An Interview With Jeff Phillips - Welsh Artist & Illustrator

Jeff Phillips is an accomplished portrait artist and illustrator based in Swansea, South Wales. He is a professional artist with over twenty five years experience and has built up an extensive portfolio of art work. On 23rd November 2001 he received a life long fellowship for his Millennium award winning project “The Wheel of Balance”, He subsequently lectured in Spain where he delivered a series of talks to the students at the Torrevieja institute and at local schools in the Alicante Province. Jeff has kindly donated a series of original artwork to AmeriCymru to help raise funds for the West Coast Eisteddfod in September 2011. AmeriCymru spoke to Jeff about his life and work:-

Jeff Phillips at work

AmeriCymru: Hi Jeff, many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. You are currently involved in a project to set up a new travel group using Welsh stars and Icons birth places as visiting sites. Care to tell us a little more about this idea?

Jeff: For quite a long time my business partner, Alan Maggs and myself have had an idea about setting up Welsh Iconic tours. In 2010 we built up good connections with well established travel promoters in the UK, through our involvement with the 'Dylan Thomas Experience', and now seems like it might be the right time set up such a venture. We have such a lot to offer visitors to our region and adding to it some of the great 'sons and daughters', of Wales, can only be good for raising the profile of Wales, home and abroad.

AmeriCymru: You have kindly offered to donate the original artwork from this project to AmeriCymru to raise money for the West Coast Eisteddfod. Can you tell us what the lucky winner will receive after adjudication in LA in September?

Jeff: Each winner will receive a signed original pencil drawing of a Welsh Icon, the drawings are on A4 art card and mounted to fit a 14ins x 11ins frame. With this I will include a printed copy of the stars biography and a certificate of authenticity.

See the Illustrations displayed individually on this page

AmeriCymru: You have also done some work for the Dylan Thomas Experince. Care to tell us more?

Jeff: The Dylan Thomas Experience consists of three partners, Alan Maggs, of Summerhome Tours, Mike Leahy, Business Sales & Marketing consultant and myself. We formed the partnership 12 months ago with the aim of attracting visitors to South Wales and can now offer really good holiday tours, tailored to the needs of small groups, families, school groups or large parties.

AmeriCymru: How many media do you work in? Do you have a particular media that you consider your favorite to work in? Why?

Jeff: I work in many different types of media depending on the required product. For most of my illustration work I use pencil, watercolour paints and inks, I often use acrylic on canvas for promotional displays and acrylic and masonry paint for wall murals, in my community work. However my environmental, exhibition work is usually in oils on canvas, as are most of the portraits that I paint.

AmeriCymru: What is your process? Do you start with a gesture or in pencil or draw in paint? Do you work from live models or photographs?

Jeff: Other than commissioned pieces, most of my work starts with the writing down of an idea on a theme, working out what is required in the way of research and trying to see the best way in which I can tell a story through my artwork. I use all sorts of information for a themed project, my own sketches, photo's, pre-designed imaginative scenes, sketched and painted backgrounds, and I use full colour or monochrome in the imagery of my work to get the best atmosphere required for each individual piece.

The Water Cycle	The Tree of Concern

AmeriCymru: How many hours a day do you spend creating?

Jeff: How long is a piece of string, unfortunately the light in Wales is not the best to work under and artificial lighting is a pain, but I do put in an incredible amount of hours during the summer and often start at 5.am to get the best out of early morning light. The other thing of coarse is if there are deadlines required, as it is with some of my illustration work, then I work until the tasks are complete.

AmeriCymru: Do you have a particular message in your work, an effect you want it to create in your audience or does this vary from piece to piece?

Jeff: As I mentioned earlier, I try and tell a story through my artwork and for many years most of my work was in creating paintings to raise awareness of environment issues aimed at primary school level. One of the biggest environmental, educational projects that I created was 'The Wheel of Balance', portable exhibition. It consisted of 2 x 8ft x4ft oil paintings on canvas and 12 painted triangular panels that open out like a Spanish fan and form an 8ft circle. For this project in 2002 I received a Millennium Award and a Life Long Fellowship from the Millennium Commission.

'The Wheel of Balance' ( click to enlarge )

AmeriCymru: Where can our readers find your work online ?

Jeff: Apart from the work that is on AmeriCymu you can see more of my work and read about the many projects that I am involved with on www.class-art-from-the-heart.co.uk and on www.artistjeff.co.uk and also on www.dylanthomasexperience.co.uk www.greenhousevisual.com

AmeriCymru: What's next for Jeff Phillips?

