Tonnau a Tir

Metallic plates shifting inside, building a layer of protection turning into stone, a shield crafted from instinctive devotion. This was the catalyst; growing an exoskeleton when pregnant. Using this as a silhouette resulted in ‘protective’ pieces that encase an illustration of symbolic references to motherhood.

I explore the shifts that time brings in parenthood. When armour sheds, the next
metamorphosis during chrysalis, the mind in ecdysis. Adaptations are born.

My illustrations are concepts of evolutions, steeped in symbolism and nostalgic to my
culture’s folk tales. An offering to motherhood and the power of women. Recently my practice has evolved to include a discourse to the Welsh love spoon (Llwy Garu), creating sculptural forms viewed both through the lens of vernacular tradition and contemporary symbolisms.

The ‘Llwy Garu’ series is an extension of the exoskeleton. It is an aesthetic timeline to current experiences, the silhouettes encasing the various energies within a woman’s evolution.

Beth Knight is based near Cardigan, having recently moved back to Wales from Suffolk. Alongside being a wildlife illustrator she produces lino cut artwork inspired by the spirit of nature and the story of landscapes. She creates pieces with depth and atmosphere, developing techniques to capture light, distance and detail – pushing the boundaries of what is expected from lino printing!

Bronwen calls herself a plasticsmith. Trained as a jeweller and silversmith, she juxtaposes waste plastic with recycled silver and, in so doing, seeks to challenge our perceptions of ‘preciousness’ and to reappraise plastic as a valuable, rather than a throwaway, material. She collects and selects beach plastic for its colour and texture and uses only hand tools to cut, file and gently embellish its surface. (The waste dust she creates is, in turn, mixed with binders and used to create new composite materials; very little is thrown away.)

This slow and very considered approach is inspired by the natural forces of the wind, waves, salt water and the tide and their effects on manmade materials such as plastic. Her shapes are inspired by abandoned boats, mooring buoys, pebbles and fossils.

Clarrie Flavell studied applied arts at N.E.W.I, graduating in the summer of 2002. Specializing in metalwork and mixed media, she moved to Glascoed, Abergele later that year, and set about building a workshop called ‘Blue Earthworm’ where she could continue her work. Drawing inspiration from the coastline, Clarrie creates unique muscle shell rings, using oxidization to mimic the natural patina and colour of the shells.

I am an intuitive and abstract painter , expressing a feeling and sense of place
in the landscape that surrounds me. Inspired by everything , a love of colour drives my practice, paintings are created through layers , line work, textures and surface . Each brushstroke is an instinctive act , a conversation unfolding, allowing the viewer to project their own narrative onto the abstract forms.

I originally trained at Liverpool Art School, (now LJMU) and graduated with a BA Hons in Graphic Design and a PGCE in Art and Design. After a 25-year career as an Art teacher and sessional lecturer, I currently work as a practicing artist. My work primarily draws inspiration from the rugged and windswept foreshores and estuaries around Wales and Cornwall, and the untamed landscape of Snowdonia, Cumbria, the Peak District and moorland areas. I set out to interpret landlines and textures created by changing tides and weather as the land is constantly reshaped and reclaimed. The fleeting effects of light on colour impacts strongly on my work in felt. Work begins with drawings and colour references on site, and developed back in the studio using British and Norwegian pure wools, flax, linen, hemp and silks. The use of pure natural fibres, using traditional and ancient felt-making methods, connects the artwork to the land it seeks to embody.

Since 1994, Glover and Smith have been designing and crafting lead-free pewter products with exceptional care and attention to detail. By combining the highest standards of craftsmanship with premium-quality pewter, the brand ensures every piece is both beautiful and sustainable. Simple, low-energy production techniques result in a very low carbon footprint for each item. Lead-free pewter is an eco-friendly, non-tarnishing, and recyclable metal that is safe for food use, allergen-friendly, and easy to maintain.

The family-run business was founded by designers Ed Glover BA (Hons) UCA Farnham and Judi Glover BA (Hons) Manchester Met, who brought their extensive experience in the art world to create elegant and contemporary tableware and gifts.

Ed Glover is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers, and Glover and Smith are proud members of The Association of British Pewter Craftsmen. Many of their designs carry the Association’s quality marks, a testament to their commitment to excellence.

