The Anglo Saxons called February ‘Sol Monath’; here in Wales it’s known as Y Mis Bach (The little month). It starts with the Christian festival of Candlemas and the Celtic celebration of Imbolc. Both have light at their heart – whether a spiritual light or the physical lengthening of the days – and both signal that winter is almost at an end and Spring is on the horizon. It is, for me as an artist, the time of year when I do most planning; I read poetry and quotations, sketch from life and from imagination and stock up on all the bits and pieces that I need to keep my haberdashery stockpile looking healthy. More than that, it is the time of year when I cast a glance over what is working for me creatively and what is not.
Armed with this new found inner knowledge, I have started to prepare the first of this year’s works of Textile Arts. My pals down at Bryngarw Country Park wanted an indoor sketch of The Keepers to explain the central theme of ‘Beneath this land a story sleeps’ and how The Keepers have a life within the Park which we may not see or be party to because of our rushed and bustling lives. I have done a quick sketch which will form the basis of a wallhanging in needlefelt and creative embroidery.
Hopefully this will be part of a joint exhibition Maggie and I will be having in May (From the Wood 2 [too]). You can find more details here. Next on my list is to enter the Open Art Exhibition at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. I am not doing this because I think that I will be successful but for three other and quite distinct reasons. Firstly I believe that without people entering competitions art becomes an elitist and ultimately barren backwater; secondly, the National Eisteddfod is not in existence to show Wales as a densely castled theme park with quaint folk speaking an archaic language. It is trying to encourage, sustain and flaunt a vibrant culture and linguistic tradition in the face of globalisation. It can’t do that if only a couple of people enter the competitions. (Ac os ‘dych chi’n dysgu Cymraeg, mae rhif y gwlith o gystadlaethau yn Maes D sydd yn addas i chi. Ceir rhagor o fanylion yma)
Thirdly, just before I get down from my hobby horse and put him in the stable for the night, I am firmly of the opinion that it will help me develop as a Textile Artist. Like a lot of competitions, the National Eisteddfod require you to present an artistic CV and a supporting document for the piece of art. This means it’s not just about painting a picture or throwing a pot or (in my case) stitching over some fabric. It means you have to think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. It means that art has purpose. I tell anyone who stands still long enough to listen that good art – in whatever form – should do three things: it should evoke an emotional response, it should provoke thought or opinion and it should be the result of skill or good technique. I cannot say whether my entry to the Eisteddfod will meet any of those criteria but it won’t stop me trying. Besides which, the Eisteddfod 2015 is being held in Meifod, the home of my current sources of inspiration Cynddylan and Heledd (Mae’r ‘stafell Cynddylan yn dywyll heno) .
Ysbrydoliaeth is the word in Welsh for ‘inspiration’ and it’s a feminine noun so if you look at the quotation at the top of the page, it might make more sense when I tell you that the whole verse of this Irish song is
She’s my pulse, she’s my secret, she’s the scented flower of the apple, she’s summer in the cold time between Christmas and Easter.
Happy Stitching!