How long have you been creating?

Professionally (as a visual artist) since I graduated in 2003. In general since I was a kid making diabolical constructions with lego and mud, through my teens selling watercolors locally to my formal education at University.

What, besides your art, brings you creative fulfillment?

I'm a keen sportsperson, in between injuries I play gealic football (our national sport) and work hard at reducing my handicap in golf (I know aren't I just sooo bohemian) but I do love the sport. Generally speaking however as an artist I'm constantly thinking a certain way; looking at things differently and thinking creatively is just a way of being, so I guess the real answer to that is simply, life.

What are your motivations for creating?

To be honest a lot of the time its to create something to sell or to complete a brief. When you do this professionally and you're not in the luxurious position were your work is selling for millions it feels like thats the only motivation. However this isn't entirely true, I find that as an artist I try to position myself and my work in a place were my creativity is a natural reflection of myself, this way my professional work isn't sanitized to the extent that it becomes cold.

How do you know when a piece you're working on is done?

I've found that there is no such thing as a finished piece, there is always something that I want to tweak. In general a good rule of thumb is if I feel a piece will look overworked/too fussy/messy/to self indulgent, then its about time I stopped.

What do you find stimulating right now? How does this influence your creative process?

As I type this I am counting down the time until I have to leave to goto a steering group meeting aimed at creating artist led workshops for teenagers in an area near Lough Neagh. Trying to stimulate and inspire people of that age I always find intimidating but also incredibly fulfilling and I hope will lead on to a sustainable presence of artist led community workshops in the area.

What brought you to EBSQ?

The facilities initially, the community spirit kept me here.

Please share some of your artistic goals for 2008.

To sell more work and to become more established. Also to refine my style of work in the public/community art that I do so its more of a reflection of my artistic ideals and style.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

Eamonn is a Sculptor/Artist based in North Antrim. He specializes in and predominantly works with hot forged steel, however, he has been known to work with other materials i.e. ceramics and glass.

Eamonn's work is about the subtle delicacies of the relationships that bind the people together, whether it is about the things that have nurtured who they are, or the positive things that will define who they will become.

Eamonn is presently pursuing this philosophy through his residency in the South Lough Neagh wetlands by challenging our perception of elegance and beauty through uncompromising deformation of metal using fire.

Eamonn believes that beauty can be found in the balance between contrasts, as it makes us ask questions about the similarities that lie between. In a community, for example, this may be prevalent between the young and old where a mutual feeling of persecution can be a catalyst for an expression of cultural pride and communal togetherness.

By observing destruction and creation within elegant and beautiful forms that are dominant throughout his work Eamonn asks us to think again before we pigeon-hole what we are trained to think is pleasing to the eye.