The pewter used by Glover and Smith is specially crafted to their exact specifications, ensuring the highest quality. It is composed of 95% tin, 0.5% copper, and 4.5% antimony and is certified lead- and nickel-free. This unique composition makes their pewter completely non-toxic and food-friendly. For their jewellery collections, this means it is safe for those with allergies or sensitive skin.

Hannah Duncan is a Swansea based contemporary jeweller and enamel artist. She graduated from Hereford College of Arts in 2016 with a BA (Hons) in Jewellery Design. She has produced jewellery collections inspired by Lunar Phases, Coastal Landscapes and Pebbles as well as a series of decorative enamelled bowls. Hannah is also the creator and curator of Quarantine Craft Fair, a popular online art fair that supported artists and makers throughout Britain during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

During the final year of her degree Hannah discovered a love of working with enamel and began a collection of jewellery based upon an area of the southwest coast of Scotland where her family owns a holiday hut. Since graduating Hannah has continued expanding her work inspired by British coastal landscapes.

Handmade predominantly in vitreous enamel, sterling silver and copper these designs are inspired by seascapes and sunsets. Hannah has found transparent enamels to be perfect for capturing both the subtle and striking colours reflected in the sea and sky. Her jewellery depicts the rich blues of a summer day, the delicate gradients of twilight skies and the stunning colours of dramatic sunsets.

Living in-between the hills and water of Conwy, nature is a big inspiration. I hand draw my animals, building texture with layered pattern.
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Natural block colours are used to bring my subjects to life. Inspiration is taken from detailed illustrative line drawings and portraits.

Jo Bull is a jewellery designer and lapidarist. One of her signature designs is jewellery incorporating milk sea glass from the North East of England.

Jo stumbled upon the milk sea glass which washes up on the beaches of Seaham in County Durham and was fascinated by the history of the glass factory which stood on the waterfront for over a hundred years. Unlike most translucent sea glass which beachcombers find while on our beaches, milk sea glass is opaque in colour. It washes up in wonderful smooth white and pastel colours. Jo felt the colours were so striking that she wanted to incorporate the glass into her jewellery. Each piece of milk sea glass is shaped and polished by hand by Jo. Taking inspiration from the coast, she creates irregular and one-off pieces of jewellery, working with the erosion and texture of the glass.

I make ceramic and sterling silver jewellery inspired by the beautiful coastal landscape around my home in the Llŷn peninsula, North Wales.

Each piece is individually made by hand. I use traditional ceramic processes as well as printmaking techniques and work intuitively. I often work from sketchbook drawings of the landscape, particularly drawings of human marks on the land.

The ceramics are high fired stoneware and porcelain, and I use platinum and gold lustre glazes to add detail to the fired ceramic surface.

I studied Fine Art at North Wales School of Art & Design in Wrexham and graduated with a First-Class honour’s degree in 2009.

Koa is inspired by a love for the coast and the UK’s thriving creative community. Based near the water’s edge in Sully, South Wales, their location gives them space to pause, evaluate and enjoy life a little more. They hope to capture this feeling in each piece of handmade jewellery, reflecting the coastline and all its colours and forms. Environment sustainability is a key ethos of Koa Jewellery.

Each piece of jewellery is crafted using pewter containing 100% recycled tin originating from unused and discarded electrical goods. Materials: Modern Pewter is completely free of nickel and lead, so does not tarnish or irritate. Pewter is almost 91% Tin, with the other 9% made up of a little Copper and Antimony, which is a white metal mineral also found in nature. The pewter and findings [earring findings, chains etc] used are 100% lead and nickel free. Earring findings are silver-plated steel. Chains are stainless steel. Cuffs are made from aluminium. Coloured elements are created with resin.

Originally, I trained as a jeweller and silversmith at Birmingham School of Jewellery. About fifteen years ago I was asked to lead an art project in a primary school as part of an artist in residence programme. The medium was to be mosaic, and that was when I was captivated and moved from metalwork to using glass and ceramic tiles. My techniques have grown out of my early gem-setting skills, using small pieces of coloured stained glass, glass tiles and drops and large quantities of mirror tiles to create decorative embellished two-dimensional surfaces.

