An Interview With Chris Keil - Author of 'Flirting At The Funeral

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AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS KEIL - AUTHOR OF FLIRTING AT THE FUNERAL

National Eisteddfod - Interview With Organiser of Maes Gwyrdd Nathan Williams

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AmeriCymru member Nathan Lewis Williams is a freelance musician, sound engineer and music promoter working mostly in Glastonbury, England. He is a fluent Welsh speaker and was raised in Coedpoeth in North East Wales. He sings Welsh traditional music and translates Welsh poetry into English. This year he organised the first ever Green Field ( Maes Gwyrdd ) at the National Eisteddfod held on the Vale of Glamorgan between August 4th and 11th. AmeriCymru spoke to him about the event.

An Interview With Rickey Pittman - 'Bard of The South'

Rickey Pittman is an award-winning author, storyteller, songwriter, and folksinger, from Dallas, Texas. He is known as The Bard of The South AmeriCymru spoke to Rickey about his work and his Celtic and Southern background.

An Interview With Welsh Buddhist Publisher o-Dzin Tridral ( Aro Books Worldwide )

In this interview AmeriCymru talks to o-Dzin Tridral, founder and owner of Aro Books Worldwide, a Welsh printing press specializing in publishing works in the Aro Tradition of Nyingma Buddhism.

Aro Books Worldwide

Aro Books on the AmeriCymru Bookstore

An Interview With Welsh Author Evonne Wareham

AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh author Evonne Wareham about her work and future plans. Evonne is the winner of the Joan Hessayan New Writers' Award 2012 for her novel Never Coming Home

Evonne's Website

Evonne on Wednesday ( Blog )

Choc-Lit UK ( Publishers Website )

An Interview With Jean Mead, Author of 'The Widow Makers' - Americymru

Jean Mead

"It is always a pleasure to introduce a first rate historical fiction writer on the site. All the more so if her work happens to be set in Wales. In this interview AmeriCymru spoke to Jean Mead author of The Widow Makers , Strife - The Widow Makers and Freya 800AD about her work, future plans and passion for sailing. Be sure to check out Jean's website for details of her past publications and future speaking engagements.

Jean has also contributed an original short story for publication on the site. Joe Standish - Boyhood 1823 is a prequel to 'The Widow Makers' and revolves around incidents from the boyhood of one of its main characters."

Blond-E - Atomic! Wales and The Uk's Top Blondie Tribute Band

AmeriCymru spoke to Diana Watts of Blond-E, South Wales and the UK's top Blondie tribute band. Find out more about the band on their website HERE

AmeriCymru: Hi Diana and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Care to tell us a little about your musical background?

Diana Watts

Diana Watts:  I started singing in clubs since I was 13. I've been a member of various bands around the Cardiff area but only willing to admit to 3, Catch 22, The phantoms and ‘so what’ with whom I was lucky enough to play in the Hippodrome Leicester square, and Hammersmith Palais. 

I was the 1986 international ‘Voiceover’ Champion, and the Wales and the West 1991 Karaoke Champion and have been singing on and off ever since.

AmeriCymru: How did the band come to be formed. Who was the driving force behind Blond-E?

Diana Watts: A few years ago a good friend was remixing some Blondie tracks and as he thought I sounded like her asked me to overlay some vocal tracks. He has since passed away but the idea of Blondie stuck in my mind. I asked a few friends if they were interested in forming a tribute band and was overwhelmed by their response. At the same time our guitarists were also thinking of forming a Blondie tribute band and the rest as they say is history.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the other band members. How did you all meet?

Diana Watts: To be honest some of us have known each other for years but we didn't keep in touch. It was Facebook that brought us all together.

Wayne our guitarist was in a band with our bassist Marc. Our other guitarist Ade met up again with them after having played in a band with him when they were both teenagers and brought in drummer Ian who he'd played in a punk covers band in the 1980s and finally I forced Dom out of retirement - Dom was the cute older brother of my friend when we were very young but he would never speak to me. Ade and I were born on the same day of the same year and I feel that this was 'Destiny, I don't know yet'.

A clip of Rapture performed by Blond-e using old stills

AmeriCymru: I guess everyone who remembers that era has a favorite Blondie track ( mine is 'Atomic' ), what would be yours?

Diana Watts: I really like X-Offender as to me it represents what New York New wave was all about back in the day. It may be kitsch, it may be tacky but it sums up the the 1980's and is a cursory nod to the throw-away pop culture of the time.

