The Life Histories of Five Contemporary Welsh Women Artists: The Interweaving of Art into Living and Living into Art

253 Pages·2012·10.64 MB·English

by  Penelope Collet, Sue Gillett

THE LIFE HISTORIES
OF FIVE CONTEMPORARY
WELSH WOMEN ARTISTS
THE LIFE HISTORIES
OF FIVE CONTEMPORARY
WELSH WOMEN ARTISTS
The Interweaving of Art into Living
and Living into Art
Penelope Collet
With a Foreword by
Sue Gillett
The Edwin Mellen Press
LewistoneQueenstoneL ampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Collet, Penelope Josephine.
The life histories offive contemporary Welsh women artists: the
interweaving of art into living and living into art I Penelope Collet; with a
Foreword by Sue Gillett.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-2667-2 (hardcover)
ISBN-l 0: 0-7734-2667-1 (hardcover)
1. Women artists--Wales--Biography L Title.
N6796.C65 2012
709.2'5209429--dc23
[B)
2012011107
horsserie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover image: Mary Lloyd Jones, Blue North, oil on canvas 5ft x 6ft (2009).
Reproduced with the pennission of the artist.
Copyright C 2012 Penelope Collet
All rights reserved. For information contact
The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press
Box 450 Box 67
Lewiston, New York Queenston. Ontario
USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS lLO
The Edwin Mellen Press.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT
Printed in the United States of America
To My Grandsons
Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................. i
Black and White Plates .................................................................. iii
Colour Plates ................................................................................. vii
Foreword by Dr Sue Gillett ............................................................ ix
AcknowledgIllents .................................................................. XIII
Chapter One - Introduction ............................................................. 1
Context .................... ·. ............................................................ 4
Women's visual culture traditions ....................................... 6
The women artists ................................................................ 9
Chapter Two - The Research Approach ........................................ 15
Introduction ........................................................................ 15
Artists' biographies ............................................................ 17
Life history methodology ................................................... 22
My position ........................................................................ 28
Chapter Three - Mary Lloyd Jones ............................................... 31
Chapter Four - Claudia Williams .................................................. 63
Chapter Five - Shani Rbys James .................................................. 87
Chapter Six - Textile Artists ........................................................ 119
Introduction ...................................................................... 119
Part One - Weaver, Kathy Williams ................................ 121
Part Two - Designer, Laura Ashley ................................. 136
Summary .......................................................................... 156
Chapter Seven - Discussion and Conclusions ............................ 159
Current issues .................................................................. 160
Postcolonialism ................................................... 160
Welsh Identity ..................................................... 163
Pastoralism .......................................................... 165
The Art/Craft Divide ........................................... 167
Life History Themes ........................................................ 169
Within the Home ................................................. 169
Making a Career in Art: Exhibiting and critical
recognition ....................................................... 172
Welsh Identity ..................................................... 174
Working in Wales and International Influences .. 176
Postmodemity and the Art/Craft Divide ............. 178
Conclusions ..................................................................... 182
References ................................................................................... 185
Index: General ............................................................................ 199
Proper Nrunes .................................................................. 203
Abstract
There is still a long way to go to establish a tradition for women
artists in Wales. The purpose of this book is to make public the
lives and works of women artists who until recently have been
little known because of marginalisation due to gender. Through a
life history methodology the research was able to focus on the
subjective lives of four Welsh women artists and to collaborate
with them in the research process to provide new insights about
their lives and art careers. A biographical approach was used to
write the narrative about the fifth artist who is no longer living.
Obstacles to women's careers in art continue to be a
concern for the artists. They reported tensions: within the home, in
their art training, in attempting to exhibit and gain critical
recognition, in their identification as Welsh, in their choice to work
in Wales rather than in the leading art centres such as London, and
in their choice of art media, genre and content. The central theme
of the book is the diversity of the women's contributions to the
visual culture of Wales. Reproductions of art provided by the
women are used to document these contributions and add a further
dimension to the writing. Emphasis is placed on the individuality
of each woman's experience of living and working in Wales and
the influence this has on her creative work.
Conclusions drawn from the life histories about the creative
lives of the women-Mary Lloyd Jones, Claudia Williams, Shani
Rbys James, Kathy Williams and Laura Ashley-are thematised
around current issues of concern for artists and arts writers in
Wales. These include Welsh identity, the growing awareness of
postcolonialism, pastoralism and the artIcraft divide.
Black and White Plates
Black and White Plate 1: Mary Lloyd Jones Portrait.
Photographer Keith Morris. Reproduced with the pennission of the artist.
Black and White Plate 2: Claudia Williams Portrait.
Photographer Gareth Davies. Reproduced with the pennission of the artist.
Black and White Plate 3: Shani Rhys James Portrait.
Photographer Peter Telfer. Reproduced with the pennission of the artist.
Black and White Plate 4: Kathy Williams Portrait. Photographer
K. Williams. Reproduced with the pennission of the artist.
Black and White Plate 5: Laura Ashley Dress (1975).
Photographer Bruno Bernini. Collection: Powerhouse Museum. ©
Bernini Estate. Reproduced with the pennission ofthe Estate.
Black and White Plate 6: Ogham Writing, The Chapel of Saint
Brynach, Nevern, Wales. Photographer Penelope Collet. Reproduced with
pennission.
Black and White Plate 7: The Vitalianus Stone, Saint Brynach,
Nevern, Wales. Photographer Penelope Collet. Reproduced with permission.
iii