Inspiration for my mosaic designs comes from my interests in East European and historic embroidered textiles, where brightly coloured silks are stitched against dark backgrounds. From this comes my use of brightly coloured glass set within black grout. It creates an additional graphic line around the tiles.

Recent work has focused on what I describe as mosaic floristry, using the garden as my inspiration, with sinuous trailing lines and floral shapes bursting with colour. A commission to create a series of floral garden stakes to decorate a garden to be opened to the public led me to create and extend my garden series, everlasting flowers bringing colour to a border or conservatory.

Liz Toole is a printmaker who has a genuine love of birds. Working and traveling in Africa has informed and inspired Liz’s work, this is where she fell in love with nature, mainly birds, following her ceramics degree. Liz uses birds to tell a story which is usually something that has happened in her life, she aims to create a positive story.

All of Liz’s screen prints and linocuts are designed and hand printed by her using specialized printmaking papers. Colour plays a huge part in Liz’s work, she has been known to test print 60 different colour combinations for a two colour screenprint, waiting for that eureka moment.

Louise developed her love of ceramics from an early age watching her mother make pottery figures and sculptures. Having gained a degree in illustration and graphic design, Louise went on to complete an MA in ceramics at Wolverhampton.

Now based in Dyserth, North Wales, Louise draws inspiration from her home surroundings. She is always listening, observing and recording in her sketchbook. Her cats and dogs make frequent appearances in her work, as do other animals she encounters in the countryside.

Figures are made fun of, posed as fools and idiots, lost, lonely and daft and sometimes in compromising positions to create humour.

The unpredictable nature of the firing process along with happy accidents that occur along the way, allow the figures created to emerge unique and beautiful. To compliment the hand-built figures, Louise also takes great satisfaction from the meditation of throwing, with its rhythms and repetitive forms. Some shapes end up as bases and stages for figures, some as simple vase, jugs, mugs and bowls, this contrast is an important part of Louise’s making process.

Louise is a silversmith of Welsh and Irish heritage with a typically Celtic passion for nature, especially
the ocean and the coast.

The inspiration for her sterling silver jewellery comes from countless blissful hours of summer and winter beachcombing in Wales and the wider UK. Her designs strive for the organic and fluid beauty of seaweed, as well Nature’s exquisite construction of sea creatures: shells, fossils, urchins and starfish. Traditional hand crafting silversmithing methods are used, as well as recycled silver.

Drawing inspiration from her creative family, vintage children’s books and nature. Each piece is made from earthenware clay which is bisque fired to leave a powdery surface. The ceramic colours of the Majolica glaze are then hand-painted onto this surface providing vibrant, immediate colours that characterise Louise’s work and help shape the character of the design. The piece is then fired for the final bright shiny glazed finish.

‘Elements – Embracing Nature in Design’
My eco-silver jewellery is testament to the beauty found along the Gower Peninsula coastline. Each water-cast element is carefully hand-selected to ensure my pieces are truly one of a kind, capturing the essence of the natural world in stunning detail. The lava and pearls add colour and elegance to my wearable works of art.

Menna Jones is a contemporary Welsh designer with a diverse artistic background. Her journey into jewellery design began in Swansea with an Art Foundation, a year studying Architectural Stained Glass, and a part-time Silversmithing course at Gower College, before pursuing a Higher National Diploma in Jewellery and Silversmithing and a top-up year in Design for Industry at the renowned School of Jewellery in Birmingham. Design for Industry prepares students for competitive design jobs, and the additional year focuses on specialised areas, including skills development. Her Welsh roots play a crucial role in shaping her work, drawing inspiration from the natural environment that surrounds her.

The highlight at Birmingham was Menna’s selection to design the medals for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) World Indoor Athletics Championships, which were held in Birmingham in 2018. Menna’s designs wove together various images of the city’s architectural heritage, and showcased her ability to blend architectural influences with creative design. The medals were fabricated by a local medal and trophy making company, Fattorini, based in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

Mouse Sails started in the late 1980’s making sails for windsurfers and yachts. Floss took over when their parents retired.

They aim to minimise sailings impact on the environment by reusing and recycling old, damaged and discarded sails, which are used as raw materials for their range of bags.

