‘Underestimated’

an Exhibition by Textile Artist/Mixed Media Christina Drennan of Irish Handmade.

Where: The Index Gallery, Central Library, Waterford.

When: From Thursday, 6th February to Friday, 27th February 2025.

Official exhibition launch on Saturday, 8th February at 2:30 PM.

Everyone is welcome!

The WELL Festival of Arts and Wellbeing is a celebration of the profound connection between creativity and wellness. My work aligns with this philosophy by encouraging mindfulness, patience, and presence through the acts of weaving, hand-stitching, and embroidery. These slow, meditative processes not only preserve traditional craft techniques but also nurture emotional well-being, offering moments of reflection and self-expression. Weaving together past and present, my work invites others to engage with the therapeutic power of handcraft, fostering a deep sense of connection to both materials and the stories they carry.

I am delighted to be showcasing my solo exhibition Underestimated at the Index Gallery, Central Library, Waterford, as part of the WELL Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2025. The exhibition runs from Thursday, 6th February to Friday, 27th February 2025, with the official exhibition launch on Saturday, 8th February at 2:30 PM. Everyone is welcome!

This exhibition is deeply personal, a reflection of my creative philosophy that nothing—whether materials, people, or places—should ever be underestimated.

This collection of 51 textile pieces is an organic and intuitive body of work. Each artwork has been created using circular materials, natural fibers, and repurposed textiles, all carefully chosen for their texture, history, and overlooked potential. I have incorporated rich Irish wools, soft mohair, jute, and cotton fabrics, weaving many of the pieces on an Irish peg loom I designed and built myself to honour the ancient art of traditional peg loom weaving. Techniques such as free-motion embroidery, decorative stitching, and intricate layering of fibers bring each piece to life, blending contemporary innovation with time-honoured craft.

Through Underestimated, I explore the beauty found in discarded elements—waste threads, loose wool from woven wall hangings, and fabric remnants from workshops—breathing new life into them through artistic expression. But beyond materials, this exhibition speaks to the unseen, the overlooked, and the dismissed. It is a reminder that just like these fibers, people and places often carry unseen depth, value, and untold stories waiting to be rediscovered.

Hosting this collection at the Central Library holds special significance, as libraries, much like my work, are spaces where knowledge, stories, and history are preserved and shared. The WELL Festival, with its dedication to the connection between art and well-being, aligns perfectly with my belief that the act of weaving, stitching, and creating is not just a craft but a mindful, restorative practice. It is an opportunity to slow down, to engage with our hands, and to reconnect with the past while shaping something new.

I invite you to explore this collection and join me in celebrating the underestimated—the threads, the forgotten, the overlooked, and the potential within us all.

For more details about the exhibition, upcoming workshops, and behind-the-scenes insights, be sure to check out the Projects page.

Hosted & Presented by
Waterford Libraries
The Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2025
Supported by Europe Direct Waterford