Sinead Brennan

A maker with a message

• Sinead creates to spark conversation
• She uses found, blown and cut glass
• She is always looking to learn new skills

Sinead Brennan makes glass using multiple techniques: cutting, blowing and engraving. Her work is attractive and feminine but has a darker, more serious side. Her work challenges us to think about how women have been portrayed through history and continue to be viewed today. She illustrates the objectification of women and their struggle for liberation and equal rights. Glass in Ireland was traditionally a male craft which adds another layer of significance to these works which have a distinctly female voice. Sinead works from Glint, the open access space of which she is co-founder. She uses her teaching skills to share glass with other makers and the general public.

Interview

©All rights reserved

©All rights reserved

How did you come to study glass?

It is a bit fortuitous, I went to college to study glass. In year one you try different things and people were negative about glass, saying there was no future in it. So, I picked metals instead, but I didn’t get my first choice and was put into glass!

Is glass working endangered in Ireland?

There is a great community but sometimes it is worrying. There are less courses, less facilities than before. I feel a responsibility to keep these traditional skills alive and that is part of the motivation behind setting up Glint with Róisín de Buitléar.

How do you start creating a piece?

Although I am a visual artist, I often start with words. I sometimes struggle to find my own words to express my internal thoughts, so I love finding quotes that resonate with me. I use these to spark ideas and use the words within my glass pieces.

What is a memorable moment in your career?

Winning the RDS craft award last year! It was a huge honour and helped financially. I am planning for Fred Curtis, a master engraver, to come to the studio to teach me about stone wheel cutting and also how to look after the wheels which is so important.

Sinead Brennan is a master artisan: she began her career in 2010 and she started teaching in 2016

Works

©Philip Lauterbach

©Philip Lauterbach

©Philip Lauterbach

©Philip Lauterbach

©Philip Lauterbach

Where

Experiences

Make a cocktail glass in Dublin

5 Hours

100 EUR