Each bag is unlined and designed to be a working bag, with the hard-wearing sail material making them quick to dry and easy to clean.

The bags all bear the marks of their previous usage and life at sea. On the bags label you will be able to find the sail type, area of sailing and notable features on the sail such as: hank stains, reefing points, repairs or abrasions, prototype, batton pockets or UV effects.
These features make each bag completely unique.

Working in porcelain to create sculptural vessels and wall hangings, Laura’s work not only celebrates the northern landscape, but is also steeped in her family history.

Laura is a collector, retriever, and storyteller, repurposing scavenged driftwood alongside vintage lace and crochet founded in her family’s craft heritage to impress the clay and its formations with memories and journeys. Bringing together shapes and forms she remembers the topography of well-traversed coastlines, coves and rockpools.

Laura’s work and the stories behind it are such that they can evoke an emotional response, resonating with others through their own childhood memories and family connections.

Making, drawing and painting are part of me. I cannot separate my work from life, or my life from the work. When I am intrigued, influenced or dominated by an idea, it splashes into the work through a variety of media and techniques; structure, painted imagery, repeated forms, pattern, or symbols as I can become totally immersed in the materials.

Most sculptures/installations are created through maquettes using a variety of media, and drawings and then developed, often in clay through hand building forms, and using found and created moulds using my own combinations of clays and often paperclay, fired to 1100- 1200, and decorated with oxides/majolica glaze. I also often incorporate found and altered mixed media into pieces, and more recently my own photographs/ photo collage ceramic transfers, and modelled wax.

My subject matter is often experimentation with elements of the human form, considering- what physically makes us appear human, and which features of the body are important to express gesture/emotion/attitude? I also create structures to represent the internal themes that make us more than physical bodies, memory, thoughts, experience etc. I am passionate about creating through making, and often experiment with visualisation and ideas generation techniques transferred directly into materials to develop physical ideas alongside drawn ideas. I am very connected to clay, and am interested in challenging the perception of any ceramics as ‘everyday objects’, which often dismisses the 1,000s of years of tradition in developing techniques, forms and surfaces, and disregards the need for current makers using clay to develop these skills to produce fired ceramic.

Roz has a background in Floristry, a degree in Applied Arts (metalwork) and interest in Archaeology which merge together to form what she describes as an “ever evolving taxonomy of wearable talismanic keepsakes”. Roz describes herself as “a dawdler, one who ponders and wonders as I wander. I am fascinated by the smaller, subtle things in life which contribute to the rich tapestry of our truly amazing world” Hedgerow, meadow, woodland and seashore reveal innumerable tiny treasures; leaves, seed heads, twigs, lichen, fossils, shells, seaweed. She collects and studies these curios. She feels they keep her grounded and connected to nature. With their tactile qualities enriching her day. Roz attempt to evoke the passing of time with rich patinas and gradation of colour, which evolves in her workshop through traditional silversmithing techniques and vitreous enamelling. Her sympathetic approach to handling materials, designing, making and finishing echoes her mindful and ‘wabi sabi’ approach to both her work and life.

Ruth makes original screenprints and collages from a studio near Bala, North Wales.

The prints are all made by hand, using Fabriano watercolour paper. This surface has a silk-like quality and holds the colour beautifully. It’s also acid free, which means it doesn’t fade or discolour.

Each design is made in a small edition. The prints are individually numbered and signed. Once an edition is sold out, Ruth adapts some of the images for her range of greetings cards.
Ruth trained as a textile designer in Liverpool and Birmingham, after which she worked as a freelance designer and illustrator. Clients have included Ikea, Sainsbury’s, Waterstones and Marks and Spencer. She has worked extensively with Tate, writing and illustrating 3 children’s books and a designing a range of toys, clothes and tableware. Her prints focus on plants, gardens and animals with a nod to mid-century design. There is a strong illustrative style, with bold colours in contrasting layers.

Sarah loves to explore her local beaches and woodlands in Cornwall.

Collecting curious objects, and always looking for driftwood, sea plastic and glass and slate pebbles. She then often uses these items both as inspiration and components in her jewellery.

Using recycled materials, found objects and old broken jewellery Sarah combines these materials with combined with eco-silver, semi-precious stones and pearls to create her sustainable jewellery.