Jeff: I have some exciting projects on the go at the moment and one of them is 'Denzil the Dragonfly's Environmental Journey', an animated, educational DVD. Denzil, was originally designed and written by me for a children's book to raise awareness of environmental issues. However, I was introduced to a web designer and animator, Ben Hannibuss of Greenhouse Visual in March, last year and since then we have been working on the DVD of Denzil, in our spare time. We are hopping to have the pilot film ready for screening by the end of this school term and if it is successful there are other stories I have created that lend themselves to animation, they are 'Toby Toucans Jungle Jeopardy', and 'Bottle Nosed Bob's Bubbles & Troubles'.

'Denzil the Dragonfly' ( Click to enlarge )

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Jeff: Yes, I would just like to say how much I like being able to contact other talented people of Welsh descent, I recently introduced my daughter Donna, to AmericCymru, she is much better at this type of networking than I am. Donna acts as an agent for performing artists, singers, dancers, musicians and actors and since she came on to this site she has already built up good contacts from home and the US, this dose go to show how good a networking site this is.

It only leaves me to wish all staff and members on AmeriCymru a good and prosperous New Year and to say Diolch for now. Jeff

View more of Jeff's work on his AmeriCymru page here:- Jeff Phillips

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

An Interview With Rachel Trezise

Rachel Trezise studied at the University of Glamorgan in Wales and University of Limerick in Ireland. Her first novel, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl, released in 2002 received broad critical acclaim. In October 2006, Trezise won the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize for her book of short stories, Fresh Apples, describing life in the mining valleys in South Wales. In 2007, Parthian Books published Dial M for Merthyr, an account of her time spent on tour with Welsh rock band Midasuno. Her latest novel is 'Sixteen Shades of Crazy'. Americymru spoke to Rachel about her work and her current literary plans.

Americymru: Care to tell us a little about your latest book ‘Sixteen Shades of Crazy’?


Rachel: ‘Sixteen Shades of Crazy’ is a story about three women, Ellie, Siân and Rhiannon, girlfriends and wives of Welsh punk band The Boobs, whose lives are turned upside down by the unexpected arrival of Johnny, a handsome and mysterious Englishman, a rare occurrence in tiny close-knit Aberalaw where very few people leave and even people fewer arrive. I always intended this novel to be an antidote to How Green Was My Valley, about what happened after the mine shafts were filled and the chapels had been converted to nightclubs and Indian restaurants. In it I am writing about a unique environment, the south Wales valleys, which are neither urban nor rural but an intriguing and complicated fusion of both. Since industrialisation the area has suffered an identity crisis; it is predominantly English speaking, yet it is not English. I am fascinated by this paradox and Johnny represents England and the way some Welsh people regard it, at once despicable and exotic. Also it is my paean to the place where I grew up and still live.


Americymru: The book is dedicated to Gwyn Thomas who wrote extensively about life in the Rhondda Valleys in the 1930’s. Do you see any parallels between life in the valleys then and now?


Rachel: The Rhondda Valleys have changed in many ways over the years. Globalisation, technology and economics have had the same consequences in Welsh communities as they have all over the world. The valleys appear less close-knit and have in some ways become suburbs of the city of Cardiff. But one remaining facet is the poverty that the area continues to endure. In the 1930s there was work but it was dangerous and low paid. Now there’s a significant problem with unemployment. The people of the south Wales valleys are the perennial losers in the relentless march of capitalism, but hardship breeds creativity and gall. Gwyn Thomas said that watching real life in the Rhondda Valley was like watching some kind of tragic-comic theatre production and that’s still true. I never have to look far for a good story or character.


Americymru: Your first book ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ is largely autobiographical. How difficult was it to write?


Rachel: ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ wasn’t difficult to write at all. I’d had a hard time growing up with an alcoholic mother and an abusive step-father. By the time I came to write the book those experiences were burning up inside me, ready to be spewed out somehow. Anger can go one of two ways, inwards or outwards. Luckily mine came out in an artistic way rather than in violence or something negative like that. Writing it all down was quick and cathartic and I felt calm and renewed afterward. The result is really dark though. I have trouble reading that book now.


Americymru: Your first short story collection ‘Fresh Apples’ won the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006. How important a milestone was that in your literary career and do you have any plans for further anthologies?


Rachel: ‘Fresh Apples’ was a huge milestone in my writing career because it was my first work of fiction; because ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ was autobiographical I had no idea how to plan or embark on a fictional story. I didn’t really know what a full and rounded story was. I started three novels and gave up after the first chapter of each. Then I started getting commissions for short stories and started looking for story ideas. They were my fictional baby steps, my first attempts at playing with characters and voices and scenarios, so I was absolutely stunned when they won the Dylan Thomas Prize. I’ve been busy writing novels for the past five years but I’ve written a few short stories between drafts and I’m hoping to put a second collection together in the not too distant future.


