Chwedlau / Folk Tales

Straeon ac Arwyr Gwerin Cymru, Cyfrol 1, 2 & 3

(John Owen Huws, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1999-2001)

Folk Tales and Heroes of Wales, Vol. 1, 2 & 3

(John Owen Huws, trans.Sian Lewis, Llygad Gwalch Cyf, 2004-2011)

Barti Ddu

Lludd a Llefelys

Tair cyfrol o straeon gwerin Cymru,

36 llun mawr a 72 llun bach du&gwyn

Dyma oedd y llyfrau "go iawn" cyntaf i mi weithio arnynt ac o'r herwydd mi ro'n i'n odnadwy o nerfus yn mynd ati!

Mi ges andros o drafferth penderfynu ar arddull y gwaith, yn enwedig o gysidro y byddai angen cynnal yr arddull dros y dair cyfrol. Er fod y straeon wedi eu hadrodd mewn dull anffurfiol, wedi eu hanelu at blant tua 7-11 oed, roedd y wasg awydd cael darluniau mwy "clasurol" a fyddai'n apelio at blant ac oedolion fel ei gilydd.

Wedi wythnos hynod rwystredig o daflu darluniau gwael i'r bocs ail-gylchu mi es am drip i Lerpwl i weld arddangosfa o waith Aubery Beardsley yn y Walker Art Gallery, i godi fy nghalon ac i chwilio am ysbrydoliaeth. Diolch byth i mi fynd gan taw cynllun gan Beardsley ar gyfer blaenddalen llyfr, a welais yn yr arddangosfa yna, fu'n fan cychwyn i sefydlu arddull fy narluniau.

Er nad ydw i bellach yn gweithio yn yr un arddull dwi'n dal i fod yn hoff iawn o'r casgliad yma o waith.

Three volumes of Welsh Folk Tales,

36 large and 72 small black&white drawings.

This was my first "proper" book commission and I was very nervous!

The stories were written in an informal style, aimed at 7-11 year olds, but the publishers wanted illustrations that would appeal to both children and adults, and were keen on a celtic "vibe". Having been a bit of a celtic hippy in my early twenties I was happy with that.

Then came a week of throwing terrible drawings in the bin, struggling to establish a style that could sustain itself over the 3 volumes.

To escape feelings of self-loathing and potential failure I made a trip to Liverpool where the Walker Art Gallery was hosting an Aubrey Beardsley exhibition. Lucky me. There in a glass case was a frontspiece for a book which I copied in my notebook. That sketch of Beardsley's design then became the inspiration behind the style of my drawings.

Although I no longer work in this style I'm still very happy with this body of work. It's seems to have stood the test of time quite well, this not always being the case.

Jemeima Niclas

Cilmyn Droed-Ddu

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Mulun Y Ganolfan, Waunfawr

Tra wrthi'n gweithio ar y drydedd gyfrol o'r llyfrau uchod ces gynnig comisiwn i beintio murlun yn Y Ganolfan, Waunfawr, ger Caernarfon. Wrth fy mod yn y "grwf" chwedlau ac fod John Owen Huws ei hun yn frodor o'r Weun mi ysgrifennais ato i'w holi am chwedlau oedd yn benodol i'r pentref. Ei lythyr yn ol gyda'r straeon lleol hynny fu'n sail i'r gwaith wedyn.

Dehongliad tirlun "stylized" 360 gradd o'r olygfa o Waunfawr oedd ar bedair wal y stafell, gydag enwau holl dai Waunfawr wedi eu peintio ar hyd rhan isaf y wal. Wedyn dehongliad o chwedlau lleol y pentref ar y wal fawr bellaf, gyda'r cymeriadau yn rhan o'r tirlun o Foel Eilio a'r Mynydd Mawr.

Dyma'r gwaith mwyaf o ran ei faint i mi ymgymryd ag o. O be gofia i, roedd yn gyfnod blinedig tu hwnt gyda rhyw 10 diwrnod i gwblhau'r holl waith! Dwi'n cofio llusgo fy ngwr a'm brawd yng nghyfraith, oedd i fyny yn aros gyda ni ar ei wyliau, draw i helpu gyda'r peintio am rhyw ddeuddydd. Hefyd, ganwyd Meg fy nith gyntaf yn ystod y cyfnod, felly bu rhaid rhuthro draw i Wrecsam i'w gweld hi hefyd. Phewph!

(Ymddiheuriadau am safon erchyll y ffotogaffau / Appologies for the terribly bad photographs)

Mural, Y Ganolfan, Waunfawr

Whilst working on the final volume of the folk tales series I was offered a commission to paint a mural at Y Ganolfan in the village of Waunfawr, near Caernarfon. As I was in the folk tale groove I wrote to John Owen Huws enquiring about tales specific to the village itself, where I knew he was from. The stories he gave me then went on to become the starting point for the work.

The whole room was painted as a 360 degree stylized landscape - the view from Waunfawr in all directions, with the names of all the houses in the village painted along the bottom part of the walls. The main wall then had characters from local folk tales incorporated in to the landscape of Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr.

It was my largest scale and most exhausting project to date, with only about 10 days to complete all of the work. Thankfully my husband and brother-in-law came in as labourers for a couple of days and I also managed a 5 hour dash to Wrexham Maelor Hospital half way through, to meet my brand new first niece, Meg!