LIFE OF AN ARTIST AND CAMPAIGNER
Eirian grew up in the Vale of Clwyd where her love of nature was nurtured by her family who farmed in Prion on the outskirts of Denbigh. As a child wandering through the woodland known as Coed y Felin she marvelled at the carpet of bluebells and even white bluebells flowering in spring. On the long uphill walk from Denbigh to Prion she would stop to gaze at her favourite flower, the primrose in the hedgerows bordering the road. For Eirian, gazing became an ‘art form’ where time stood still and the humdrum of daily life, such as mealtimes and clock watching meant nothing. Her love of nature never left her and she valued all forms of life, even the smallest and most insignificant insect had a life which should be protected.
As a young girl, the life of the campaigner began. Her love of Wales, its history, language and culture fired her and was the first of her family to support Plaid Cymru. She soon joined Cymdeithas yr Iaith-The Welsh Language Society and took an active part in the language campaigns of the 1960s and early 1970s often at personal cost. By the time she was training as a nurse in Liverpool, she attended language protests after long shifts often foregoing sleep and travelling long distances. In her late 20s she established a Women’s Aid Group in Rhyl after becoming horrified at the scale of domestic violence. The Group established a refuge in the town at a time when there was scepticism and even hostility from the authorities. Later in life she became a passionate supporter of printmaking as an art form and would sweet talk, persuade and even cajole others to join her crusade. Her passion shone through and with Jane and Lauren set up the Original Print Place as a social enterprise with the aim of bringing printmaking and the work of Welsh printmakers to the attention of a wider audience.
Despite her many years of working as a nurse, in tropical medicine, midwifery and health visiting, Eirian’s love of art never left her. She had studied art at school and was a skilled watercolour artist, with birds, animals and flowers being her favourite subjects. The earliest paintings we have of Eirian’s work are of two birds completed in 1976. Although already fully occupied as a nurse and mother, she also completed an A level art course. On a month’s holiday in France in 1997, she found the pull of the artist too great to resist and she revelled in a long period dedicated to her craft.
When she returned home, she was determined to dedicate herself to her art work, and enlisted in a foundation course in Coleg Menai in Bangor. There she found an inspirational tutor in Peter Prendergast who brought out the best in her. Eirian always had a tendency to understate her skill, but she was clearly encouraged by the support given by the teaching staff in Bangor. During her Bangor period she grew more confident in her ability, and decided to follow a degree course in the then UWIC (now Cardiff Met). Her 3 years there under Tom Piper changed her attitude to art completely and she dedicated herself to becoming an accomplished printmaker. She knew little of the art form before Cardiff, but afterwards dedicated herself to its various forms with a passion and zeal for the remaining years of her life. Lithographs, etchings, woodcuts or linocuts she experimented with and used them all, producing work in a studio in the Hawardian centre in Cardiff, in the Cardiff print workshop and in the last few years in her own studio in her home on Anglesey.
There were many influences on her work, but primarily it was the strong cultural history of Anglesey and the natural environment which formed the basis of her prints. She loved the shape of the standing stones on the island, the marks on Neolithic burial mounds, the shapes carved into the stonework of churches and the way the trees on the island are shaped by the strong westerlies. She was fascinated by crows, the most intelligent of birds, credited in Welsh folklore with the ability to convey messages between the present world and the afterlife. She loved their acrobatics, and once stood transfixed whilst walking above Ysgolion Duon in the Carneddau as the crows swooped into the cavity below her.
She was also inspired by the work of Welsh poets and sought to bring the images they created to life in her art. The works of Gwyn Thomas, Iwan Llwyd and R.S.Thomas provided her with opportunities to produce prints and they are in the Exhibition. Rather surprisingly perhaps she found Johnny Cash late in life and was devastated when she learnt that he had died a few months previously. She read every book about him she could lay her hands on, and listened to every album he ever made. His life’s journey inspired her, its ups and its downs, its periods of joy and utter despair. She was moved by his ability to convey much of how he lived and his strong religious convictions through his powerful voice. She made a number of prints based on his story.
Eirian had strong religious beliefs and her faith sustained and comforted her in her short final illness. It was this belief that led her into nursing, and that God had meant her to follow a vocation of caring for people. At one time she even contemplated working abroad in underdeveloped countries which is why she followed a course in tropical medicine. Her art work is a further expression of her beliefs, and many churches and church art feature in her work. It is fitting that her final work is dedicated to St Cwyllog, a 6th century Celtic saint. The work was commissioned by Peter Freeman for a book published in the USA entitled ‘The Age of Saints’.
Following Eirian’s untimely death in January 2014 and with her blessing her family have established a Memorial Fund in her name. Under the auspices of the Fund an annual award will be made to a printmaker living and working in Wales to enable him or her to develop printmaking skills.