of-designers-in-ireland-best-of-graduate-design-exhibition-2011/

Final display in Ronan Campbell Jewellers

2011-08-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today I visited Ronan Campbell jewellers in City West Shopping centre. The purpose of this visit was to deliver the poster that I had designed as a backdrop to the sculptural pieces I have for sale in the shop. It was great to see the display finally finished and I must say it looked very well.

New Range of earrings

2011-08-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting on this idea for a while, quite simple really. For it was a chance to produce quick, colourful and affordable pieces. When I started making jewellery (age 15) I made simple beaded earrings that sold out at craft fairs. I wanted to develop these earrings into more sophisticated and decorative pieces of jewellery. I wanted to design pieces using the idea of positive and negative space with the incorporation of colour. They have been designed on Rhino (a 3d modeling programme) and printed using a rapid prototyper.

This pair consists of two layers, white and indigo, that were printed separately

and then riveted together. The earring hooks are sterling silver.

This pair of earrings again has two different printed layers that are attached

by the sterling silver hooks. The white layer is semi-translucent and shows

off the black silhouette.

Ronan Campbell Jewellers City West

2011-08-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

On returning from New Designers back in July, I received a call from a jewellers based City West shopping centre. They were interested in stocking a few pieces of my work, as they are starting to branch out into home-ware and gifts. So for the past month I have been working hard organising posters, boxes, labels and a logo. The pieces have all been given names based on pollen species and can be now seen on their website http://www.ronancampbell.com/shop/miriam-wade-sculpture.html, where they have redesigned the website and aded a feature page for my work.

As of last Friday the 12th of August my work is now on display and for sale in Ronan Campbell jewellers. The display case is great and the pieces are well seen as you walk into the shop. I have yet to put in an A0 poster behind it. But I am excited to have my work stocked.

Rachel Whitehead

2011-08-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

The work at the New Designers Exhibition was of an excellant standard and displayed both the craft element and a design element. A lot of the work in the jewellery and precious metals section was hand crafted but there were a few exhibitors that used CAD (computer aided design) skills to both design and manufacturer their pieces. I found this very interesting as I have used these design techniques in my work. One such exhibitor was Rachel Whitehead http://rachelwhitehead.co.uk.

She explores the idea of repetition and patterns from nature. Her work is primarily designed using a computer programme called solidwork, which is used for very detailed designs. Rachels pieces are three dimensional and contain very detailed repeated patterns. These are created for the wearer to have some interaction with the piece as she incorporates magnets and slotted mechanisms, so the jewellery can be built up with additional components. She uses a wax rapid prototyper, which prints layers of wax to make up the model. The wax is then used for casting her silver jewellery. Due to the complexity of her designs it seems they would be very difficult to make them by hand, with the use od CAD/CAM techniques the exploration of these design is limitless.

New Designers 2011

2011-07-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't heard of New Designers, it is a exhibition in London especially for graduates that takes place from the 29th of June to the 2nd of July. Myself and three girls from my course decided (only two weeks prior) to part-take in this event as we had heard previous years have done it. The organising of this was tough, as we had to find somewhere to hire plinths, organise bringing our work over on the plane and looking for a place to stay. It was expensive but worth while. The plinths we got were fantastic and a lot of people were impressed by the standard of them (www.exhibitionplinths.co.uk).

The exhibition itself was a great success, with loads of contacts made. With all of our work from NCAD being so diverse it attracted a lot of attention. And there were many offers from galleries to exhibit work as well as positive feedback. Both Julia Schreckenbach (http://www.wix.com/designjts/julias-homepage) and Daniela Cardillo (http://www.wix.com/cardillodaniela/portfolio) were mentioned in blogs and still are. I would encourage anyone who is currently in college to look into doing New Designers next year. Its the first breakthrough of getting your name out there and your work noticed. When I was there I got to meet a lot of the exhibitors and see their work. To have that opportunity to see this variety of work was on its own worth while doing the show. Coming from Ireland (being the only department from the only Irish college exhibiting) it gave me a great chance to make contacts over in Endland, especially since we are such a small country. There are so many opportunities for graduates over there and this exhibition exposes you to these opportunities. It would be great if Ireland had more of a presence over in New Designers.

