Mike Byrne

Ceramicist

©Roland Paschhoff

©Mike Byrne

©Maurice Gunning

Blurring boundaries

Mike studied both ceramics and print making.
He creates depth through multiple firings
Form and colour drive his process

From his first set of thrown egg cups, to heading up the ceramics course at Limerick College of Art and Design, Mike Byrne has spent his life making. He creates pieces with clay and other materials, breaking any purity of material and exploring the edges of design, function, narrative and art. Byrne takes the form of the jug as a conduit for the everyday object. His forms are transformations of familiar objects and bring to light our ancient material culture. They illustrate our continuing connection to objects; this is ceramics as social history, linked to food, life and death. These themes reverberate through the pieces giving them heft and significance.

Interview

©Maurice Gunning

What is special about the material you work with?: It’s just clay. I use an inexpensive clay that suits my purpose, I am more interested in the form, colour and mood of the work. I like to be constantly experimenting but I am very unscientific in my approach; my records are disgraceful!
How did teaching impact your creative process?: Maintaining an art practice while teaching can be difficult but I found it kept me on my toes. Encouraging students to work hard and not doing so oneself seems fraudulent. There is also wonderful opportunity for discussion with students and colleagues.
What do you love most about your profession?: Now that I am retired from teaching, it gives me something serious to think about. The work keeps presenting me with interesting problems to solve. Sometimes it delights me but more times it disappoints. That is part of the allure.
What suprises people about your work?: That it is generally not lots of fun, but hard work that only occasionally goes as you had hoped. But it can be addictive. There is always a search, a drive to create and the expectation that maybe this one will be your best creation yet!

Mike Byrne is a master artisan: he began his career in 1976 and he started teaching in 1985