South Dublin County Public Art

An information resource for permanent and temporary public artworks in South Dublin County

In this website you can find information about artists and artworks, access audio and film works, read texts and search for artworks by map, locality, artform or artist.

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Seeds by Michelle O'Donnell

Type:
Traditional Arts, Visual Arts, Craft
Location(s):
Adamstown
Commissioner:
Adamstown Castle Educate Together School
Funding:
Department of Education and Skills
Programme:
None
Year:
2009

Context Background:

On the occasion of building the school, a Per Cent for Art programme was initiated and a panel of parents were invited to come together to generate theme ideas. These were developed into a commission brief, that was advertised as an open competition. A shortlist was selected from artist's proposals and Michelle O’Donnell was selected for the commission.

Description:

Seeds is made from coloured glass and is installed on the exterior wall of Adamstown Educate Together School. It spans 15m and the trail of coloured glass pieces are designed to evoke seeds blowing in the wind. Over the main door of the school there is a another element, a glass piece representing a broad bean germinating.

At the begining of the commission Michelle O'Donnell visited the school and ran a workshop where the children were invited to create drawings based on seeds.  These drawings were used as inspiration to create the glass pieces that make up the sculpture. The staff and students were later invited to visit the artist's studio in Offaly, to see the work in progress. 

The piece represents seeds of knowledge and the growth in the Adamstown community.

Artist Biography:

Michelle O'Donnell is an artist and sculptor who has worked extensively for public and private glass art commissions. Her clients include Shell Oil, Glaxo Smith Kline, OPW, Department of Finance, Compaq Computers, Accenture and Green Properties. Her work covers a broad spectrum from internal architectural commissions to large public state bodies. She has shown her work in private collections all over the world..

Commissioner Type:

Schools/Colleges

Commissioner:

Adamstown Castle Educate Together School

Programme:

None

PerCent for Art:

yes

Commissioning Process:

Open competition

Funding:

Department of Education and Skills

Budget Range:

10,000 - 30,000

Project Start Date:

01/07/2008

Project End Date:

29/03/2009

Public Engagement:

Drawing workshop with the school children from Adamstown Educate Together National School