Americymru: Your third book ‘Dial M for Merthyr’ which follows a Welsh band on tour was the inaugural winner of the Max Boyce Prize. How did you research the book and how important is music in your life?


Rachel: I researched ‘Dial M for Merthyr’ simply by going on tour with the band, a young unsigned rock band from Merthyr called Midasuno. Initially the book was going to be about the LostProphets. What I actually wanted to write about was their journey from obscurity in Pontypridd to becoming worldwide household names in a matter of a few months, and that’s the story that my publishing company commissioned. But we just couldn’t get the band on board. As it turned out Midasuno were candid and willing hosts. They let me follow them wherever they went and sleep on their tour bus. I think the book tells a universal truth about what it’s like for all young bands starting out. Music is hugely important, both for me generally, and for my work. Since I finished ‘Dial M for Merthyr,’ I haven’t been all that interested in live music or in rock music actually. You’re more likely to find me listening to Leonard Cohen or Regina Spektor on my ipod. I hope it’s a time issue rather than an age issue, and that the music bug comes back at some point.


Americymru: You have also written for theatre. (I Sing of A Maiden, Lemon Meringue Pie). Any plans for further theatrical works?


Rachel: I never planned to write for theatre when I started out; I came to it by accident. ‘I Sing of A Maiden,’ was a favour to a friend, the folk musician and writer Charlotte Greig. She asked me to write some monologues about teenage pregnancy to punctuate her songs on the same theme for a multi media theatre production, which I did. And from there a producer from Radio 4 asked me to write a radio play, ‘Lemon Meringue Pie’, which was broadcast in 2008. I’m hoping to begin writing my first full length theatre play, a valleys family saga, in January 2011. It’s a good way to keep writing about Wales while I move onto other areas in my fiction.


Americymru: What’s next for Rachel Trezise? Any plans to visit America?


Rachel: The novel I’m working on at the moment is set in America, in North Carolina and New York. It’s a love story about an unlikely couple, a Hasidic Jew from Williamsburg and a former prostitute from the South who becomes a madam in New York City. It sounds controversial at worst and kooky at best but it’s actually quite a tender tale about love being able to conquer the tribulations thrown up by dysfunctional upbringings. I’ve spent a bit of time in New York and was writer of residence at Texas University in 2007, so it hasn’t been too difficult to write a book set entirely in America at a desk in the Rhondda Valley. But there is a bit of research still left to do so I’m hoping to be back in New York for a few weeks in 2011.

Rachel Trezise on Amazon

In And Out of The Goldfidh Bowl by Rachel Trezise	Fresh Apples by Rachel Trezise	Dial M For Merthyr by Rachel Trezise

Stone Soup Theatre Seattle Presents 'A Child's Christmas In Wales' - Dylan Thomas

A Child’s Christmas in Wales – 2009 Adapted from the story by Dylan Thomas & Directed by Kalon Thibodeaux Dec. 4-24 Fri & Sat at 7:30 pm; Sun Matinee at 2:00pm Pay-What-You-Will Preview, Thurs, Dec. 3 Special Matinee Performances at 2:00pm on Dec. 23 and 24 ~Tickets are selling like hotcakes – be sure to phone in to reserve yours~ Call 206.633.1883 to make your reservation today! Stone Soup Theatre

Drinking for Wales! New Book Charts Antics of Legendary Welsh Tipplers

Wales is renowned for its sheep, male voice choirs and rugby players. In a new book published this week Aubrey Malone makes a case for the legendary status of Welsh drinkers. In the introduction to Welsh Drinkers he mentions the boozing antics of amongst others Rhys Ifans, Charlotte Church, Dai Llewellyn, Tommy Cooper and Hugh Griffiths, however the bulk of the book is dedicated to four world famous Welsh celebrities whose lives fell apart due to their addiction to alcohol.

Welsh Drinkers examines how Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, Rachel Roberts and Anthony Hopkins coped with celebrity as their lives became ruled by the demon drink, with Anthony Hopkins being the only one to recover. Author Aubrey Malone said,

“Their stories are presented neither to entertain or frighten; merely to state how it was for them on the greasy pole of celebrity before and after their lives become ruled by the substance they once imagined would save them from themselves.”

Aubrey Malone, a proud Irishman, sees many similarities between the Welsh and the Irish’s relationship with drink.

