About
Patricia Millar
Born in Belfast under the shadow of the Cavehill, Patricia's interest lies in the ancient past. A childhood playing around Bronze Age sites, digging clay and making bowls hardened in bonfires, have shaped her ceramic practice of today.
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Site specific locations such as bog land, ice age shoreline and basalt coast offer rich pickings in clays, organics and gravels.
Led by materiality, her work celebrates form, colour and texture of their geological and anthropological origins.
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Relocating from the Ards Peninsula, her new studio and home is be near the village of Lisnagunogue on the famous Causeway Coast route.
Earth Made exhibition with Ruth Osborne, Oriel Gallery
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EXHIBITIONS​
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EARTH MADE Arts Council NI supported collaborative exhibition with textile artist, Ruth Osbourne
Oriel Gallery 2024, invited to show Georgian Gallery 2024
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Causeway Craft Trail Artists, Flowerfield Arts Centre 2024
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Collect Open, Crafts Council Somerset House, London
Craft NI Craft NI Gallery Select Exhibitions
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Ceramics Ireland Select Members’ Exhibitions, Dublin Castle, Cowshed Gallery, Pearce Museum
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North Down Craft Collective Exhibitions North Down Museum, Ards Arts Centre, Griffin Gallery, The Loft Gallery
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​Royal Ulster Academy, Ulster Museum
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Thrown Contemporary Winter Show, London
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Mother Earth, Strule Arts Centre ​
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Creative Peninsula Principal Exhibitions, Ards Arts Centre
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Copeland Collective Exhibitions
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ForM Sculpture Exhibitions, Walled Garden, Bangor ​
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Solo Exhibition, Loft Gallery “Working with the elements”
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Creative Momentum, representing Northern Ireland, The Art Hub, Urkult, Sweden
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Castle Espie Select Exhibition, Nature through Art
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Haptik Gallery, Small Works Show
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Fireland The Loft Gallery
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AWARDS​
Arts Council of Northern Ireland Individual Artist Award
Crafts Potters Association Charitable Trust
Design Craft Council of Ireland, Design Ireland
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Artists Resilience Funding, Arts Council of Northern Ireland
The Potters’ Potter Award, Belfast Potters’ Market
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​​Individual Artist’s Grant, Ards and North Down Borough Council
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Work selected for Poster Campaign, The Creative Peninsula, Ards Arts
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Selected Maker for Scarva Pottery Supplies Calendar
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Nominated as “One to Watch” Craft NI for BBC NI The Arts Show
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Representing Northern Ireland, Creative Momentum, Arts Hub, Urkult, Sweden
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Margaret Creevy Prize “Best Achievement in Applied Art” South Eastern Regional College 2014
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RESIDENCES
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Awarded Residency at Ballinglen Arts Foundation , Co. Mayo by Ards and North Down Borough Council
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Copeland Island residency in association with Copeland Island Observatory & Ards Arts
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COMMISSIONS
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Trophies for Signal Business Centre, Young Chef of the Year
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"Bogland" Lectern commissioned by Seamus Heaney, HomePlace, The Helicon Theatre
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COLLECTIONS
​Permanent collection of pit fired and Bogland work, The Portico, Portaferry
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PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
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Earth Rising Irish Museum of Modern Art, salon speaker
"Exhibiting at Collect Open", guest speaker CraftNI
Artwalk guest speaker, EARTH MADE Exhibition
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Selected Collect Open maker to speak at Collect Art Fair, Somerset House, "Traditions lost, new creativity found"
Featured ceramic artist in "Irish Ceramics, The very best of Irish contemporary ceramics book"
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Guest speaker, West Forest Potters Guild
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Featured artist in Ireland's Homes, Interiors & Lifestyle magazine
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​Featured artist, Ceramics Ireland “Celebrating 40 years of maker and community”
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​Invited demonstrator, BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time
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Featured Artist, BBC Countryfile Autumn Special
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​Featured artist, Freckle Magazine
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​“One to watch” BBC NI The Arts Show
Speaker at Ceramics & it’s future Symposium, Millennium Gallery
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​Speaker Creative Trails App launch, Creative Momentum, FE McWilliam’s Gallery
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SELECTED DESIGNER-MAKER
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​Craftworks, Shoreditch
2024
Art in Clay, Farnham
2024,23
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Ceramic Wales
2024
Celebrating Ceramics, Waterperry Gardens
2024,23
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Potfest Pots by the Lake, Compton Verney 2024
Potfest Scotland 25, 23,22
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FE McWilliams Gallery
2023
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Belfast Potter's Market
2024,23,22,21
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Art on the rails, Project 24, Bangor
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​NCC&G Artisan Craft market, Ballycastle
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​CLAY 20: Festival of Clay, Devon
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​The Guildhall, Derry Art fair
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​FE McWilliams Gallery
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​Creative Peninsula
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​Turf and Grain Magazine Select Artisan Fair
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​Armagh Arts Centre Craft Fair
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​Etsy Local
​Art&, York
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​Creative Hub, Urkult, Sweden
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ND Craft Collective, Permanent maker
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TEACHING, DEMONSTRATIONS, WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
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Current from 2015 Pit Firing, Barrel firing & Obvara workshops from own studio
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August Craft Month, demonstrator Bushmills
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​Celebrating Ceramics, Oxford, demonstrator
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​Art on the Rails, Project 24, Bangor
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​CLAY 20: Festival of Clay, Devon
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Maker Showcase, The Craftroom, Comber
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“Hands Festival” An Creagan Pit firing workshop
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​Experimental Archaeology, QUB, facilitator Building a Bronze Age Kiln
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​Demonstrator, Celebrating Ceramics, Oxford
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Demonstrator, Seamus Heaney HomePlace Museum
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​Demonstrator, Open House Festival, Bangor
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​Heritage Craft, Pottery Thrower
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​Creative Peninsula Open Studio Tours
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​Demonstrator Antrim & Larne, Ards & North down Borough Councils
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On-going from 2014 A’Level Art and Applied Art Portfolio work, selected artist and workshop facilitator
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Head of Key Stage 1 & Foundation, Art Co-Ordinator, Comber Primary School
1988-2014
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©Patricia Millar Ceramics 2016. All web content, including written material, images and items for sale are the intellectual property of Patricia Millar Ceramics ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.