CTI Clonmel design students present Simon Harris with sculpture, ceramics and jewellery.
Left to right: Gemma Kirby, Minister Simon Harris, Muireann Ryan and Martin Punculis
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, recently visited the site at The Barracks Clonmel to give the green light to Tipperary Education and Training Board to proceed to the next phase of proposal development for a College of The Future.
The project proposes to develop the vacated military barracks site in Clonmel and create a college, which will host both further and higher education students. This is a collaboration project with TUS and Tipperary County Council.
During his visit Minister Harris was presented with three commissioned pieces from learners from the Silversmithing and Jewellery Design course and the Fine Art course that are run by Tipperary ETB. The coordinator of the Sliversmithing and jewellery design course is designer and maker Susan McCarthy and the Fine Art and Ceramics course is lead by Catherine Keher a maker and artist. Both have paved the way for so many learners in the creative field. You can meet all of these makers at the Christmas market that takes place in The Mall, Clonmel on the 17th of December. Information about each of the makers can be seen below.
Gemma Kirby
Gemma Kirby’s ceramic work entitled ‘Interplays’ are based on expanding foam
Characteristics that embody the ideals of
CTI and characteristics that run through the history of the Kickham Barracks, now the home of the CTI Art & Design Courses. Gemma Kirby was raised in Tipperary in Ireland. She always had a keen interest in Art. Eventually the opportunity arose to study art and design on a full-time basis, completing Art Portfolio Level 5 and Fine Art Level 6 in CTI Senior College of Further Education in Clonmel 2015 – 2017. She continued her studies in Limerick School of Art and Design where she completed the Honours BA in Ceramic Design in 2020 and afterwards returned to the CTI to study Level 6 Award in Art Metalwork.
Glazing has always been something that Kirby has been fascinated by and these cubes of clay, metal and coloured glass are fired together. A gathering of elements fused into something new, unique and visionary, making her sculpture the ideal sculpture to present to Minister Simon Harris when he announced the green light has been given to Tipperary Education and Training Board to proceed to the next phase of proposal development for a College of The Future. The project proposes to develop the vacated military barracks site in Clonmel and create a college, which will host both further and higher education students in a fusion of community, colour endeavour and expansion.
Kirby’s work is currently on exhibit in South Tipperary Art Centre, Nelson Street, Clonmel.
https://www.gemmakirbyceramics.ie/
Martin Punculis
Aspiring educator Martin Punculis is a self taught and self thinking maker. Currently studying at CTI Senior College on the Silversmithing and Jewellery Design Course, his unique work reflects previous craft traditions yet forges new paths in contemporary design culture.
Working with metal, wood and in harmony with nature, Martin creates sculptures and jewellery which is showcased locally and online. Also working to commission, Martin balances his use of these natural raw materials by planting fruit and berry trees for every artwork sold, in this way his practice becomes part of the cycle of nature that is so keenly evident in all his work. A recent commission saw his work being presented to Minister Simon Harris. He was visible surprised and delighted when he saw his own image in a 3D metal representation, only added to the unique message that Martin delivered with the artwork.
Muireann Ryan
In 2021 Muireann made the decision to turn her passion for jewellery into a career and signed on for a full-time jewellery course with the CTI Senior College in Clonmel, tutored by Susan McCarthy and Ciara Connolly. She graduated in 2022 with a distinction.
The time in Clonmel CTI Senior College polished her technical skills, but what she really gained from the course were design skills – how to take her concept or her vision for a piece and develop it into a wearable jewellery design; the process of distilling an image down to it’s most important elements, editing out the extraneous detail and only keeping the essence of the design.
Muireann Ryan has recently launched her online jewellery business selling original pieces, designed and made by hand in her workshop in Ballmacarbry, Co Waterford. Her website, www.mara-designs.org, showcases a range of work and pieces to suit everyone.
Muireann is one of the few jewellers in Ireland working with Titanium, a light but very hard metal which can be coloured to vibrant colours and she combines this with silver in her work. Muireann designed a piece inspired by seaweed that she was commissioned by CTI Clonmel to create for Minister Simon Harris.
CTI Clonmel hosted its first graduation ceremony since pre-covid times on the 21st of October 2022. Learners arrived from all faculties and shared stories of their new jobs or their new education paths.
The host for the night was school principal John McCarthy while guest speaker was Marie McMahon, Curator of the Tipperary Museum and former learner of CTI Clonmel. Marie spoke fondly of her time in CTI where she completed an Art Portfolio Preparation course that gave her the confidence that anything was achievable. One key point that Marie made to learners was not to be afraid to fail for there is learning in failure.
Other speakers and guests on the night were our Board Chairperson Josephine Chamney, Colin Cummins, TETB Director of Further Education and Olivia Kennedy Murphy, TETB Adult Education Officer. Entertainment on the night was provided by this years music learners in what was their first gig together. A short video of the night can be seen below.
CTI Senior College launches Inktober challenge
Kicking off Inktober students of the Art Metalwork class at CTI Senior College enjoyed a fascinating ink-making workshop with Annie Hogg in the College’s Barracks studios.
A native of Marlfield in Clonmel, Annie Hogg promised a day of alchemy in her ink-making workshop and the results were truly magical. Annie is an environmental artist and this year’s Artist in Residence at South Tipperary Art Centre, where her work will be on exhibition in the new year.
A graduate of CTI’s Art Portfolio course, she uses plants, soils, found lichens & bones to create inks and paints for her abstract artworks. Guided by Annie, students learned how to forage and source materials for inks from their gardens and the wild, in a way that respects the natural environment. Under her careful supervision these materials were transformed with water, heat, acids and alkalis into glorious colour palettes. During the workshop the students discovered how Annie had built a sustainable art practice that cares for and celebrates the incredible wealth and heritage of our native flora and fauna.
