WCQ Artist Spotlight

Enda Moran founder of Core Creations speaks to us on how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted his business and the steps he has taken to create a new offering to ensure Core Creations will continue to create during these tough times for artists, creatives and cultural organistions. He gives us an insight into his latest project his beautiful Handmade Stained Glass.

Last March 2020 when we entered into the lockdown, I decided to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic by organising free online circus workshops during phase one of restrictions, in an attempt to maintain a sense of community and a focus on positive mental health. Over the past few months I have also responded to a number of organisational needs for the provision of safe online creative services for individuals, including in the Brothers of Charity, Aiséirí, Little Red Kettle and St John of God.

My work in the community as a teacher and facilitator is closely interwoven with my experience as a solo and collaborative performer. Through my work I continue to create and develop links between community and performing arts using immersive and alternative performance techniques.

During the pandemic times I have also turned inwards to see what I can create at home, with my hands.. This has led me down many fun and creative challenges from making wooden bird houses, knitting, weaving and in most recent days stained glass.

Stained glass has always influenced me. On many a pandemic walk about my 2k or 5k I began to notice how much stained glass works are in Waterford. From archways in door frames, shop fronts to Harry Clarke pieces on Barrack st. I began to draw and sketch out some ideas that were going around in my head for some time.

When the time was right I began to draw on glass. Gliding my glass cutters along the strange patterns I had created, the noise of the glass being sliced was all so appealing …. and then breaking off, snapping like a piece of tin dark chocolate.

Leading to the extremely long process of wrapping the glass in copper and molding it with 50% tin and 50% lead has passed many pandemic afternoons and allowed me to drift away into the world of colour and glass and forget about the strange and struggling times that we are all experiencing.

I have decided to add a ‘Craft Works’ section to my current website www.corecreations.ie that I’ve been using for the past number of years. I’d been in the early stages of setting up my company in which I worked primarily with a diverse range of marginalized community groups.

By purchasing some of my products you allow me to continue to create and be experimental with my works. Having a background in performance arts I’m in the process of building some concepts and designs to allow both worlds to come together.

Creating a mixture of performance, light and stained glass works that hopefully you will see in your kitchen, theatre spaces, shop front windows and streets and alleyways of Waterford in the coming years.

Check out Enda’s fabulous handmade stained glass on: https://www.corecreations.ie/craft-works