John Piper: A Journey Through Snowdonia Melissa Munro, 27 April 2012 John PiperJagged rocks under Tryfan ink, watercolour & gouahce, c.1948 22 x 27 inches Copyright John Piper Estate John PiperRock formations ink, watercolour & gouache, c.1948 21 x 27.5 inches Copyright John Piper Estate From around 1943 to 1950 John Piper undertook an intense artistic journey through the mountains of north Wales, conveying a passion and vision like none other seen before. There is an exuberance and brilliancy to the tones and hues, as well as sheer drama in each of the pictures. One of the most versatile British artists of the twentieth century, John Piper's work encompasses portraiture, landscape, architectural studies, still life, ceramics and designs for theatre, stained glass and tapestry. Piper's interest in landscape and architecture extended to all areas of Britain, however his first significant encounter with North Wales came when he was working as an official war artist during the Second World War. Manod Mawr Quarry: storehouse for priceless objects during the Blitz In 1943 the War Artists Advisory Committee commissioned Piper to record the interior of Manod Mawr quarry. At the time it housed artworks from the National Gallery and the Royal Collection to protect them from bombing during the Blitz. The dark conditions of the quarry were not suitable for painting or drawing and so the commission was abandoned. It did, however, provide the opportunity for Piper to explore North Wales. This sparked an intense period of recording the mountains of Wales. Inspiration from Turner and Wilson During the period Piper spent in North Wales, he often referred to the guidebooks and early geological texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as he travelled around the area recording the mountains. Not only did he admire their engraved illustrations, but they also provided a link to the artists of the period most admired by Piper, Richard Wilson (1714-1782) and J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Church architecture from West Wales Piper's painting trips to Wales did not start with Snowdonia or North Wales, but Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire in 1936. The following year, he produced Five Chapels, 1937. The chapels depicted are: Emmaus, Llanon, Red Roses, Rhydygwyn and Tyrhos. These five collages were produced with torn and cut papers drawn and assembled. It shows his early interest in church architecture. He took a particular interest in the simple though neo-classical architecture of non-conformist chapels in Wales. Piper in North Wales During the unsuccessful Manod Mawr commission, Piper began to explore north Wales and the locations painted by Wilson and Turner such as Cader Idris. This trip also brought him in close proximity to Aran Fawddwy, the subject of an impressive oil, The Rise of the Dovey, 1943-44. The title of this painting refers to Creiglyn Dovey, the lake in the foreground, which is the source of the River Dovey. Turner painted a slightly different view of Aran Fawddwy in 1798 in a watercolour titled, A bridge over the Dyfi near Dinas Mawddwy, with Aran Fawddwy beyond (collection of the British Museum). The almost abstract nature, foreboding dark atmosphere and brilliant hues of light gold, yellow, blue and red in this work are very similar to Turner's style of painting. Upon the canvas is a layer of gesso, which has been painted on top of in oils. This gives the work this very rough texture, evoking a sense of the roughness of the rocks and the elements. In 1945 John and his family rented a cottage named Pentre. There is a painting titled Nant Ffrancon Farm, 1950, which shows the house from the roadside. It is situated in the Nant Ffrancon valley, with a steep hill leading up behind the house. The property was sub-let to the Pipers for £35 a year. At the time there was a basic muddy track, rather than a concrete road, making the house almost inaccessible in bad winter weather conditions. Along with this, the house was at the foot of a steep hill, which caused the house to be flooded by heavy rain. I felt then that I was seeing the mountains for the first time and seeing them as nobody had seen them before. John Piper quoted in Richard Ingrams and John Piper, Piper's Places, London, 1986 John PiperThe Rise of the Dovey oil on canvas on board, 1944 27.5 x 34.5 inches Copyright John Piper Estate A stormy and wintery Snowdonia The difficulties and hardships presented by living here, even though only for short periods at a time, encouraged the Pipers to move to another rented house called Bodesi around 1947. Bodesi is situated across the road from Tryfan facing the mountain and Llyn Ogwen. This was the landlord's hafod or summer house, so the Pipers had use of it for the rest of the year. This would account for most of Piper's paintings of Snowdonia being stormy and wintery. Bodesi was well-placed and a flurry of paintings and drawings of Tryfan began. Jagged Rocks under Tryfan, 1949-50, is a wonderful example of Piper's attention to detail by selecting very particular rock formations on and around Tryfan. It depicts Tryfan Bach (little Tryfan) situated at the base of the mountain on its western side. Its jaggedness mimics that of its parent, Tryfan. White spirals drawn in gouache are most likely patterns left on rocks by lichen which has since detached. In the lower foreground are splashes of red and yellow, in some cases accentuating the shape of the rocks, in other areas denoting the 'chrome yellow and chrome orange lichen' Piper described in his notes. The influence of nineteenth century guides to Snowdonia in Piper's work also encouraged him to write his own guide to the area. Unfortunately it never went beyond note form, which is now in the archives at Tate Britain. Although Piper's dream of publishing a guide to Snowdonia never came to pass, it is justifiable to say that he provided an enthralling guide through his paintings and drawings. This series of work is considered by some to be the best of all his paintings. In the 1960s, the Pipers bought a house in Pembrokeshire called Garn Fawr and much of his Welsh work from this period onwards focuses on Pembrokeshire and South Wales. He would never work in North Wales with this intensity again. External Links Tate Britain Barc Cenedlaethol Eryri
Peregrines on the Clock Tower 2012 Peter Howlett, 24 April 2012 As with last year the Peregrines were around over the winter, I could see, or hear, them from the office most days. It seems August/September is when they are least visible, probably while they are moulting their feathers after the breeding season.The camera was back up and running in mid-March just in time to see the female start incubating eggs some time around the 20th.Let's hope that they have a better season than last year!
