In recent years, Gwen John has been reclaimed as a queer Welsh icon. While her sexuality was never hidden (her brother Augustus references her attraction to both men and women in the foreword to her Memorial Exhibition catalogue in 1946 and it has since been discussed in all three of her biographies), this renewed interest encourages us to think about how John’s queerness might influence how she saw the world and made art. How do gender and sexuality affect out reading of an artist’s choice of subject or how they depict people and places?

John had sexual relationships and romantic friendships with both men and women throughout her life. According to Augustus’s autobiography, she had ‘an unhappy crossing in love’ with ‘a certain girl student’ at the Slade School of Art in London which ‘led to a drama’ in which John jealously demanded the girl end an affair with a married man. John’s first biographer, Susan Chitty, suggested that this love interest may have been Grace Westray, a fellow Slade student who shared a flat for a time with Gwen and Augustus. She may be the young woman depicted sitting in the foreground of John’s Portrait Group, one of John’s only surviving student works. Outside the window, we see two figures, possibly Gwen and fellow artist Ambrose McEvoy, another love interest. This group scene represents the tangled web of love, friendship, and family that defined Gwen’s student days. It depicts the shared student flat at 21 Fitzroy Street which served as a hub of creativity that fostered her artistic development, as well as a safe space in which to explore her emerging sexuality.

Gwen John, Group Portrait, 1897. UCL Art Collection – currently on display in Gwen John: Strange Beauties

John’s subsequent relationships followed a similar pattern: passionate attachment and deep affection spilling over into overwhelming devotion on John’s part. When she met the sculptor Auguste Rodin after moving to Paris in 1904 she became a favourite model and soon began a romantic relationship with him. This is documented in the hundreds of letters she sent him, now in the archives of the Musée Rodin. While many of them are love letters and some speak frankly about sex and desire, including with other women, others describe her day-to-day modelling for other artists. Among these were many queer women, such as Ottilie Roederstein, Ida Gerhardi, Anna Wood Brown, and Hilda Flodin all of whom were long term clients and friends. While it’s not clear if John ever attended any of the cafés or salons associated with the Parisian sapphic artistic circles to which these women belonged, she would undoubtedly have been aware of them.

Like many of the women John worked with and for, having her own lodgings was essential for both her professional and personal life. Her garret apartment, as depicted in Corner of the Artist’s Room, was both her home and her studio. As art historian Alicia Foster has pointed out, having a ‘room of one’s own’ was essential for her art practice, but as an unmarried woman it was also a space to which she could invite friends and lovers. At a time when even walking city streets unchaperoned could illicit unwanted attention, the ability to rent a small, private space meant freedom, sexual and otherwise. Is it any surprise then that John’s rooms appear so frequently as the subject of her art in its own right? For a single, queer woman and artist, this space represented both sanctuary and livelihood.

Gwen John, Corner of the Artist’s Room in Paris, 1907-9, NMW A 3397

In late 1926, John met the famous Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain, who lived nearby in Meudon with his wife, Raissa, and his sister-in-law, Véra Oumançoff. John quickly became deeply attached to Oumançoff, who became her confidante and spiritual advisor. The two women would often speak after mass at their local church and go for walks in the woods together. John’s affection for Oumançoff developed into romantic feelings, which appear to have been unrequited. Many passionate draft letters addressed to Oumançoff can be found in the Gwen John Papers in the National Library of Wales. In them, John mixes religious thought with romantic devotion, asking God to ‘show her how to love Véra’ and asking Oumanoff to let her ‘kiss her hands’. Oumançoff became overwhelmed by the attention, and asked John to limit her letters and visits to once per week. John duly obeyed, but began bringing not just letters to these rare visits but also drawings, which she called ‘dessins de lundi’ (Monday drawings). Each week for nearly two years, John presented Oumançoff with a drawing or watercolour, some new and others apparently versions of older motifs. The subjects, styles, and mediums are widely varied. Some were presented attached to backing sheets of coloured paper with the title and date given inscribed on the back. The titles of many of John’s works on paper (such as Mademoiselle Pouvereau and Souvenir du Dimanche des rameaux) are known thanks to these inscriptions.

