Raphaela McCormack

I was born in the West of Ireland and I lived there until my late twenties. This land is always in me and my work is inspired by it.

The vast ocean, the barren land with it’s bent trees, the wind, sending clouds racing across the big skies, the brown bogs, stretching as far as the eye can see, gray stone walls surrounding a field, a landscape in a gap between two stones, the ancient mountains, cloaked in sweet smelling gorse, live in my bones.

Initially, my soul is touched by a moment in my current life. As I reflect on this, Ireland’s textures, colours, materials and forms provide the language to capture the meaning of this experience. I then create my vessels in accordance with this root language. I use pulp, fibre, rope, cord, driftwood, stones, seed pods and other detritus. I create colours of lichen, the sky and the earth.

Vessels are my major form. I am compelled by the meaning I observe in the relationships of the world. The vessel provides an ideal vehicle to explore these relationships, particularly between the inner and the outer worlds. This choice allows me to embark on a journey with each idea. For me, this is a dance between creator and created. When the vessel transcends my initial idea, my journey is complete and the vessel is ready to continue it’s journey beyond me.