Orphans of the Storm -Mayfield revisited: eco print and botanical dye, silk embroidery and appliquee on cotton , 32x 28cm Niamh Cunningham 2026
After living on the 26th floor in Beijing for the past decade, returning to my childhood home for Spring and Summer has been both an earthy and grounding experience. Learning to garden, sowing vegetables from seed and trying to recognise a weed or two has been a restful liminal space in between recent transitions.
It has been a special time witnessing the growth and life in the garden. I was often surprised by new life peeping up, as if my mother (who passed away last Summer ) was still saying hello and pointing to things that needed attention.
The above piece titled Orphans of the Storm – Mayfield Revisited is about returning home to nature, seeing new things in the familiar and treasuring what has always been there even in the midst of upheaval and change.
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Workshop Day 1 : Mairead Holohan in action with fellow artists Rennie Buenting, Denise Lyons, Jim Donnelly and Aisling Rice
In mid June I joined two others on a car journey to the south of County Carlow to find Mairead Holohan’s studio, a magical wooden cabin on a leafy hillside in Drannagh. We had three days in that wooden cabin studio. On Day one we had bubbling cauldrons of madder, log wood and rust water, there was a delightful witchy feel to the working process.
Leaves and blooms were dipped in variety of mordants , placed on paper or fabric , wrapped and tied around tins or cut pipes and lowered into the boiling vats.
While preparing Mairead who specialised in the eco prints guided and advised on the more successful inks and tricks. On the second day embroidery specialist Siobhan Jordan taught needle skills for both paper and fabric. The craic was mighty with everyone sharing insights, skills and divilment.
Last year in Beijing I had spent some time making botanical dyes for a workshop with parents at a school where I treated the substrate paper before hand . For more on that blog Click here
We were given a month to complete the prints, for reworking before the pop up exhibition in the Carlow Town Library.
Drannagh Lumens front
Eco print on cotton paper 10 x 18cm Niamh Cunningham 2026
Drannagh Lumens reverse
Eco print on cotton paper 10 x 18cm Niamh Cunningham 2026
Uncovered – Ode to Mairead and Siobhan
Botanical eco print on cotton paper, silk thread , 16 x 29cm Niamh Cunningham 2026
A special thank you to the wonderful artists Mairead Holohan and Siobhan Jordan.
Many thanks to Creative Ireland and Carlow Arts Office for their support in making the workshop and exhibition possible.
Artist Mairead Holohan (workshop host), Biodiversity officer Shane Casey (Biodiversity officer ) Caitriona Roberts (Creative Community engagements officer) and artist Siobhan Jordan (workshop host).
Thank you also to all the other artists who made the workshops quite a thrill with their sharp observations, suggestions and quick wit. I haven’t had such fun since leaving China.
Participating artists :
Maria Dawson, Amy Dawson, Helena Fitzgearld, Gwenda Wallace, Rennie Beunting , Niamh Cunningham Denise Lyons, Jim Donnelly, Aisling Rice, Mary Cullen Kelly , Tania O Neil, Kay Roche , Evelyn Graham
Opening reception for the pop up exhibition Eco Prints at Carlow Library July 29th 2026
