Muriel Beckett
Website: www.murielbeckett.ie
E-mail: muriel@murielbeckett.ie
Facebook: Muriel Beckett Weaver
Instagram: @beckettweaver
Photo 1: Linen wallhanging Brandon 2. Dimensions: 50 x 150cm.
Bio
Muriel Beckett began weaving while studying at the School of Art in Dun Laoghaire and the National College of Art & Design followed by a post graduate year in Finland funded by a scholarship from The Irish Export Board.
Photo 2: Linen wallhanging Brandon Green. Dimensions: 80 x 170cm
On her return to Ireland Muriel set up studio and began taking on commissions for rugs and tapestries, initially working at Marlay Craft Courtyard and currently from her studio in Greystones Co. Wicklow. As well as being a member of CTA she is included in DCCI’s Portfolio, is a member of Visual Artists Ireland, a founding member of the Wicklow Craft Foundation and is one of the Timeline Tapestry Weavers.
Photo 3: Linen wallhanging Horizons 1. Dimensions: 50 x 150cm + fringe
Over a long well established career Muriel has won many awards, most recently the DCCI Craft Hero award. She has completed numerous commissions, both private and corporate, has exhibited widely, most recently in the touring exhibition Made in Ireland and with The O’Connell Gallery in Clonakilty, Co. Cork.
Photo 4: Linen wallhanging Leenane. Dimensions: 50 x 170cm
Artists Statement
Working on Finnish looms, I weave tapestries and floor rugs using natural materials, wool and linen combined with patterns related to Irish textile heritage, such as twills and plain weaves, and techniques from the Scandinavian tradition, known as “transparent” weave, or “half tapestry”.
My recent work reflects abstract aspects of landscape, taking inspiration from the ever changing colours, contours and textures found in nature.
Photo 5: Wool wallhanging Ripples 1. Dimensions: 50 x 145cm
I use the natural building of line upon line that occurs in weaving to move through merging colours, shapes and patterns on the loom. Colours that move forward and retreat, contrast and blend, often moving from dark to light, overlaid with structural woven patterns that can suggest ripples on water, light through cloud or subtle organic textures, all combined to capture an impression of a particular place or moment in time.
I use photography and drawing in the initial development of ideas. Then I design directly with the yarns themselves, blending and mixing threads of linen or wool, working with the interplay of warp and weft, thick and thin, creating new ways to make the most of the possibilities that the process of weaving can offer.
Photo 6: Muriel Beckett's portrait by Anna O'Rourke Photography
