An artist who has exhibited across Europe has come home to Anglesey to set up a studio with her husband in Holyhead.
Rebecca Gould and Iwan Lewis will throw open the doors of their new studio this spring after moving back to North Wales from London late last year, hard on the heels of the arrival of a baby daughter.
The artistic couple plan to be part of the Anglesey Arts Weeks Open Studios fortnight, which starts on Saturday 12 April, but both will have to fit it in around demanding schedules.
Rebecca also has work in Glasgow city center at a one-night group show called Gwenan International, where she will be showing with other female artists from Wales.
In London, Iwan has a group show, and is launching a new magazine, neru phuyt. It will operate biannually and use contributions from artists and writers to establish connections between ancient and contemporary modes of behavior.
They also have to work round the demands of four-month-old, Cadi, and her brother Noah, aged six.
April’s two-week Anglesey event will showcase the work of 60 painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers, installation artists and craft-workers along with five galleries.
Last year it attracted over 13,000 visitors and organiser Mike Gould said: “You have the chance to meet and talk with the artist, often over a cup of tea, and gain a unique glimpse of the artistic process.
“We have free guided bus tours and this year we are also offering two free nature walks with a guide linking some studios. We usually run on a shoe-string and struggle to raise funds to run the event, so this year we are extremely grateful to our funders”
Anglesey Arts Weeks have received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The Arts Council of Wales, Anglesey County Council and Cadwyn Clwyd have also provided support.
Iwan and Rebecca are getting ready for what has become one of the largest events on the Welsh cultural calendar.
“I don’t think of it as a career but more as an existential pilgrimage”, said Iwan.
Their studio is being created in the disused garage, which was once horse stables, next to the house at Cil Ynys, in Longford Road.
Rebecca’s unique sculpture, video and installation work has been exhibited at galleries across the UK, and also in Europe.
Commissioned by Locws International to take part in an exhibition at Swansea’s Norwegian Church gallery, she put together a video film portraying herself as a Helen of Troy-style figure, jetting out of Swansea on a speed boat to the accompaniment of Bonnie Tyler’s pop anthem ‘Holding out for a Hero’. The film was presented in the belly of her Trojan horse sculpture.
The artist enjoys injecting humour and a little quirkiness in her work and one of her most recent pieces was commissioned for the Box of Delights exhibition, supported by The Arts Council of Wales as part of last year’s Conwy Feast festival.
She graduated in Sculpture from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and in 2005 completed a masters degree at St Martin‘s College, London
“I love London and miss it immensely but it just made more sense with two young children to come home; to be close to nature, the sea and the woods.”
Iwan grew up in North Wales on his parent’s smallholding near Caernarfon, though he says he knew from an early age he wanted to follow a creative path.
“I don’t really know where my interest in art came from; I guess I was curious as a child. I loved spending my childhood exploring the river on my parent’s farm.
I started off drawing as a kid, studied at college and my work has just evolved over the years. Life without art would be pretty dismal,” said Iwan who graduated from London’s prestigious Royal College of Art in 2011.
In 2012 he was awarded the Painting prize at the Welsh Artist of the Year and in 2006 he was awarded runner up at The National Eisteddfod.
He said with the move back to North Wales he hopes to take his work in a new direction and has stripped back his website to reflect that.
“All you’ll see on it at the moment is a picture of a fish tank,” he laughed. “That’s not because I don’t want people to see my past work or anything, I just need to de-clutter, start a new chapter to coincide with our move here.”
He’s looking forward to focusing on his own creative ideas and tackling new artistic challenges in the quieter surroundings of Anglesey.
He’s also pleased to be supporting the North Wales Open Studios Network, and is keen to tour other studios in the region as well as welcoming visitors to his and Rebecca’s new studio.
For more on Rebeccago to www.rebeccagould.co.uk and Iwan www.iwanlewis.com
For more on the Anglesey Arts Weeks go to www.angleseyartsforum.org and for Helfa Gelf or North Wales Open Studios Network go to www.helfagelf.co.uk and www.nwosn.org/
For more information on Cadwyn Clwyd projects ring 01824 705802 or e-mail [email protected]