We have chicks! Peter Howlett, 24 April 2012 Or at least the Peregrines do. There was a worrying moment yesterday morning when I didn't see any activity around the nest for hours, I couldn't see a bird on the nest - and it was raining. I eventually saw the female at the nest late morning but she just had a cursory glance at the nest then flew off.She returned a little while later and then sat on the nest for the rest of the day. The male flew in a couple fo times and on one occasion I am pretty certain brought in a little lump of food. The female didn't stir but it's possible the chick hatched sometime yesterday (or over the weekend).When I switched the camera monitor on in my office this morning I saw the female was sitting on the nest then the male popped in with a morsel of food. The female stood on the edge of the nest, started tearing small chunks off and was stretching into the back of the nest to offer the food to the chick. This went on for about 10 minutes until the female resumed incubation.Peregrines normally lay 3-4 eggs and start incubating as soon as they lay the first one, which means the first egg laid hatches first. Assuming the other eggs hatch there will likely be more chicks over the next few days but it could be a couple of weeks before they are big enough to be seen over the rim of the nest.
Super Scientist Awards 2012 Danielle Cowell, 24 April 2012 Thirty eight schools across the UK are to be awarded Super Scientist Certificates on behalf of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales in recognition for their contribution to the Spring Bulbs - Climate Change Investigation.Congratulations to all 1,625 pupils who have keep records and made observations to study climate change - each will receive a certificate and other prizes to celebrate their outstanding efforts. Certificates and prizes will be sent to schools by the 14th of May 2012. Many thanks to the Edina Trust for funding this project.Winners 2012: Each will receive a class trip of fun-packed nature activities! Westwood CP School in Wales Earlston Primary School in Scotland Fulwood and Cadley School in England Runner's up: Each to receive vouchers to purchase gardening equipment, certificates & seedlings. Christchurch CP School Saint Roberts Roman Catholic Primary School Sherwood Primary School St. Joseph's R C Primary (Penarth) Stanford in the Vale CE Primary School Woodplumpton St Annes C of E Primary Ysgol Nant Y Coed Highly commended schools: Each to receive certificates, sunflower seeds, salad seeds & flowers to attract butterflies. Channelkirk Primary Coleg Powys Ysgol Y Ffridd Ysgol Capelulo Lakeside Primary Maesglas Primary School Ysgol Clocaenog Ysgol Bro Ciwmeirch Ysgol Porth Y Felin Glyncollen Primary School Ysgol Pant Y Rhedyn Howell's School Llandaff Williamstown Primary school Ysgol Tal Y Bont Morfa Rhianedd Ysgol Deganwy Schools with special recognition: Each to receive, certificates, flowers to attract butterflies and salad seeds. Gordon Primary School Laugharne VCP School Milford Haven Junior school Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn Oakfield Primary school Windsor Clive Primary Schools to be awarded certificates: Each to receive Super Scientist Certificates. Radnor Primary Brynhyfryd Junior School Bishop Childs CIW Primary School Eyton Church in Wales Primary School Ysgol Cynfran Ysgol Bodfari Many thanksProfessor Plantwww.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbsTwitter http://twitter.com/Professor_PlantFacebook Professor Plant
Green Babies at St Fagans! Hywel Couch, 24 April 2012 Over the last couple of months we have held a total of 5 Green Baby days at the T? Gwyrdd here at St Fagans Museum. The idea behind the Green Baby days was to promote greener practices and to lessen the environmental impact raising a baby can have. To help us achieve this we invited a number of experts in to help us, all of whom I’d like to thank! Obviously one of the main ways of lessening environmental impact when raising a child is through the use of re-usable nappies. This is also a great way of saving money, around £700! These re-usable nappies have moved on a great deal since the days of terry towelling and enormous safety pins! It was great to see peoples reactions when shown examples of the fancy newer nappies and to hear their stories! So I have to give a massive thank you to the 3 re-usable nappy providers who helped us over the 5 days. First of all to mamigreen who are based in Cardiff and came to help us on the first 2 Green Baby days. Secondly a huge thank you to Gemma at Little Gems Nappies (based in Pontypridd) who came to help us over 3 days last week during the Easter holidays. And also a big thank you to Melanie at Little Lion (based near Bridgend) who lent us a variety of re-usable nappies that we were able to showcase! If you are interested in learning more about re-usable nappies or are considering using them then check out their websites. They all cover most of the southWalesarea and offer phone consultations as well as home visit consultations! We also had a stand by Fairdos which is a Fairtrade shop based inCanton inCardiff. As a stockist of all kinds of Fairtrade products this was a great opportunity to showcase their range of Fairtrade cotton baby clothes, toys and bibs. A big thank you to the Fairdos volunteers who gave up their time to man the stand! The final area we covered was baby food. Making your own baby food is healthy, cheap, eco-friendly, and you know exactly what’s in it! We had Welsh Government advice and recipe documents for different stages available to read, and many visitors asked us where they could find these documents themselves. So here we go…English Language DownloadsWelsh Language Downloads Finally, a massive thank you to everyone who came to see us during the event and for sharing your knowledge, especially those who entered our competition by posting tips on our Green Babies ideas tree! We will shortly be picking a winner and contacting them about their prize.