Finished pieces

2011-07-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

For my Degree show I exhibited thirteen pieces. I selected the the best work to go on show, but for the year I made a total of eighteen pieces. Five were made in copper and the remaining thirteen were made in stainless steel. These pieces vary in sizes ranging from 80mm x 60mm x 100mm to 240mm x 190mm x 280mm. More photos and a price list can be seen at www.miriamwade.com

The Copper Collection

The Steel Collection

My work and the Degree show

2011-07-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

My work is based on the shape and structure of a pollen grain pod. I researched microscopic images of pollen and found some amazing forms that inspired this body of work. I did many designs using both traditional sketching techniques but also through the use of photoshop and a CAD programme called Rhino. I modelled up 3D versons of my design, which gave me a more realistic form of each piece. Using a technique of weaving and riveting these forms developed into twisted and formed sculptures. I made many prototypes before the finished pieces as there was a lot of designing through making involved.

Some of my design work

These 'pods' are made from two different materials, stainless steel and copper.The steel units were cut by chemical etching (acid 'eats' away the metal leaving behind the unit).

These pieces are made up of smaller units that are riveted to form the larger structure.

The copper units were cut by a water-jet cutter (high pressure water is jetted out of a thin nozzle and cuts through the metal).The copper has been oxidised (blackened by a chemical) and riveted with copper tube rivets.

For the degree show I had a total of thirteen pieces on display. I wanted to keep all the pieces close together so I arranged the plinths (with the help of my tutor) in a staggered group. The idea was so people could walk around and see them from all angles. On the wall I placed close up images of the pieces, again giving different views that may not really be noticed on first glance.

NCAD Degree Show

2011-07-13T10:04:00.001-07:00

I haven't talked much about the NCAD Degree show which was on the second week in June. The opening night attracted a good crowd with many interesting people to talk to. The show was open for nine days closing on the 19th of June. We had visitors from the Crafts Council of Ireland, The Minister for Education Rory Quinn (who was at the opening but also came in the next morning for a proper look round). The work this year was a very high standard and many sales were made throughout the C.G.M department, with some commissions yet to be made. Below are some images of the work from the Metals department.

Muireann Walshe

Corrine Richards-Scully

Julia Schreckenbach

Daniela Cardillo

Aoife Coyle

Anna West

Featured in The Westmeath Topic Newspaper

2011-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was sixteen I entered The Young Entrepreneurs Competition as part of a transition year project. I designed, made and sold sterling silver jewellery under the name Silver Fusion.I reached the national final and won third place in the senior category. The Westmeath Topic covered this event and during the competition did a featured article on my little jewellery business.

Seven years later after graduating from NCAD (National College of Art and Design) they decided to do a follow-up article on me. It was published on the 30th of June (while I was away in London for an exhibition).

Blog on NCAD Graduate Show 2011

2011-07-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

I came across this blog that reviewed the NCAD Degree Show. Some nice photos were taken of the work that stood out to her which is a real compliment.

To see the blog click the link http://lovejaney.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/ncad-grad-show-2/

Introduction

2011-07-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog.
I am a recent graduate from The National College of Art and Design where I studied craft design, specialising in metalwork. As a metalwork course I have experience in both designing and making jewellery and sculptural pieces. My design process consists of a balance of hand sketching, CAD and model making. I feel it is very important to use use all three, as what may look good on paper/computer screen may not necessarily work when it comes to the making of a design. So prototyping is a major part in my design process. This blog will keep track of up and coming events and exhibitions of my work and others practitioners that I find interesting. It will also document some of my ideas and prototypes as well as the finished piece. So do check back often.