Alumni Stories - Eva Lynch
"The contacts that I built up through my research at NCAD have provided me with ongoing support. This has guided my practice down avenues that I didn’t consider before. I have found that by being open to the unknown, and also generous with your own skills and knowledge, you happen upon opportunities and ideas that you could never pre-plan or imagine"
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Name: Eva Lynch
Current Career: Silversmith Artist
Graduation Year: 2022
Discipline: Design for Body & Environment. Jewellery & Objects
Location: Co Wicklow
What career path did you want to follow as a child?
I knew I would work in some creative field. I loved drawing and making as a child. I never really wanted to be anything but an artist. My father was a coppersmith and my mother a dress-maker. I had access to tools and machinery from an early age. From my parent's scrap fabric and copper, I made clothes and very crude tableware for my dolls, and myself.
Why did you decide to study at the National College of Art & Design?
I did my undergrad at Glasgow School of Art. I remained in Glasgow for 3 years after graduation. When I returned to Ireland I fell away from the craft briefly. I took on a ‘money’ job because I wanted to travel and I just wasn’t established enough in my field to survive financially. Plus, I was completely out of the loop in Ireland and wasn’t confident enough to try to break into the sector here. I always kept my toe in the creative waters and I intermittently worked on several silversmithing projects with master silversmith Peter Donovan. I spent several years travelling back and forth to India, learning new skills and teaching jewellery-making classes there. Whenever possible, I further developed my skills by attending workshops with master craftsman Brian Clarke in Ballinaclash, county Wicklow. At this time, I was teaching part-time at Grennan Mill Craft School in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. This experience reminded me of how much I loved and missed making. When Peter Donovan retired in 2012, I was appointed metalwork tutor on Grennan Mills FETAC Level 5 & 6 courses for one day a week. At this point, I went back to full-time making. While I loved making and teaching, I found it difficult to become properly established or to succeed with exhibition and funding applications. I also felt a little conflicted about making what are essentially luxury goods. I wanted to explore new avenues with my skillset and become more visible in my field. I had always intended to do a Master’s Degree. I knew I wanted to attend NCAD because the tutors in the Jewellery & Objects area at NCAD are also practising artists whose work I greatly admired. To have access to their skills, knowledge, and experience really appealed to me.
How did you develop your career towards your current practice?
I believe that you can never know enough. I am passionate about continued learning and professional development. Whenever I travelled I sought out any masters of my craft that I could do courses with, or just meet. I spent whatever time I could learn from them. As well as building on your skillset, the conversations and friendships that emerge on courses of interest increase the knowledge pool for everyone involved. The contacts that I built up through my research at NCAD have provided me with ongoing support. This has guided my practice down avenues that I didn’t consider before. I have found that by being open to the unknown, and also generous with your own skills and knowledge, you happen upon opportunities and ideas that you could never pre-plan or imagine. I saw every piece as an opportunity to learn, even if I didn’t earn very much. I sought help and advice from peers to allow me to take these kinds of jobs. I was lucky that I was able to teach my craft while practising as a studio maker because this helped ease any financial pressures. Now, I have learned to be selective about which jobs I take on. I only work on what I want to invest my time and effort on. This is definitely a skill that I honed from experience during my time at NCAD.
What is the one experience during your time at NCAD that has informed you most in your career to date?
At first, coming from what I suppose had developed into a more commercially-driven practice, I found learning to trust my creative process, while trying not to be fixed on a specific pre-determined outcome, was really difficult. Working through this was such a valuable exercise. Factoring in experimentation and research time and seeing them both as being equally important phases of making a new work was a huge lesson for me.
If you were chatting with current NCAD students today what is the one piece of advice you would offer?
Trust the process. Keep experimenting and researching. Listen to your tutor’s advice. Use their expertise and experience, without losing your own creative intuition. Develop your own language with your work. Don’t be afraid to put yourself forward for absolutely everything!
What in your opinion are the most meaningful opportunities for those pursuing creative careers today?
That’s quite a subjective question. I’m most excited about preserving ancient hand skills, as well as using my work as a means of communicating important topics to the user. Such as, how our relationships with objects, including those that I make, impact on the natural environment and on humanity as a whole.
There are many grants and awards available to graduating students. Not only do they help financially, but they really promote your work and reputation too. Awards boost your confidence and look great on your CV!
Portfolio Links
Website: https://www.evalynchdesign.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evalynchmaker