Gwen John, Mademoiselle Pouvereau, NMW A 3607

Oumançoff kept these drawings long after the relationship ended, in spite of moving the United States as an exile during the Second World War. Over one hundred of the dessins de lundi were discovered again in the 1960s in the Maritain archive. Several works now in the studio collection at Amgueddfa Cymru are versions of compositions John gave as dessins de lundi. Reading these works through the lens of John’s sexuality, we can see them not just as formal studies of composition or tone, but as tokens of love and affection intended to convey a shared experience of faith and prayer. Furthermore, because John’s ability to communicate with Oumançoff was restricted to just once a week, these drawings became an additional means through which she could communicate to her beloved. They stood in for conversations and letters.

One of the images that John gave to Oumançoff as a dessin de lundi was a drawing of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897). This modern French saint, a close contemporary of John, died young and was canonised very quickly. She was one of the first saints to ever be photographed, a fact that her convent used to help create an iconography for her and advance the cause of her canonisation. The convent in Lisieux published books, prayer cards, and memorabilia with Thérèse’s image on it. As a Catholic convert and an artist, John was fascinated by these photographs which for the first time showed the real face of a saint, rather than an anonymous stylised icon made hundreds of years after their death. She became particularly attached to an image of Thérèse and her older sister, Céline, as children, drawing and painting this composition hundreds of times. These images have tended to be underrepresented in studies about Gwen John’s art, and are often dismissed as obsessive or absent-minded doodles. But this diminishes the importance that the ‘true face’ of a saint just three years older than her would have had for John. Furthermore, by the 1920s when John began drawing her, Thérèse had become a bit of a queer icon herself. Jean Cocteau, Henri Ghéon, Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, Vita Sackville-West, and Radclyffe Hall were all devotees of the saint. Her theology of the ‘Little Way’, which suggested that small, imperfect lives could be made holy through everyday sacrifices appealed to converts, avant-gardists, and other outsiders. John, who would write in her late notebooks about her desire to become a saint, was likewise drawn to Thérèse’s ‘Little Way’. Perhaps as an outsider herself, whose life and sexuality didn’t conform to heteronormative standards, she took particular comfort in Thérèse’s image and doctrine.

Gwen John, Sainte Thérèse of Lisieux and her sister, NMW A 15561

Gwen John, Sainte Thérèse of Lisieux and her sister, NMW A 15534

Reading John’s art through the lens of her sexual fluidity opens up possibilities for new interpretations of her art. While this article has touched on a few examples, there is still more work to be done. In acknowledging John’s queerness and considering how it might influence her way of seeing the world around her, we add depth and nuance to our understanding. To read more about John as a queer artist, see Norena Shopland’s book Forbidden Lives (2017), Tabitha Deadman’s Art UK article ‘Bi visibility: Gwen John and multiple gender attraction’, and Mair Jones’s Art UK article ‘Queer Welsh women in art’.

Each May, as part of No Mow May, the National Wool Museum allows areas of its landscape to grow freely, creating space for wildflowers, insects and the wider ecosystem to thrive. By stepping back from regular mowing, even for a short time, the grounds are transformed, revealing how much life depends on longer grass and seasonal change.

The Museum is deeply connected to its surrounding landscape, from the sheep that supply the wool to the habitats on its doorstep. Within the site lie three and a half acres of meadow, bordered by the Nant Bargod and Nant Bran, tributaries of the Afon Teifi. Alongside this sits the museum’s dye garden—a more cultivated space, but one that is equally rich in colour, history and wildlife.

Together, these spaces show how a simple change in land management can support a thriving and interconnected environment.

A Living Meadow Landscape

Away from the clatter of the mill machinery, the meadow offers a quieter, more reflective space. Managed through seasonal hay cutting rather than frequent mowing, it provides an important habitat for a wide variety of species. This approach sits at the heart of No Mow May, allowing grasses and wildflowers time to grow, flower and set seed.

