Glass Display by Artist Emma Bourke

15 February 2023

A new Display at Strokestown featuring the work of Emma Bourke, Glass Artist.

Join us for an exclusive event at the National Famine Museum on Sunday 19^th February at 3 pm, when Emma will talk about her creative process and the inspiration for her intricate designs.
To book your place at this free event, please call 071-9633013.

A display of miniature glass sculptures, created by a Mayo-based glass artist and inspired by the plants in the gardens of Strokestown Park, is currently on display in the Visitor Centre of the new National Famine Museum.

Emma Bourke is a glass artist whose work is inspired by folklore, cultural identity, and the medicinal uses of plants. Her delicate creations of glass wildflowers and plants are intricate yet miniature in scale.

During 2020, Emma spent time in Strokestown Park, sketching plants in the gardens and using these sketches and her experience in Strokestown to create a series of unique glass sculptures. Each botanical-themed sculpture is made from “lamp-worked” glass: a more robust type of glass used to make scientific instruments. Using a small torch, the glass is worked in stages, allowing the artist to return to the piece again. Emma works by painstakingly creating hundreds of miniature elements before assembling them into a finished piece.

A native of County Mayo, Emma Bourke studied Craft Design at the National College of Art & Design before pursuing a master’s degree in Glass at the University of Sunderland. Based in Westport, Emma’s work is in the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Corning Museum of Glass (New York) and Mayo County Council.

The exhibition runs at the National Famine Museum until March 2023.