Wood workers and busy bees

CRAFT SHOW:There are 14 members of the Woods clan exhibiting at their annual craft show next week. Anna Careymeets Niamh Hurley, one of the six siblings who took part in the family's first show a decade ago

WHEN FAMILIES ORGANISE an event together, the result is usually a barbecue or a Christmas party. When the Woods family do it, however, the result is a stunning exhibition of beautifully crafted pieces of art.

This large and talented tribe, the children and grandchildren of the late Tony and May Woods, have embraced everything from woodturning and painting to beadwork and furniture design, and every year they present some of their finest pieces to the public.

This is the 10th year of the Woods at Workexhibition, an annual event that began when six of Tony and May's 10 children decided to display their craft work in one of their homes. As more and more people asked to see and buy the fruits of the family's labour, they moved to bigger venues, and this year the show arrives in Dublin's city centre for the first time. Over the years, Woods at Workhas expanded to include the work of the younger generation; this year, 14 members of the clan will contribute.

Niamh Hurley is one of the six siblings who took part in the first show, and her airy apartment is full of treasures created by her family. There’s the beautiful chair by her award-winning nephew Stephen O’Briain, her sister Iseult’s beaded strings of delicate origami birds, and the gorgeously chunky bowl made by her brother Andrew, as well as Niamh’s own bead-work, knitwear and paintings. It’s a vibrant, colourful testament to the creativity and skill of the family, most of whom aren’t full-time artists.

Niamh and her painter niece Sorcha Woods, whose father David is a professional furniture designer and cabinet maker, don’t believe there’s a specific Woods aesthetic – they all have very different styles. “If there is anything that runs in the family, it’s a sense of colour,” Sorcha says. But she says that growing up in such a creative atmosphere makes being an artist feel like a real possibility. “When you’ve grown up with people who are making things or talking about art, you get a feel for it, it’s not foreign. And as time goes on, you cultivate your own idea of what you’d like to do yourself.”

In general, the family members don’t collaborate on pieces, although Niamh has painted panels for a cabinet made by David. But their individual work can sit well together – this year, some of Niamh’s intricate beadwork necklaces will be presented in (and sold with) beautifully simple wooden cases created by Sorcha’s woodturner brother Odhran; the combination of vivid, twisting colour and the cool simplicity of the wood is irresistible.

So it looks like the younger generation is keen to keep the Woods passion for craft alive. “We were always worried that the younger members of the family wouldn’t , but it’s really coming together,” Niamh says.

Not that the older members, who are in their sixties and seventies, are showing any signs of slowing down. “We’re workaholics,” laughs Niamh. “Sometimes I say that I’m thinking of taking a year out. But I don’t think I’d get away  with it.”

Woods at Work

runs at The Centre for Creative Practices, 15 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2 from next Saturday until November 26th. See woodsatwork.net