Mother and daughter stitched up at Mountmellick library
Mother and daughter textile and fibre artists Courtney Jean and Tina Murray pictured beside Courtneys piece titled Care, Memory and Chance which was displayed in the Irish Museum of Modern Art last October Photos Stan Henderson
Mountmellick library is hosting a fantastic collection of crochet works this month by mother and daughter Tina and Courtney Jean Murray, who launched their wonderful joint exhibition which is currently breathing creativity into the library’s three-roomed art gallery.
The launch of Same Thread took place on Saturday 3 October and it runs until the end of October. The show features vibrant swirls of free-form crochet, old-fashioned granny squares and delicate lace and traces the family threads back to Tina’s granny Ethel, all the way down to Courtney’s and Tina’s colourful creative creations. The work is fantastic, as is the story behind it.
Both women were bubbling with excitement when they spoke to the just before the launch that drew a crowd of over 40 people. For Courtney Jean, whose piece titled Care, Memory and Chance was on display at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin last October, crochet was a lifeline for her before it became art on the walls.
Courtney said: “My mother taught me to crochet as a child, but I only really took it up fully during the covid lockdowns. It kept me going. There was only so much TV you could watch and keeping your hands busy is great for your mental health. Our exhibition pays homage to the women in families who traditionally hand down the textile crafts and we’re showing what crochet can be.
“We’ve recreated a sitting room where my great-grandmother would have sat crocheting, knitting and doing her lace. Traditional pieces like the granny square and the flower sit alongside my free-form work so you can see how the old stitches progress into something more abstract. Crochet with bright colours can both be underappreciated and dismissed, but we’ve always seen crochet as an art form and we hope that other people will see that, too.”
Tina said: “My granny, Ethel Furlong, came from Belfast to work in a shop in Mountmellick. She met my grandfather, who was working in the hotel and they fell in love, got married and she was here ever since. She loved to do lace crochet, hence the tiny needles in the glass case beside all her own personal bits and pieces. Her actual cup and saucer are on the table alongside some old family photographs in an album.
“Granddad would drive us up to Belfast in his Morris Minor to stay with family for two weeks and with the ‘Troubles’ going on, we’d never know whether he’d got home safe or not until he came back to collect us two weeks later. My grandmother taught me the basics.’’
Courtney did a little bit in school back when crochet was seen as old-fashioned, but thankfully that didn’t dissuade her. Everybody did the granny square years ago, but Courtney has taken the same stitching techniques and brought them to the next level.” Visitors can add their own stitch or thread to an interactive piece which is part of the display. Pieces of yarn are provided so everybody can leave a stitch or two behind for the artists. Tina said that people see crochet blankets on chairs, couches and beds, but seldom see pieces hanging as art. She said: “When I saw my works hanging on the walls alongside Courtney’s in an actual art gallery, I was delighted. I never thought that I’d see that.” Both Courtney Jean and Tina said it’s lovely to be exhibiting their work in their hometown. They wish to thank library staff and everyone who attended the launch.
Courtney Jean Murray is on Instagram and Tina Furlong is on Facebook.
