colours of the west
"dathanna an iarthair"
“dathanna an iarthair” meaning ‘colours of the west’ in Irish is inspired by the beautiful landscape and colours of the west of Ireland. After spending 2 weeks in Letterfrack and a night on Inishbofin, Amy felt truly in touch and connected with the nature and scenery. The sheep, their woolly bums and spray painted tags were a driving force for part of this collection. Looking at the colour symbols and marks on the sheep's body's and bums, Amy created a series of contemporary woven pieces of art. Authentic Irish wool from the only native breed of sheep left in Ireland was used to create these pieces. The wool is sourced from the Galway Wool Co-op, a collective of both people and sheep working together to re-establish the Cultural Integrity of Irish Wool and so much more!
Not only did the sheep's wooly bums inspire Amy, but fields of bog cotton blowing in the wind amongst the landscape of Inishbofin was another primary source of inspiration. Authentic Irish bog cotton was foraged during her time on Inisbofin to weave into the pieces. These bog cotton pieces were also influenced by how sheep see the world around us. They have monocular vision, meaning they see almost 360 degrees. A panoramic view. Through the eyes of sheep, the compostition of this piece is designed to be longer and shorter giving the impression of a panoramic view of the landscape and bog cotton.
“dathanna an iarthair” is a contemporary collection of textiles celebrating the west of Ireland and all of its true beauty.
“dathanna an iarthair”
a piece of Ireland in your home
“dathanna an iarthair” is a contemporary collection of woven art inspired by the colours and beauty of the west of Ireland.
Using local materials like, authentic Irish wool and hand picked Irish bog cotton, this collection has pieces of Ireland, its heritage and culture woven into them to have in your home. Whether that be in Ireland or over seas, these pieces will carry a piece of Ireland in them, with you, wherever you go.
The collection ranges in sizes from 12 x 12 iches to 6 x 24 inches and more.
These pieces have been handmade and designed in Ireland by Amy Kerr.
"Caora an iarthair" sheep of the west
Celebrating the hertiage and culture of Ireland, this collection of hand woven piece of art are inspired by the sheep, their wooly bums and their colourful spray painted tags in the West of Ireland. It is made from 100% Irish wool, from the only native breed of sheep in Ireland. To find out more about these little wooly friends and their wool visit :
The colours seen are all dyed using natural dyes and framed in the local framers not even 3 minutes away from Amy’s studio.
"cnoic na hInis Bó Finne" - the hills of Inishbofin
This part of the collection is inspired by the hills and fields of Inisbofin and the bog cotton blowing in the wind. After a day spent exploring Inisbofin with the brilliant tour guide and islander Tommy, enough bog cotton was foraged to make a handful of these woven pieces of art.
These pieces were also influenced by sheeps vision and how they see the landscape of the wild west. Sheep having monocular, panoramic vision inspired these pieces to be longer and shorter. Weaving two 12 inch pieces to create a 24 inch width these bog cotton pieces interpet the wide vision sheeps. With authentic Irish bog cotton woven into the pieces, it is like a piece of Ireland intertwined into the art. The warp and weft of these pieces are made from an organice cotton sourced from Venne Colton, a dutch company specialising in organic and sustainable, certified fibers. As there was only a small amount of real bog cotton foraged, there will only be very limited stock available.
Wooly Accessories
These wooly bags are inspired by the sheeps bobbly bodies when seen from a distance amoungst the land- scape. They are hand-crocheted with optional sheep ear tags. Any colours used are naturally dyed. The wool used for these bags is the same authentic Irish wool from the only native Irish breed left. The wool is sourced from Galway Wool Co-op, washed in the UK as there are no facilities for this left in Ireland and then processed and spun by Donegal Yarns.
The wooly statement pieces are sustainably hand- made. They also have removable drawstring bags inside, made from leftover and stock fabric from Amys studio. The blue bobble bag is naturally dyed using indigo. These bags are customisable in size, shape and a range of colours. The two stitches used to create these bags are the bobble stitch and waffle stitch. Two very structural stitchs giving these bags depth and volume. The perfect Irish piece to add to your collection. The buttons used are also second hand buttons from collecting them over the years.