This type of rough, damp grassland—known in Wales as rhos pasture—is increasingly rare. Its careful management is essential, as too much mowing or invasive species such as Japanese knotweed can quickly disrupt the balance that allows wildlife to flourish.

In spring and summer, the meadow comes to life. Butterflies such as Painted Lady and Red Admiral drift among the flowers, while the rare Brown Hairstreak lays its eggs on blackthorn in the hedgerows. Bees collect nectar from clover and hawthorn, ladybirds feed on aphids, and damselflies hover along the riverbanks. Surveys have even recorded more than 30 species of beetle on site.

The plant life is just as important. Native grasses such as meadow foxtail and fescues support wildflowers including knapweed, cuckoo flower and tansy, while wetter areas are home to rushes, meadowsweet and valerian. Together, these plants provide food and shelter for insects, birds and other animals.

One particularly rich area is the river overflow channel, where seasonal flooding brings nutrients that encourage a dense variety of plant life. It’s a reminder that natural processes still shape the landscape.

By allowing the meadow to grow throughout May, No Mow May supports this complex and thriving habitat.

The Dye Garden: Craft and Wildlife

Alongside the meadow, the dye garden offers a more structured environment, rooted in the history of textile production. For thousands of years, people used plants and minerals to dye fibres, a practice that continued in Welsh woollen mills well into the 20th century before synthetic dyes became dominant.

Today, the dye garden reconnects with this tradition, allowing the museum to explore the journey from plant to dyed fabric. Developed over many years and now cared for by natural dye practitioner Susan Martin, supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, it is both a working garden and a place of learning.

During the growing season, the garden is filled with colour—creating an inviting space for visitors but also attracting a wide range of wildlife. The same principle behind No Mow May—allowing plants the time and space to grow—benefits this cultivated area.

Wildlife Across the Site

Across both the meadow and dye garden, a diverse range of species can be found, each playing a role in maintaining the health of the environment.

Butterflies are among the most visible visitors, but many species are in long-term decline. One reason is the lack of suitable plants for caterpillars. The flowers that attract butterflies are not always the same plants they lay their eggs on.

At the Museum, plants often considered “weeds”—such as nettles, thistles and willow—are allowed to grow in certain areas, providing essential habitats for caterpillars.

Bees are equally important, from familiar bumblebees to species such as the wool carder bee. Hoverflies, often mistaken for wasps, also play a dual role: as adults they pollinate plants, while their larvae feed on aphids, helping to protect plant life.

Not all wildlife is immediately noticeable. Earthworms are vital to soil health, aerating the ground and breaking down organic matter. They also form an important part of the food chain—there’s nothing a mole enjoys more than an earthworm-rich feast.

Birds are regular visitors too. Robins are familiar companions to gardeners, often appearing when soil is disturbed and insects are brought to the surface.

The range of habitats across the site has also led to the identification of less common species. Museum scientists have recorded the spider Araeoncus humilis, classed as vulnerable in the UK—highlighting the importance of maintaining these environments.

Looking Ahead and Visiting

No Mow May is just one of the ways the National Wool Museum supports biodiversity, but its effects can be seen across the entire site.

By allowing grass and wildflowers to grow, the museum creates conditions in which insects, birds and animals can thrive. Spaces such as the dye garden show that conservation and cultural heritage are not separate, but deeply linked.

It has been exciting to see the variety of wildlife visiting the museum grounds, but there is always more to discover. Work is ongoing to support these habitats, including plans for wildlife cameras to capture even more of the species that visit.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the landscape for themselves. In April this year, a narrow path was cut through the meadow, allowing visitors to wander through the longer grass without disturbing the wildlife.

The Meadow Trail highlights some of the plants and animals that can be found across the site, while signage, supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund GROW project, explains the importance of seasonal initiatives such as No Mow May.

By simply letting the grass grow, the National Wool Museum reveals a hidden world—one that changes with the seasons and rewards those who take the time to look a little closer.

Hi Bulb Buddies, 

Here are our amazing Bulbcast submissions for this year!

