Q1. Where do your Celtic designs come from?

A1. The inspiration for these designs comes from the carvings, jewelry, and early manuscripts found through the Seven Nations of the ancient Celtic world. Ground breaking research on Celtic art and design was done in the last century by George Bain; whose book, Celtic Art: Methods of Construction, (Dover, 1973) we highly recommend. Irish artist Warren Holohan studied the work of Bain, Courtney Davis, Aidan Meehan, and others until he was able to develop a distinctive style of his own. For the past decade he has been creating a body of work that has drawn critical acclaim and developed a loyal following of admirers. Warren is an inexhaustible student of life and lore and has taken the old myths and legends and woven them into his designs.

Q2. How do these designs get onto the garments?

A1. In 1999, James Downam and Warren Holohan formed a partnership called Ink and Essence (I&E), where all of Warren’s designs are meticulously hand silk screened by James and the other printers at I&E.

Q3. Can I get these designs anywhere else?

A1. With very few exceptions, the answer is no. We wholesale a vary few of our designs to Kilt makers we’ve formed friendships with at Celtic Festivals, but we’ve kept the bulk of these design exclusively at I&E.

Q4. Do you do custom design or printing?

A1. Yes! By all means. We have an active production shop and welcome custom printing. We can also create custom designs for you, if you like. And, if you’re among those who care about such things, our shop is a union shop - members of Unite Here! Local 1148a. (see the link to UNITE HERE!’s site.)

Q5. Do you ever accept freelance work?

A5. We would love to, although to date there are so few artists doing this sort of design, we have not had the opportunity to publish any one else’s work. If you have designs you would like to have considered for publication contact Warren via e-mail and send either a web address where he can see your work or attach a low resolution jpeg so he can get a sense of what you’re doing.

Q6. I’ve never done this sort of art before. How can I get started?

A6. A good place to start is by getting George Bain’s book mentioned above. Don’t expect to be able to do it right the first, or even the 50th time – although you may. The key is to develop, first of all, a way of seeing the art. A good solid understanding of geometric and organic shapes helps, but the key is to practice. It’s much like the way young artists learned their craft under Master painters in the Middle Ages. Copy and repeat the knotwork or spirals until you can draw them without looking at the original. Then begin to construct your own designs using what you’ve learned.

When you reach this point, broaden your study to include some of the marvelous books on ancient Celtic art, jewelry, stone carving and the like. Become alive the world around you and within you, and draw – endlessly experiment and love what you are doing. Do it for the doing, not for the outcome. The outcome will define itself based on your explorations.

If you can find someone competent and that person will help by teaching you, that’s wonderful. Learn from them but do not seek to become them. Find a Spiritual Director because much of this art is spiritually driven.