Lost in the Wood

Gwen Owen painting in the Creu suntrap It's all change at Parc Glynllifon at the moment. Our shared Creu studio has seen been transformed by Gwen Owen's efforts to ready the workshop for the current exhibition (hopefully the start of an occasional series), 'Tranquility'. Now, 'Tranquility' is a concept I've rarely experienced and don't particularly expect or strive for. However, I'm glad it evidently exists and it certainly sounds like a desirable state. Chiefly, this bijou exhibition showcases the paintings of Gwen Owen and Barbara Larkin (most of the rest of the Creu collective are on the poster because Gwen is inclusive and kindhearted). I particularly like Gwen Owen's large square canvases with vibrant, almost abstracted, floral landscapes bursting with colour and texture. Based in her coastal studio, Barbara paints mostly in oils but also employs water colours and encaustics (hot wax) and she's a very warmly welcomed guest artis...

Needle Felted Bee Swarm Major excitement in the Lost in the Wood camp last week when my first proper exhibition piece was accepted in The Willow Gallery's 'Natural Selection' exhibition which opened on Saturday! There's some small changes and a few more bees have been added round the base but essentially it looks like this. Each bee was sculpted from merino tops fleece by hand using a barbed felting needle which is an enjoyable but fairly slow process, then they were layered up to create a busy swarm effect. I gave up trying to count the number of  bees that went into this piece. Trying to count them once I'd already fixed quite a few on was in hindsight a bit tricksy, it's over 100 at least. The dome is a piece of old lab equipment while the base is bespoke, made by a fantastic local wood artist John Roberts of Ogwen Art and Craft . In case you're wondering why the bees are unconventionally colourful, here's the artist statement that accompanies the...