Enillwyr/Winners: 

Cortamlet Primary

Yn Ail / Runners-up: 

St Patrick’s RC Primary

Leslie Primary

Pinehurst Primary

Yn Drydydd/Third Place:

St Michael’s Clady

Well done everyone, it has been lovely to see all the hard work you have put into the project this year. Thank you for taking part in this competition, we hope you enjoy your prizes!

-Professor Plant

In March, I became Amgueddfa Cymru’s first ever graduate of the Future Generations Leadership Academy (FGLA)! 

Run by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, the FGLA brings together a selected group of 18-30 year-olds from all corners of Wales to unlock leadership skills and expand knowledge on the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. 

This all started when Amgueddfa Cymru announced that they had been awarded funding via the National Lottery Heritage Innovation Fund Project #GROW to sponsor a participant, which then culminates in the person working with #GROW Project Leads to support sustainability and climate action in line with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. I have always been passionate about nature and how it can shape our identity, our place in the world and our wellbeing. As a second language Welsh speaker too, I always found the crossover of language with nature, and how it can evoke different connections to our cynefin deeply fascinating. This opportunity felt the perfect opportunity to implement this passion tangibly with the enrichment of the FGLA skills and knowledge I gain. 

I was so excited to be part of FGLA 5.0 this year and Amgueddfa Cymru’s first ever participant - it was both thrilling and a little daunting to be the first person ever. However, it has been an amazing chance to gain skills to drive positive changes within the organisation, inspired by the values of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. As a public body, Amgueddfa Cymru is subject to requirements of the Act, and it is pivotal that the next generations of staff have the knowledge and experience of it to channel it into positive action. 

My FGLA journey kicked off with a residency where I met my cohort for the first time. We shared ideas, our ambitions networked as future leaders.  We also met the residency speakers, Academy alumni, and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker. This was incredibly inspiring and set the tone for my fortnightly training sessions across the 8-month programme. 

I learned a range of things - from how to act and consider seven generations ahead, building a wellbeing economy, to how other leaders are pioneering the Act. Our final residency in North Wales further sparked my ideas and built my networks with people doing such amazing work across the public, third and private sector in Wales. As training developed, I also shared and explored ideas with different colleagues, and it’s been so gratifying seeing how others are excited at the potential of working in new ways. 

At last, my experience culminated with a fun but bitter-sweet graduation in Cardiff with my cohort, the Future Generations Office, alumni, as well as representatives from Welsh Government and organisations. I even took part as a speaker to present my change plan (more on that below!). It was amazing to be able to share how I’ve embedded my new skills and knowledge into a plan. 

So what’s next? As part of the FGLA, each person creates something called a ‘Change Plan’; a proposal in your area of expertise, which channels your new learning into a practical plan for their place of work to better align to the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. My change plan looks at how we can blend language, nature and cynefin to develop opportunities for Amgueddfa Cymru audiences which invoke connection, belonging and wellbeing and helps people to connect to their cynefin and to nature overall. Linking these together not only fosters deeper learning and care about the natural world, it invites people to reconnect to nature, shares intangible cultural heritages and links language to ecological literacy.

The outcome of this contributes to a future Wales where growing people’s connections, knowledge and care for nature inspires future resilience. It also shows how Amgueddfa Cymru can be a hub for Welsh language as a way to experience nature and cynefin - inspired by our collections, spaces, programming, events and experiences.

I am immensely proud to have had this opportunity to develop, from scratch, an ambitious, creative plan aligned to Amgueddfa Cymru’s organisational goals. I’m excited to see how it may be applied in order to contribute to a better future for Wales. 

This opportunity would not have been possible without the support of the National Lottery Heritage Innovation Fund Project #GROW, which builds workforce resilience in the face of climate change. I also extend my grateful thanks to my GROW project colleagues, Sarah Younan, Heather Jackson, Steph Burge, and Victoria Hillman for all of their support. 

