Michael McCrory Blessington Cottage, 22 Ballynahinch Street, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6AW, N. Ireland T: (0044) 028 9268 3014 e-mail: michael@michaelmccrory.com web: www.michaelmccrory.com Education: 1961-65 Belfast College Of Art (Undergraduate) 1965-67 Sir John Cass College of Art, City of London Polytechnic (Postgraduate) Qualifications: College Diploma - Silversmithing (Special) National Diploma in Design (NDD) - Silversmithing (Special) City and Guilds - Silversmithing Full Technological Certificate (FTC) Previous Employment: 1967-70 Part-time Lecturer in Silversmithing and Jewellery, Belfast College of Art 1970-90 Senior Lecturer in Silversmithing and Jewellery, Ulster Poly. /University of Ulster 1990-96 Head of School of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Ulster Present Position: In 1996 he was granted early retirement from the University of Ulster. Since then he has returned to work in his craft discipline of silversmithing. Membership: Crafts Council of Ireland Portfolio (juried selection) Crafts Council of Ireland Register of Professional Craftworkers CraftNI, C3-Collecting Contemporary Craft Awards: 2008 2005 2002 2000 1990 Exhibitions: 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2007 2007 2007 Awarded a Support for the Individual Artist Programme from the Arts Council of N. Ireland Awarded a Support for the Individual Artist Programme from the Arts Council of N. Ireland Awarded a Major Award from the Arts Council of N. Ireland to develop his work Awarded a Visual and Creative Arts Award from the Arts Council of N. Ireland to purchase equipment British Design Council Award for designing and making the prototype for a device to stop cross infection of contaminated injection needles. “Irish Craft Port Folio 2011”, Farmleigh Gallery,Dublin, Ireland “Irish Craft Port Folio 2011”, NCG, Kilkenny, Ireland “Objects of Light”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen, Denmark “Irish Craft Portfolio 2010”, NCG, Kilkenny, Ireland “Irish Craft Portfolio 2010”, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin, Ireland “Designers & Makers 2009”, F.E. McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge, N. Ireland “White Christmas”, Naughton Gallery, QUB, Belfast, N. Ireland “Design Collection 2009”, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland “Silver with a Pinch of Salt”, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, England “Portfolio”, Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool, a joint Crafts Council of Ireland and Bluecoat Display Centre exhibition. “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, a joint Crafts Council of Ireland and Bluecoat Display Centre exhibition. “Method in the Making. Making Changes: Contemporary Craft in Northern Ireland”, OBG, Belfast, N. Ireland “Method in the Making. Making Changes: Contemporary Craft in Northern Ireland’’, Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown, N. Ireland “Made in Northern Ireland: A Dynamic of Change”, The S. Dillon Ripley Centre, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA 2006 2005 2005 1999 1998 “Silver Connections”, a Crafts Council of Ireland touring exhibition, Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, N. Ireland, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, N. Ireland and the NCG, Kilkenny, Ireland which features the work of one family, Michael McCrory, his wife Deirdre McCrory, enameller and printmaker and their daughter Cara Murphy, a silversmith. “Art of Dining”, Ireland Fund of Japan, Tokyo, Japan Silver Cake Slice, Prof Rabinovitch collection of Fish and Cake Slices now on permanent exhibition at the V&A Museum, London, England “Cutlery”, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, England ”Silver and Tea”, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, England Major Public Collections: National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland Arts Council of N. Ireland V&A Museum, London, England British-Irish Intergovernmental Council, N. Ireland Ulster Museum, N. Ireland Lisburn Museum, N. Ireland Commissions: 2011 2008 - 2009 1998 1997 1996 1990 The British Embassy in Dublin purchased Michael's 'O Water Jug' for Queen Elizabeth II to give to President Mary McAleese on the occasion of the Queen's state visit to Ireland in 2011. Commissioned to make a silver and gold Ciborium for the Parish of Limavady Commissioned by Prof Rabinovitch, from the USA, to design and make a silver cake slice/lifter, having seen my work in the catalogue from the ”Silver and Tea” exhibition at Goldsmiths’ Hall. This design is reproduced in his book “Contemporary Silver”, commissioning, designing, and collecting. The book illustrates the work of 34 British Silversmiths and 29 American Silversmiths. This collection is now held in the V&A Museum, London. My wife Deirdre and I were commissioned to make the Presidential Heraldic Shield of Mary Robinson for Dublin Castle. I made the shield and Deirdre enamelled it. Commissioned to design and make two Staves for the University of Ulster. Commissioned to design and make the Mace for the University of Ulster. Professional Activities: 2008 - 2009 Judge for the Crafts Council of Ireland Craftsmanship Award at Showcase Ireland. 1987-1996 Crafts Council of Ireland Management Board. 1997-2002 Crafts Council of Ireland Management Board. 1999-2000 Appointed by the Crafts Council of Ireland as the Consulting Mentor to Ceárta Inneona, Blacksmithing and Forging Skills Course in Belmullet, Co. Mayo 1999 I was appointed as the external silversmith advisor to the Scottish Office on the design for the new Mace presented by the Queen to the Scottish Parliament. 1978-96 External examiner for Silversmithing and Jewellery BA (hons) and MA courses in England and Scotland. 1993 Proposed and helped setup the University of Ulster that the University Permanent Collection of works of art from its graduates and staff, past and present. 1993 Member of the team from the University of Ulster and Craftworks, which organised the Eurocraft Programme that placed 12 craft, graduates from N. Ireland with established craftworkers in Denmark for a six-week placement. Visited Denmark twice - once to find the placements and then to visit the craft graduates in their placements. 1991-92 Proposed and set up the Wider Horizon Programme for Craftworks which placed 14 Irish Metalworkers and Jewellers in Canada for a six-week placement. Visited Canada (east to west) twice - once to find the placements and then to visit the craftworkers in their placements. Statement of Artist/Designer/Craftsman Philosophy: Silverware to me has to be aesthetically pleasing, with a sculptural visual strength. My designs are founded on a balance of line, form and proportion, which harmonize with the detail in the tactile finished pieces.