Sarah Ross-Thompson is a Fine Art Printmaker, specialising in hand-inked collagraphs.

Based on the South West Coast of Scotland looking out over the Irish Sea towards Belfast. Sarah draws inspiration from her surroundings and
the scenery she encounters on her travels.

Sarah constructs her collage printing plates using materials such as string, salt, corrugated card, porridge oats and lichen. She then uses the vibrant colours of oil-based etching inks with the highly textural nature of collage printing blocks to create her prints.

SGW Lab is a ceramic studio which was founded by artist Yuta Segawa in 2018.

SGW Lab was founded in London in 2018 to expand the scale of my personal work production and to expand the possibilities of production. Currently, there are 6 full-time staff members, including myself. In order to work with others, even in a small group, it is necessary to explain various things that are sensuously grasped when produced by an individual artist. The most important of these is the significance of making things in the 21st century with less productive and inaccurate handwork than machines. It’s difficult to explain this, even if I can feel it as an individual. William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement were a big hint for me to think about it.

SGW Lab has a slogan: “The Art of people”. It is the title of a lecture that William Morris delivered in 1879 at the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design. Morris explained the importance of craftsmanship in the social situation in which the

Industrial Revolution was unfolding, with the phrase: “Art which is to be made by the people and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user.” He led the Arts and Crafts movement, seeing art as an expression of pleasure in human labour.

In the 21st century, the significance of handicrafts has been greatly undermined by the development of the Internet, artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial machines. In this era, the significance of craftsmanship, in other words, the worth of human labour, is being questioned again. Thus, it makes sense to rethink Morris’s idea: “Art which is to be made by the people and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user”.

The mission of SGW LAB is to think about the significance of craftsmanship in the context of Morris, to believe in the worth of human labour and to explore and practice the beautiful possibilities created by handicrafts.

I studied ceramics at Wirral College of Art and Design and then Braintree College, Essex.

Having worked in workshops in Greece, Bermuda, Bequia in the Caribbean and the Isle of Iona I seem to have a certain affinity with/ to coastal landscapes.

In recent years my work has become more abstract and sculptural.

Sophie Symes is a mixed media maker striving to create intriguing installations, jewellery and objects. Seeking out intricate surreal forms in nature to inform her tactile work, she hopes to combine beautiful form with personal concepts to create thought-provoking art.

Formally trained as a jeweller at the prestigious School of Jewellery as well as dedicated art college, Hereford College of Arts, she creates with accuracy and delicacy. Creating fine and art jewellery as well as installations and sculpture, she aims to use art as a vehicle for communication to highlight important social issues and push the boundaries of art and jewellery design.
Following personal experiences Sophie has decided to delve deeper into the subject of mental illness and its effects on the body. Many of her recent works have focused on the engulfing feeling of overwhelm. Using hand-sculpted growths reminiscent of lichen or coral, as a physical representation of overwhelm, she hopes to illustrate how it feels to experience a mental illness such as anxiety or depression. Through her encrusted creations she hopes to break down barriers and misconceptions surrounding mental health.

Tania studied Fine Art at The Ruskin School of Fine Art and Drawing, Oxford University and has been a practicing artist for over 26 years.

Originally founded in Bridgnorth, Tania has rebuilt their studio and gallery space at her home near Kinver. Her artworks combine a variety of media in an original way which offers her the freedom to populate the world with an array of pleasing artefacts, often laced with idiosyncratic humour.

Tania’s sculptures are handcrafted from salvaged materials and her own special paper mache mix. The birds are often made hollow with legs made from metal bars and reclaimed wood. Each piece is varnished to finish, but the sculptures are not recommended for outdoor use.

I am a mixed media designer maker based in North Wales and specialise in the creation of unique jewellery and decorative ceramics.

I am inspired by nature and natural/manmade objects including mermaid’s purses, shells, pebbles and waste plastic collected on my walks on the North Wales coast. Each piece of jewellery is intended to ignite the feeling of excitement at finding treasure.

The constantly changing Welsh weather and its effect on the surrounding landscape are reflected in the textures of many of my pieces. I use slip casting and hand building techniques to create my porcelain and earthstone pieces. Metal detailing is added to my ceramics using lost wax casting techniques to create decorative pieces and wearable art.