Since January 2025, I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of helping Archaeology staff at the National Museum Cardiff alongside my fellow volunteer, Jeff. Together, Jeff and I have worked with the amazing Dr Elizabeth Walker, the all-knowing Evan Chapman, and the excellent Siân Iles (who you might recognise from a previous Museum Voices blog). This is a short blog about what we’ve accomplished so far. At the end, I have linked to some additional online material for those who wish to discover more of what is presented here briefly.

First on our journey through the Archaeology stores is the Stone Age (or the Palaeolithic). Here, Elizabeth introduced us to Coygan Cave, an important Middle Palaeolithic cave site (destroyed by quarrying) near Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.

The cave appears to have been used as a den by hyenas for the most part, given the accumulation of large prey animal remains, including those of mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, giant deer, and horse alongside an assortment of small mammals and birds. Remains of some other carnivores were present such as brown bear, wolf, and arctic fox. Equally of note from Coygan are three wonderful examples of so-called bout coupé handaxes, one of which is on display and pictured here. 

Elizabeth kindly took the time to explain how stone tools are made (something which I still find mind boggling) and how to spot signs of their use. Previously, the skeletal remains from Coygan were stored in plastic boxes to keep them in their “comfortable” temperature and humidity ranges. Upgrades to the stores’ environmental conditions meant that the remains could be repackaged into archival cardboard boxes, and the plastic containers repurposed for other artefacts. Jeff and I were tasked to work on rehousing the teeth, bones and coprolites (fossilised dung) whilst tracking their new home location and ticking off each bag of remains from a list. All in all, we transferred over 2,000 bags of remains and managed to reclaim a few shelves of storage space! Having not really considered the life (and death) of prehistoric creatures before, it was humbling (and terrifying) to think of the size and kinds of animals with which Neanderthals and modern humans would have cohabited.

One of our next projects saw us jump forward in time to the Roman occupation of Britain! More specifically, we find ourselves in the Roman city of Venta Silurum, the “market” and administrative capital of the Silures tribe that was established and located in what is now Caerwent.

Large portions of the stone city walls and the foundations of some buildings still stand today – visit and see for yourself! Several excavations were undertaken at Venta Silurum,  first by the Caerwent Exploration Fund (CEF) in 1899-1913 and later by Amgueddfa Cymru from 1981 to 1995. Amongst the discoveries from the later excavations (missed by the CEF!) was the beautiful copper alloy belt-buckle below, which you can read more about here.

Besides the wonderfully decorative metalwork, the Museum’s excavations of the forum-basilica (local government building with an open-air market) at Caerwent uncovered a veritable hoard of……oyster shells, thought to have been consumed by the government officials. Curator and fountain of knowledge for all things store-related, Evan, tasked us with the job of auditing these oyster shells and sorting them by excavation phase. While the work was dusty, it was a great opportunity to learn about the more civil dynamic between Empire and local tribes which contrasts sharply with the military fortification at nearby Caerleon.

The final highlight in this whistle-stop tour through history lands us in the Medieval period, and to a certain degree at the beginning of the Museum’s collections. Museums have long been places for education and for “showing off” artefacts to which most people have little access; Amgueddfa Cymru, in its early years, was no different. Other than acquiring new and unique artefacts, one way that museums and scholars in the 19th century could display or study artistic or archaeological objects was by replication. A noteworthy example of this practice was the making and sale of plaster copies of carved Medieval ivory objects for example. The skilfully furnished copies were called “fictile ivories”. A recent exhibition by the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museums has also explored this topic, which you can read about (and watch) here. A collection of such fictile ivories had been purchased and catalogued by Amgueddfa Cymru (then the Welsh Museum of Natural History, Arts and Antiquities) and has since been housed within the Archaeology Stores, one example being the panel carving of various saints. 

Siân, Senior Curator Collections Development: Medieval, Jeff and I set about scouring the text-only 1902 catalogue of over 130 “ivories” to attempt to match up the descriptions with what we saw in the collection. The reasoning behind this approach was twofold: firstly, to understand which copies were still present in the collections; secondly, to better be able to identify and connect the artefacts to those housed in museums like the V&A and indeed to the original objects from which the replicas were derived. Fortunately, the magic of photography and extensively digitised collections made the work a little easier, as most of the “ivories” and the Museum’s catalogue reference biblical scenes or mythological scenes less known to contemporary audiences (me!). Though a maddening experience of déjà vu and (carefully) rifling through boxes of (sometimes large and unwieldy) casts, I am honoured to have been connected in some small way to part of the early collections of the Museum. The slightly odd-looking faces and unexpected creatures present were certainly a bonus. 

