Article : Brian Clarke

I made a decision at the beginning of this year that I needed to learn some new skills before I left my 20’s behind me for good. So, on 20th April I headed off for 2 weeks in Wicklow, learning how to Raise and Sink metal with silversmith, Brian Clarke.
I had met Brian years ago when he taught us in the metalwork dept. in NCAD, and knew he ran courses in his workshop in Wicklow. When I arrived on the Monday morning I was welcomed at the old converted schoolhouse by a cup of tea by the wood-burning stove, this became our ritual for the next two weeks. But once the tea was drunk it was straight to work, non-stop hammering, all day (I came home with some very impressive biceps!). The only break was to have lunch in the family home cooked by Brian’s lovely wife Yvonne. I felt like one of the family by the end of it, not sure the cats really took to me though!
Brian’s wealth of knowledge and information was amazing, I learned so much in such a short space of time, and hope to go back soon to learn some more and gaze in awe at his impressive collection of hammers and stakes. He runs classes all year round, for more details follow this link: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~ybc/Workshop-07b%20Page.html.  And have a look at the pic of me, and the things I made here: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~ybc/2009studentwork-max001.html.
Laura x

• More info about Brian:

  b. 1947. Brian studied at the National College of Art in Dublin, The Ecole Des Arts Appliqués in Paris, and Loughborough College of Art.

  He has won many awards over the years and has won the California Gold Medal from the Royal Dublin Society, for work of outstanding merit.

  He has been running his own workshop since 1972, where he makes hollowware and jewellery, both contemporary and with a Celtic influence. He is also a visiting lecturer at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.

  In conjunction with this over the years, he has visited many galleries, exhibitions, workshops, and artists, working in various media, in different countries, as a continual process of education.

  His studies in Paris at the “Ecole des Arts Appliqués” happened at the end of a period in that college which carried on a wonderful tradition of metalsmithing. This tradition produced many of the sculptures in Paris, which on casual view, seem to be of cast bronze, but which are in fact made of sheet bronze or copper.

  A very well known example of this type of work is the Statue of Liberty in New York. This was hammered out of sheet copper in Paris and transported to the US for assembly. From this base and experience, Brian has a unique insight into the nature of metals, their formation and plasticity, and their potential as a creative medium.

  He was one of Ireland’s participants in the European Crafts Council’s touring exhibition entitled “The Bowl” In 1980 and he was one of Ireland’s sponsored representatives at the World Crafts Council conference in Vienna. He was a participant representing Ireland in the EEC silversmithing workshop in Copenhagen in 1981, and took part in the second workshop in Kilkenny in 1983.

  In 1987 he was invited by Mr.Harold O’Connor to run a three week silversmithing workshop in Taos, New Mexico.

  Brian worked, for a short while in 1988, as head silversmith with a firm of manufacturing silversmiths in Dublin, working on their individual work.

  In 1998 Brian was invited to run one of the Master Classes at the Revere Academy in San Francisco.

  Since then he has, between his time as visiting lecturer at the National College of Art, worked on his commissions, and his range of production jewellery.

  Brian has a wide range of skills including, handraising, forging, chasing, repossess, enamelling, and all the associated techniques, including designing and the production of working drawings. His policy has been to build a skill based operation, from which he could, knowing his capability at any point in time, design within that framework of skills, tools, equipment, and his aesthetic and creative experience. In essence the theory was, that for every new commission, a new technique could be incorporated in the design, thus building a very broad range of skills and experience.

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