HELGA PIKAL was born in Czechoslovakia in 1961, and she has spent time living in Germany. Having lived and worked in Ireland for the past 18 years, she is now based in the Renvyle peninsula in Connemara.

Helga has been making replicas of Native American Tribal craftwork for years, using beads, quills, ribbons and embroidery, both for collectors and doing restoration work for museums. She's produced her magical dolls for twenty years or so, and has exhibited them widely in Ireland.

For the last two years Helga has concentrated on her creative handembroidery, which is based on Mandalas and magic symbols, using layers of satin and chiffon, silk ribbons, beads, sequins, shells and other materials and all sorts of threads.

She recently had a succesfull exhibition in the Town Hall Theatre, Galway.