“ Bog Mudra”
fired stoneware, colour clay slips, underglaze pencil
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The work is inspired by the landscape of Fartin Bog near Ballyconnell Co. Cavan. This ceramic sculptural work references how Irish bogs have a unique biodiversity and social history. In collaboration with members of the West Cavan Bogs association I learned how bogs have a delicate ecosystem they have plants and insects that have adapted over thousands of years to thrive and develop in this environment and that bogs also sequester carbon which is crucial in the fight against climate change. Bogs have an acidic PH value which essentially creates a perfect landscape in which all kinds of things can be preserved. Bog bodies being an obvious example. However, bogs because of their watery nature don’t allow for modern archeology methods using remote lasers or sensors. Therefore, archeologists can only use digging, probing and core gouging to find or discover what lies beneath. Most historical artifacts In Ireland are found accidentally in bogs through local turf cutting and road building.
Through a professional development grant from County Cavan Arts office and the Cavan Heritage Office I worked in collaboration with the West Cavan Bogs Association and a team of UCC environmental archaeologists as part of the Future Bogs initiative. Here I learned about the techniques used in the analysis of a bog’s microscopic archaeology and the methods in carrying out their work in bog landscapes. Fartin Bog is located near the site of an early monastic university its Abbot in the seven century St. Bricin was a renowned brain surgeon.
Thank you to Clones Art Studio’s and Positive Age Cavan for the use of their space and equipment in the making this work.
Eimear Crowe
March 2023
Through a professional development grant from County Cavan Arts office and the Cavan Heritage Office I worked in collaboration with the West Cavan Bogs Association and a team of UCC environmental archaeologists as part of the Future Bogs initiative. Here I learned about the techniques used in the analysis of a bog’s microscopic archaeology and the methods in carrying out their work in bog landscapes. Fartin Bog is located near the site of an early monastic university its Abbot in the seven century St. Bricin was a renowned brain surgeon.
Thank you to Clones Art Studio’s and Positive Age Cavan for the use of their space and equipment in the making this work.
Eimear Crowe
March 2023
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