In 2009 we were commissioned by St. Brendan’s Church in Tralee to create a series of low relief bronze panels illustrating the incredible Voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator. The panels were inset into the pavement and laid out in a cruciform shape leading up to the entrance of the church.
In order to make these panels we used linocut to make the relief surface. We worked on them in the winter of 2010. This was a particularly bad winter and we were snowed in for 4 weeks at our North Cork studio/cottage. We lit our stove, got ourselves nice and cosy and proceeded to carve the time away, working morning, noon and night on our 13 lino blocks. When they were complete we sent them to the foundry to be cast in bronze.
In the spring of 2020 during the Covid 19 lockdown Liam completed the printing press that he had been building for the last number of years. He made it from upcycled materials with the main frame made using a production table from the Apple computers factory in Cork at an auction in 1999. Over the years this heavy aluminium frame was used for various purposes including a stand for an animation rostrum and an enamelling work station. We commandeered a tool maker friend to make the rollers and a company in Germany to manufacture lead screws along with other items from a parts surplus store in Nebraska.
We wanted to continue in the spirit of reuse and recycle so we decided to take the “St. Brendan- the Navigator” lino blocks out of storage and see what they looked like printed up. We present to you this series…10 years in the making. It not only represents St. Brendan’s voyage but it also our own continuing voyage of discovery with printmaking.
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St. Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 1 – Meeting St. Enda and building the boat
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted St. Brendan went to visit St. Enda, where he stayed for 3 days and 3 nights to get his blessing. He then returned to his native home…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 2 – Rock Island and the Stray Dog
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted Fifteen days into the journey they were blown to a tall rocky island. It was difficult to land there. They were met by a stray dog who…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 3 – Sheep Island
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted The next island they came to was called the Island of the Sheep. There were sheep on every side and every one as big as an ox.…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 4 – Jasconius and the Whale Island
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted The monks beached their boat next to an island and lit a fire. As the pot began to boil, the island started to shake. They ran to…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 5 – Paradise of Birds
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted After the Island of the Sheep and landing on Jasconius the whale, they arrived at an island with a very narrow stream flowing into the sea. St.…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 6 – The Beast and the Monster
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted On one day they saw a huge beast that was about to devour them. St. Brendan prayed to the Lord and suddenly a mighty monster attacked the…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 7 – The Flying Gryphon
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted At one point the boat was attacked by a flying gryphon. Just as it was about to strike its talons, a bird appeared and drove off the…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 8 – Brendan singing to the fish
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted While on the voyage, they sailed in waters so clear, that they could see the different fish lying at the bottom of the ocean. When Brendan sang,…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 9 – The Pillars of Crystal
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted One day a pillar in the sea appeared to them. It was higher than the sky. A wide meshed net was wrapped around it, so wide, that…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 10 – Volcano Island
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists.Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted Eight days after the pillar of crystal they came across a very rocky island full of slag. They heard the sound of bellows blowing like thunder. They saw…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 11 – Judas on the rock
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted Once, they came across a man on a small rock with a cloth suspended between iron fork-shaped supports. The waves and the cloth lashed against him. He…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 12 – The Otter and Paul the Hermit
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted Towards the end of their journey they came across a small rocky island made from flint, with only a narrow difficult landing-place. Paul the hermit lived on…
-
- Add to cart
- Saint Brendan’s Voyage Linocut Series
St Brendan’s Voyage – Stage 13 – Promised Land
- €300.00
- Hand printed limited edition linocut print. Edition Size 20 signed by the artists. Image size 50cm x 50cm Paper size 70cm x 70cm Printed on Fabriano Rosaspina 285gms Archival Paper. Unframed / Unmounted After St. Brendan completed his journey to the Promised Land, he returned home to his monastery knowing that his death was fast approaching.