3. Juni 2012 - New Ceramics

PROFILE
HELENA BRENNAN
Choreographer
in Porcelain Sibylle Ritter
A
visit to Irish ceramist Helena Brennan, near Avoca in
County Wicklow, not only leads us into the world of
an impressive woman but also offers an insight into
a life that is characterized by her dedication to thrown vessel
forms and a passion for porcelain.
Helena Brennan lives and works amidst an almost fairytale
landscape on a piece of land with luxuriant vegetation, its
own spring and a stream. Before she could settle here after
living in Dun Laoghaire near Dublin for forty years, the site
had to be made accessible and the living quarters needed to be
refurbished. That was in 2005.
Of course Helena Brennan's closeness to nature, in this
environment where the vegetation is largely left to proliferate,
and where wind and weather can be experienced on completely
different terms from in the city, has left its mark on her
work. Maybe the naturalness and grace of her forms can be
explained from these surroundings, forms which on the other
hand make no compromises with regard to function and use.
“Beauty with usefulness" is the quintessence of her tea
sets, bowls, teapots and mugs. They are useful things that can
become distinguished companions
in our daily lives. That you
can become familiar with a cup for
instance, not only via your eyes but also
via contact with the surface and sensing
its weight, complements the enjoyment of its
content.
She will be seventy this year. This is a
birthday that gives cause to reflect on her
eventful career as a ceramic artist. In
contrast to Germany, where pottery
with its prescribed training and
qualifications has a certain tradition,
and where the developing
ceramic industry influenced craft
in the context of technical innovations,
after the War there was no
such basis in Ireland.
Helena Brennan's introduction to
the world of craft and in particular to
studio pottery, which is the career she
pursues today, is most intimately linked
with the commitment of her husband, who
as a teacher wanted to introduce pottery at a vocational
school in Kilkenny. (He had himself studied at
the National College of Art in Dublin from 1934 – 1940.) For
him, there was no alternative but to acquire all kinds of theoretical
and practical skills via the most circitous routes before
setting up the Ring Pottery in Kilkenny with an oil fired kiln
he built himself.
Without going into all the details of this pioneering achievement
for ceramics in Ireland, before the couple set up their
joint pottery, there was a groundbreaking encounter with
David Leach, with whom they remained friends.
Demand grew, including orders from the USA, which could
not be fulfilled without taking on apprentices. By this time,
Peter Brennan was mainly teaching at the National College of
Art in Dublin, where he had set up the ceramics course.
Helena, who between 1970 and 1979 had given birth to five
children, and bore her sixth in 1984, ran the pottery successfully
and untiringly.
Her endurance can only be explained by an efficient use
of her time and energy as well as her robust health. She still
benefits from these talents and skills today. Regular exhibitions
in the pottery's gallery and elsewhere have found much
32 NEW CERAMICS May / June 2012