“I see a great affinity between Ireland and Wales in the sense of two small nations who were colonised by England and perhaps as a result of this developed a rebellious defiant streak, which led to colourful personalities who were sometimes unbalanced and sought either escapism through drink to make their poor circumstances bearable or dutch courage to try and do something about them. For every Dylan Thomas there's a Brendan Behan, for every Richard Burton a Richard Harris and for every Anthony Hopkins a Peter O'Toole.”

Welsh Drinkers (£4.94 / $7.50 approx ) is published by Y Lolfa and is available on www.ylolfa.com and in Welsh bookshops.

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? - A Summary

One of the Americymru Book Club's selections for November is "Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?" See the full list here. David Thomas has kindly pointed out that a summary of the main points in the book is available on the books website here:-

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?

This article, which is a fascinating read, originally appeared in the Western Mail. Buy the book here:-

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? - David Thomas

Press Release From Stone Soup Theatre - Seattle......“A Child's Christmas in Wales"

“A Child's Christmas in Wales"

Adapted from the story by Dylan Thomas

Directed by Kathleen Maki

One of the most enduring, yet often forgotten Christmas memoirs, Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” comes to life at Stone Soup Theatre. “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” recreates the nostalgic magic of Dylan Thomas’ childhood Christmas when everything was brighter, better and more alive. However, what Dylan comes to realize is that the experience of Christmas doesn’t change with time, but holds a place in our hearts that nothing else can fill. Performers include our youth conservatory students and professional adult actors. Come watch Dylan recreate Christmas at Stone Soup with live classic Welsh instrumentation and vocals that bring us right back in time

Fri & Sat 7:30 pm

Sat & Sun Matinees 3:30 pm.
Dec. 5-21 & 24, 2008
$14 single ticket
Group of 4 or more $12


Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800-838-3006 or Stone Soup Box Office (206) 633-1883. 4029 Stone Way N. Seattle WA 98103

Email: info@stonesouptheatre.com www.stonesouptheatre.com

Stone Soup Theatre is Seattle’s only one-act theatre plus company dedicated to the preservation of the one-act play. We present four professionally mounted productions per year, youth and adult training performance programs, and Seattle area drama-enrichment programs

Log on to our website:

www.stonesouptheatre.com Email us at: info@stonesouptheatre.com


Maureen Miko

Artistic Director

Stone Soup Theatre

206-633-1883


Upcoming Events:


After Magritte

&

The 15 Minute Hamlet

By Tom Stoppard

Oct. 29 – Nov. 23, 2008



A Child's Christmas in Wales

Adapted from the story

By Dylan Thomas

Dec. 5 – 21, & 24, 2008



Eleemosynary

By Lee Blessing

Feb. 18 – Mar. 14, 2009



Outside The Box

3rd Annual, Original One-Act

Playwrights Festival

May 21 – 31, 2009



Youth Conservatory Season 2008-9



Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare

March 20 – 29, 2009



The Swashbuckle Sisters (musical)

By Michelle Gillette

June 12 – 22, 2009

www.stonesouptheatre.com

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? is published by Seren on November 9 2008, the 55th anniversary of the death. £9.99, ISBN 978-1-85411-480-8. It is now available from local bookstores, internet book suppliers or direct from www.seren-books.com. It will be many months before it appears in the US and other countries, so the internet and the Seren website are your best bets.

From the Back Cover:-

Dylan Thomas went to New York in October 1953 to perform in Under Milk Wood. Three weeks later, he was dead. This fascinating book confronts painful facts about why he died.

Neglect was central to the death. John Brinnin, Dylan’s agent, had a playboy lifestyle to fund. Desperate for his fees, he turned a blind eye to the poet’s failing health.

Liz Reitell, Brinnin’s zealous deputy, also knew Dylan was ill but she worked him to collapse. Did she put her own career before his well-being? Brinnin’s intimate papers show how greed, ambition and sexual intrigue fed into a chain of events that sent Dylan to an early grave.

Dylan suffered from a treatable illness but his fashionable New York doctor ignored the warning signs. David Thomas examines hospital data and the post-mortem report – included in the book – and shows that medical negligence was a factor.

Fatal Neglect also investigates the conspiracy to protect those responsible. Friends and doctors took part in a cover-up, as did two of Dylan’s American biographers.

David Thomas’ previous books on Dylan Thomas have required us to rethink the poet’s life. Fatal Neglect is a fundamental reappraisal of his death.

David Thomas was brought up in Pontarddulais and Port Talbot. After Oxford and the LSE, he worked in London as a senior lecturer and chief executive. Since returning to Wales, he has written widely about Dylan Thomas, including The Dylan Thomas Murders, The Dylan Thomas Trail, Dylan Remembered and A Farm, Two Mansions and a Bungalow, now a major film, The Edge of Love, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Rhys.