Were it not abundantly obvious – I’ve had a fantastic time volunteering with Amgueddfa Cymru. Not only was it a chance to get up close and personal with some incredible artefacts and pieces of Welsh history, but I’ve also met some amazing and kind people in the Museum staff. Everyone from the Security to the Volunteering team, to the Archaeology department have been generous and welcoming. I shall treasure the time spent laughing and learning in the Archaeology stores (and in the break room!).

A very special thanks go to Elizabeth Walker, Evan Chapman, and Siân Iles without whom I would not have had the pleasure of the above-described adventure, nor would I have understood half of what I do now. Thanks also to Jeff for his friendship, support and, especially, his voice in reading out various numbers and coordinates.

Further Reading:

The Museum’s Collections Online database is a great place to find photos of and information about objects!

Prehistory

[ARTICLE] ‘A Day in Archaeology – Sorting out the storeroom’ by Elizabeth Walker

https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/sorting-out-the-storeroom-dr-elizabeth-a--walker--principal-curator--collections---access--amgueddfa-cymru---national-museum-wales-.html

[ARTICLE] ‘The Cave Men of Ice Age Wales’ by Elizabeth Walker

https://museum.wales/articles/1317/The-Cave-Men-of-Ice-Age-Wales/

[ARTICLE] ‘The oldest people in Wales – Neanderthal teeth from Pontnewydd Cave’ by Elizabeth Walker

https://museum.wales/articles/1014/The-oldest-people-in-Wales---Neanderthal-teeth-from-Pontnewydd-Cave/

[VIDEO] Cambrian Archaeological Association Presidential Address 2022 (Elizabeth A Walker): The significance of Welsh Caves to Palaeolithic Archaeology

https://cambrians.org.uk/elizabeth-a-walker-presidential-address-2022/  [Mention of Coygan begins at 27:16]

Roman

[ARTICLE] ‘A Day in Archaeology – The Llantrisant Fawr Hoard’ by Evan Chapman https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/llantrisant-fawr-hoard-by-evan-chapman--senior-curator--archaeology-at-amgueddfa-cymru-museum-wales.html

[ARTICLE] ‘Segontium – The Romans in North Wales’ by Evan Chapman

https://museum.wales/articles/1322/Segontium---The-Romans-in-North-Wales/

[ARTICLE] ‘Gelligaer Roman fort’ by Evan Chapman

https://museum.wales/articles/1328/Gelligaer-Roman-fort/

Medieval

[ARTICLE] ‘Medieval Cardiff’

https://museum.wales/articles/1334/Medieval-Cardiff/

[ARTICLE] ‘A Day in Archaeology – Medieval Floor Tiles Project at Amgueddfa Cymru’ by Jennifer Frost (Volunteer)

https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/medieval-floor-tiles-volunteering-project-at-amgueddfa-cymru-museum-wales.html

[ARTICLE] ‘A Day in Archaeology – Medieval Floor Tiles Project at Amgueddfa Cymru: Part 2’ by Siân Iles 

https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/medieval-floor-tiles-volunteering-project-at-amgueddfa-cymru--part-2--museum-wales-.html

Sources:

Aldhouse-Green, S., Scott, K., Schwarcz, H., Grün, R., Housley, R., Rae, A., Bevins, R. and Redknap, M. 1995. ‘Coygan Cave, Laugharne, South Wales, a Mousterian Site and Hyaena Den: a Report on the University of Cambridge Excavations’, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 61, pp. 37-79.

Guest, P. 2022. ‘The Forum-Basilica at Caerwent (Venta Silurum): A History of the Roman Silures’, Britannia, 53, pp. 227-267.