Awards and Supports What does it mean to you to have received a Future Makers Award?
For a student coming to the end of my final year in college, receiving recognition from the Crafts Council in the form of two awards was incredible. At a time when all the hard work of my four year degree is coming together to create one large body of work, the confidence instilled in me from receiving an award such as this is immeasurable.
This is the first year that the Crafts Council have awarded a student the Futuremakers Special Judges Award for Excellence in Design so obviously it was a huge honour for me to receive it. It really encouraged me to continue with my work after the degree and push the boundaries of what I had already started.
The Networking grant that I received was of enormous benefit to me as it enabled me to travel to London for the New Designers Exhibition and exhibit my work there. Without the networking grant this would not have been possible and it was a great opportunity to showcase my work.
How important is creative freedom to you?
Creative freedom is vitally important to me. Having spent the last four months of my third year training with a goldsmith in The Netherlands, I took a big leap with the work I produced in my final year. I moved very far away from the goldsmithing and silversmithing techniques I had learned to creating my collection of ‘Kitchen Tools’. The objects I made were cast crudely in aluminium and bronze.
After learning the core skills in The Netherlands I could move into other areas that I hadn’t yet explored. I think, without that creative freedom, the work would never have reached its full potential.
Do you place a value of playfulness in your designs?
Yes, playfulness is of great importance in my designs. In my collection of ‘Kitchen Tools’, the original idea generation was very playful. I once did a project with schoolchildren where the children were presented with kitchen utensils and encouraged to explore and examine their functions, the children were then asked to design their own tools or utensils. The drawings created by the children were so energetic that they were of great inspiration for the objects I created. Also in the original design process, I used a lot of printmaking and building of maquettes to inform the final object, this way of working gave a lot of freedom to be playful.
What is your view on the importance of technology in design?
We are now at a time where the importance of technology in design is only now reaching its full potential, particularly in the case of craftspeople. My final year thesis researched craftspeople who are using technology in an innovative way. From that perspective it was fascinating to see how craftspeople are incorporating technology into their work. Some craftspeople are now combining old craft traditions with new technologies to create something that is entirely new.
Technology will continue to gain importance in design, even more so when designers and craftspeople apply the skills and knowledge that they have already acquired to new machines and technologies. Personally, I hope to incorporate technology more into my work in the future as I extend into functional kitchen utensils.
Do you recognize narrative or ‘having a story’ as being a factor to Irish design being successful in an international dimension?
As a nation of story tellers I suppose it is only natural that this quality emerges in our work, but yes, I think a narrative in work would definitely add to success in an international dimension. People like stories, it helps gain understanding for the work but also connects people with it, particularly, I feel, with objects. My ‘Kitchen Tools’ are quite primitive and crude in aesthetic, they were intended to encourage the viewer to question their intended use or function.
My story behind my work, is that both of my parents were chefs and the utensils that I grew up surrounded by were the original inspiration for the work seems to add to the intrigue for the viewers. People like to see that you are speaking from your own experiences.
Enya Moore will be part of the Utensil exhibition in The National Craft Gallery during Killkenny Arts Week beginning on Saturday, 11th of August. http://www.nationalcraftgallery.ie/exhibitions
