Junk Kouture inspires young people to design, create, collaborate and challenge the status quo. Students design, create and model fashion, made from recycled materials. Students in TY have been busy adding the finishing touches to their creation.

The focus for this project was on local heritage and the historical contribution to astronomy by William Parsons - 3rd Earl of Rosse and his discovery’s influence on the art world, in particular Vincent Van Gogh and his creation of ‘The Starry Night’. Through a modern-day interpretation students created an installation using the medium of Origami Paper Craft to depict The Whirlpool Nebula reflecting inspiration from both Parsons & Van Gogh.

The students had the opportunity to enjoy working with the medium of mosaic creating a wall mounted piece 'The Croneen Run'. This partially abstract design captures a fleeting glimpse of the slivery croneen trout passing through the fast flowing, bubbling foamy water of the Camcor river.

This project was an opportunity for the group to look at nature a little closer, the colour and make up of our native hedgerow plants. Where each student spent some time looking at all the different plants and found one, they decided to explore further, examining its distinctive make up and colour combinations.

Flow forms are sculpted vessels set up in cascades of 3 to 12 or more, through which water flows, from one to the next. This water feature was made in moulds, of cast concrete, after planning in clay. The piece is decorated in individually designed jigsaw shaped pieces made from clay.

This project encouraged students to engage with the history of our bog land and landscape.
Artists Inspiration: In pre-Christian times, the trees, oak and the yew were sacred and valued. As I began to understand their history, I felt that I was connecting with my ancestors, reaching back into something ancient. There is a five-thousand-year-old energy and hope that I am doing the right thing by it. I want the energy to keep moving through the sculpture. Bog wood is a beautiful and difficult material, like stone, very dense to carve. I peel off the dead bark to reveal the flow of the magnificent roots. It’s not a design process but you have to find the form within something that exists already.

By creating two mosaic benches in an outdoor setting, the best lighting source being the sun, provides immediate nutrition for a healthy mind, boosting one’s happiness. The spiral seems like a simple symbol, but it is a symbol for big concepts like evolution, life, consciousness, creation and many more. It’s infinite shape, as are we, always, evolving as people our potential is unlimited