Sunday, January 6, 2013

Happy New Year and reflecting back on 2012

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Detail from the 'Family Tree' mosaic I am working on for an outdoor classroom
Happy New Year everyone. I feel the need to write a new blog post as I have been neglecting to do so over the past six months or so. Looking back at 2012 it has been a mixed year. While battling our way though a severe recession I reflected on some of the positives of 2012.

Although I had a long and quiet winter and spring, 2012 did bring along a few projects that I am very happy with. I did get to make a stone mosaic panel that I had been wanting to make for some time. My mind is full of many, many ideas. Some just plain crazy, some incredibly ambitious and some that just require an enthusiastic client to make them become a reality.
Fortunately I got one of these enthusiastic clients this year that let me create this mosaic panel as a focal point in a garden makeover I was doing for him at the time.
Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here
For this panel I used some Golden brown Quartzite from Co. Donegal that I had left over from building the garden, with some Liscannor sandstone from Co. Clare I had laying around in the studio. These two stones make a striking contrast to each other and the mirror reflects fragmented colours and light from around the garden.   
Natural stone mosaic in Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here
In early 2012 I also took in the position on Chairman of The Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland and although this has taken up much of my free time (time usually spent writing blog posts) it has been great working with like minded people that share a passion for stone and Ireland's rich stone heritage.
One of Ireland's stunning dry stone walls. 
Working on a section of dry stone wall at the Liscannor quarry with members of the DSWAI, more about this here 
During the summer I was asked by friend and fellow DSWAI member Tom Pollard to help with a public art project he had organised at Electric Picnic, the country's premium music and arts festival. 
Dry-stone public art project at Electric Picnic 
Tom had devised a sculpture that would only use materials that could be salvaged from the grounds of the estate that the festival is held on and also show off the craft of dry-stone construction. The cantilevered seats made the piece interactive and gave people the opportunity to take a rest.
The team. DSWAI members Tom Pollard, Alex Panteleyenko, Sunny Wieler and Julia Gebel
The beautifully carved cap stone was carved by Julia from an old piece of cut stone that lay on the ground not 10m from where it now sits. 
  The rest of the structure was built from reclaimed limestone and slates from the roof of the estate that had recently been replaced. Even the timber for the seats came from a damaged tree that was cut down on the estate the year before.

2012 also saw some of my stone projects included in a internationally distributed book on stone features. I was honoured to be featured alongside many wonderful stone artists from around the globe.

2012 also saw me return to the Aran Islands for another Feile na gCloch (Festival of Stone), a wonderful weekend of Stone, Stout and banter among fellow wallers and stone enthusiasts. This is a weekend I thoroughly recommend and one I will look forward to returning to next September. More about this event in my blog post here
Feile na gCloch 2012
The rest of 2012 has been taken up working on a wonderful outdoor classroom I am building for a school in Dublin. This is still very much under construction but I will share more about this with you all once it has been completed. For now I will leave you with a sneak preview of the classroom as it looks now from one of the two entrances.
Under construction. Outdoor classroom for a school near Dublin.
 Wishing you all much success and happiness in 2013. Regards, Sunny Wieler

7 comments:

  1. Fantastic stone work and design.
    Truly amazing.

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  2. You have been involved with some fantastic stone projects! I love the stone mosaic! I really admire your work, and I wish you the best in 2013.

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  3. I love that mosaic! The scale is perfect, and the mirrored pieces reflect the light and color beautifully. Simply gorgeous!

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  4. As always, your stone creations are stunning. Love the stone mosaic panel in particular. Lucky client of yours :)

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  5. I appreciate the way the mirror bits lighten the stonework and bring it to fresh life. Rather fun!

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  6. Nice work. I like it.Thanks to sharing it. Roy

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  7. Oooo me too! Me too! These are absolutely gorgeous! love them all!
    glass and stone mosaic

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