The prompt list for Inktober 2022 also reflects this natural theme: Using the 31 word list as inspiration, everyone is invited to participate in a worldwide challenge to draw every day for the month of October. This global initiative joins artists in a community with a single purpose and the results can be seen on the official Inktober site. Art students at CTI Senior College of Further Education joined the challenge: using traditional and contemporary drawing techniques to explore line, tone and texture.
https://www.instagram.com/inktober/
In the Art Portfolio & Fine Art classes are exploring the lighting technique of chiaroscuro. Adding to the challenge by drawing on dark surfaces with oil pastels and graphite, they have succeeded in capturing this spotlight effect in a series of keenly observed large-scale drawings.
Alongside this they made continuous line drawings of the same objects. This fun but intricate technique means they cannot lift their pens from the page once they begin, creating mesmerising patterns and shapes. Examples of which can also be seen on the college’s Instagram page (cticlonmel)
In the Fine Art class learners were creating some alchemy of their own using gum arabic to develop everyday photocopies into print plates. This process is also called paper lithography. They spent last week layering images and composing their designs before inking-up and printing some incredibly sophisticated lithographs. Illustrated below is some of the intriguing work of Bernard Prendergast.
CTI Senior College is also celebrating this October when our graduation night returns to the assembly hall in the Mall. This annual gathering was interrupted like so many other of our college’s community events but it is everyone’s favourite night of the college calendar when graduates don their caps and gowns and collect their awards. A special congratulations to all the 2022 graduates of the Art Metalwork, Jewellery Design, Art Portfolio and Fine Art courses.
CTI Senior College of Further Education are delighted to launch their courses for 2021/22.
The college offers a variety of courses that are practically based with a mixed variety of assessment methods to suit all types of learners. Our courses are designed for people who would like to get a feel for a subject area before committing to a four year degree; for people looking to further their education and skills prior to entering the employment sector and for those looking to learn a new skill . All of our courses are QQI accredited. We offer both Level 5 and Level 6 courses with Level 7 and Level 8 progression links as well as apprenticeship links available, all of which can be accessed here. A full list of our available courses can be found here.
Check out the video below for more information.
We had a number of stalls at the CTI Clonmel Careers expo, most notably our own CTI Senior College stand. At this stand we spoke to students about the course we have on offer as well as the progression paths that are available to them when they complete a course here in CTI Senior College. One particular path is our Apprenticeship Pathway which we launched earlier in the year. This pathway allows students a potential 9 month exemption from an apprenticeship after they complete a Further Education course with us here in CTI Senior College. This is a brilliant opportunity for any student.
A new chapter has started at the Central Technical Institute (CTI) in Clonmel, County Tipperary, following the appointment of John McCarthy as principal.
Consisting of the CTI Senior College of Further Education, Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn and Coláiste Chluain Meala, Cork native John has been taken aback by the sense of “real camaraderie and openness to new ideas” since commencing the role in August.
“It has been a challenging few months but there’s a really impressive staff here that have helped me settle in. Tina Kennedy was the acting principal last year and she has been guiding me through the role and has been so supportive,” says John, who previously taught English and was deputy principal across his 15 years at Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir.
John crafting a “coherent vision” for CTI Clonmel
John’s goal is to create a “coherent vision” for the three schools, one which will drive them into the future. He says the Senior College has grown from 183 to 210 students this year, crediting the rise in numbers to the school’s ability to proactively respond to society’s needs. “The Senior College’s courses are legendary. It offers students a gateway to further education and employment. It was usually just for school leavers, but nowadays there’s a lot more mature students who range in ages. We have seen a lot of older people coming back to school looking to reposition themselves in society and looking to boost their career opportunities, especially in childcare, special needs assistance and pre-nursing,” he says.
Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn currently has 158 students, growing “rapidly” in recent years, and Brona Kinnane has just been appointed to take charge of the day-to-day running of the school. “We have 31 students in first year and there’s 11 in sixth, so it has really grown and offers something unique in the town. It’s incredibly natural for the students to speak the Irish language. Every subject is done through Irish which really helps, and it’s terrific when you hear them engaging in groups,” he says.
“But it’s not just about Irish language and education, and it provides the culture and sense of identity that the students are looking for,” he explains.
“The school is very academic and it’s a very caring, close community. We had 69% of students achieve over 400 points and one student got 601 points in the recent Leaving Certificate. It’s quite a relaxed school in some ways but still maintains high academic standards. If you have a can-do attitude towards work, you’ll flourish in Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn,” he smiles.
As part of his vision for the school, John plans to open the gates of Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn on The Mall to the public. The school will host a bilingual production centred on High School in November. “It’s going to be the first-ever show for Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn and will feature over 50 students in roles ranging from set design to acting and singing. The music department is very strong in the school at the moment. We want the school to be part of the community in a traditional Irish way,” he says.
John, an accomplished author who also taught in Drogheda for 10 years, also has big sporting plans for Coláiste Chluain Meala. The school currently has 110 students, from first to sixth year, who do “incredibly well with many going on to further education.” Tipperary senior hurler Seamus Kennedy went on to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup following his studies at the school.
“Basketball is huge in the school, rugby is back this year along with GAA and soccer. The school has won prizes in the Poetry Aloud competition and is part of the School Excellence Fund, which recognises excellence and innovation. It’s a really exciting time for the entire school community,” John adds.
Great article below on the benefits of doing a PLC.
http://campus.ie/…/ac…/benefits-post-leaving-cert-plc-course
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