This commission involved designing and making a commemorative plaque for a client’s boss who was retiring after many years of service. The client explained that his boss was retiring in Cairbre, where he was originally from in the North West of Ireland. A set of 2d designs were developed using the clover, or shamrock, as a central motif. A shamrock is a young sprig of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. Lettering with the place name Cairbre and the initials of the recipient were incorporated in to the design, using a traditional Celtic lettering format. When the design was reproduced in a ceramic format, textural embellishments were added to the border and the clover petals, using the floral pattern from a hand carved ink printing block. The piece is decorated with a green glaze, which represents the national Irish colour.
