This is the last drawing I did of The Mari Lwyd, Y Fari Lwyd, at Gellionen Chapel last Sunday. Sitting in the pew during the visit from Mari Ystrad (the Mari Lwyd from Ystradgynlais) gave me the time and space to do more detailed drawings than I was able to do a couple of weeksContinue reading “Echo From The Past”
Tag Archives: midwinter
A Thin Veil
Drawing the Mari Ystrad at Gellionen Chapel yesterday was a much more peaceful experience than drawing the Mari Trecopwr around the pubs of North Gower a couple of weeks ago and I had the chance to take my time, observe and record at leisure. I finally drew the full figure – the Mari’s skull atopContinue reading “A Thin Veil”
Singing In The Chapel!!!!
Anyone who knows Husb and me knows that we’re a pair of unrepentant godless heathen. And would be very surprised that we went to chapel today! A gorgeous Unitarian chapel up on Gellionen Mountain, completely deserted and shrouded in this morning’s thick fog. The lovely wood-lined interior was decorated with holly and ivy and thereContinue reading “Singing In The Chapel!!!!”
Experimenting With The Mari
I carried on experimenting with my Mari Lwyd sketch in monotype, getting used to working the ink and how much to leave on the plate to get the best result in the print. This is the one I like best, the density of the black is good, there is plenty of definition on theContinue reading “Experimenting With The Mari”
Pasted Tissue
Chine Collé is a technique that applies a fine paper, such as tissue, between the ink and the paper on a print so that when the whole lot is put through a printing press, the chine collé sticks to the main sheet of paper, adding colour to the overall piece. The pieces of chine colléContinue reading “Pasted Tissue”
Menace And Monotype
I’ve been working away at Swansea Print Workshop since I finished two evenings of sketching with the Coppertown Mari Lwyd last week. I decided to develop my drawings into print and chose a fairly simple reduction monotype technique, with chine collé, as my starting point. This is the first. There is usually a period ofContinue reading “Menace And Monotype”
The Mari And The Libbers
This is the last of my recent sketchbook drawings made over two evenings following the Mari Lwyd around pubs in North Gower. The last pub we went to (I won’t identify it) I hadn’t been into since way back in the 1970’s. It was one of the few pubs remaining in the area with aContinue reading “The Mari And The Libbers”
The Pagan Skull
Another of my Mari Lwyd drawings from last week. The Mary Lwyd (Y Fari Lwyd in Welsh) is an old midwinter tradition in Wales where for centuries a puppet made from a horse’s skull, decorated with ribbons and bells was accompanied around villages with singers and poets, knocking on doors of houses and pubs, engagingContinue reading “The Pagan Skull”
Midwinter Mare
For the second night, Husb and I went out with the Mari Lwyd, trawling around pubs on North Gower with the Gower Old Horse Wassail. Midwinter celebrations date from thousands of years ago and ones involving animal skulls are common across the world. Horses were particularly important to the British Celts, a symbol ofContinue reading “Midwinter Mare”
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year
The Mari Lwyd (the Grey Mare), is an ancient Welsh New Year’s tradition undergoing a revival. Husb and I have been out with our local Mari Lwyd, The Coppertown Mari, Mari Trecopr, for the past two nights as it, along with a band of merry singers, poets and mischief-makers, did a tour of some ofContinue reading “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year”
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