AmeriCymru: What has been your proudest moment/favorite gig with Blond-E so far?

Diana Watts: Our first gig was in Abergavenny, we had only been together for a short while and when we arrived we found a full stage and lighting rig. I think we got away with it. We did a gig on New Year's day in Mountain Ash and we rammed the place. I have to say that every gig we do just seems to get better and better and it is really down to our hard-core group of fans that makes it for us.

AmeriCymru: Does the band have any plans to perform or record original material or is strictly a Blondie tribute band?

Diana Watts: We also perform material that has been covered by Blondie such as Get in On by Mark Bolan and we also include a few other numbers that we all like in the set. We are all also actively engaged in other bands and projects

AmeriCymru: Any live gigs in the near future?

Diana Watts: Yes, our calendar for 2012 is filling up nicely - for details of all our upcoming gigs see our website at http://www.blond-e.com

AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to hear and/or purchase your music?

Diana Watts: We have some short clips available on our site and are about to go into studio to record a few more.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Diana Watts and Blond-E?

Diana Watts: We have been asked to do a few of the bigger festivals this summer and we are also looking to record some of Blondie's back catalogue in Welsh for our Welsh speaking audience. I'm currently trying to perfect my Welsh with a New York accent - listening to John Cale has helped!

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

Diana Watts: Yes, we hope to be out on the West Coast some time later this year. Please check out our website and join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blond-E/

A snippet  recorded live at rehearsals. No overdubs or edits – This is Blond-E's live sound.

One way or another by natal102

Interview by Ceri Shaw Home Email

Interview With Welsh Photographer Graham Williams

AmeriCymru spoke to Graham Williams a  Welsh photographer based in Bangor, Gwynedd. Graham's ambition is to photograph the world starting with his own small part of it in North Wales.

AmeriCymru: Hi Graham and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. What sparked your interest in/and passion for photography?
 

Graham: Thanks for asking Ceri. To be honest it was actually quite an unrelated (perhaps superficial) aspect that attracted me to photography. It was the sheer sense of precision and weight of a Canon AV1 that my Dad bought in the 1980s.

This fascination then evolved over the years as a consequence of the places that I travelled to; whether that be on package holidays to Spain, R&R with the Royal Navy, cruise ships in the Caribbean, or an eco resort in Byron Bay in Australia. The one feature these experiences have in common is that I was unable to properly capture the sights, which is a real shame, as I remember when I was 8 plotting my travels of the world on the Reader's Digest World Atlas and planning at that time of writing 'my book of the world'. I can recall wind-swept tropical beaches in Ghana, feluccas sailing on the Nile at Aswan, and the sun setting at Venice- I haven't got a single photograph of these scenes! There's only one thing for it: go back with a camera. I also vividly recall the evening light in the Sahara desert as the red sand melded in with the red sky, simply amazing. The problem was that I was doing the Marathon des Sables at the time, which meant that there was absolutely no chance of taking a 3Kg camera around; I had even sawn my toothbrush in half to save weight. Again though, I definitely want to return to photograph the desert because it has such simple lines in the sand created by the wind, together with vibrant primary colours.

What really inspired me was the work of some Western Australian photographers. They managed to capture the colours and movement of the sea in an almost dream-like way. I then decided that I too would try my hand at it and I have the benefit of living in an area where there is so much more diversity of subject matter.

AmeriCymru: What are the main criteria that influence your choice of shots? What are your favourite photographic subjects?

Graham:  The main criteria are that the image should invite the viewer to 'want to be there' and that it is aspirational. I find that strong composition and simplicity go a long way to achieving this. I don't have a favourite subject as such but I have found that on reflection water plays a major part in the pictures that I chose to show. This may take the form of lakes, seascapes, rivers, waterfalls, or snow. What I'm really looking for in the ideal photograph is a nice strong curving form that draws you in. Curves can be found by watching the movement of things; swaying grass, or the way water moves across rocks for example.

Slipping Away

AmeriCymru: What are the main advantages for a photographer in being based in North Wales?

Graham: The eye-opening experience brought about by foreign travel has enabled me to see North Wales in a different light. In the Whitsunday Islands I jokingly remarked to someone that it was just like the Mawddach Estuary in Barmouth. Now OK I was definitely joking but there was a grain of truth running through that comment and it only really occurred to me some weeks later. On reflection, the couple from Manchester that I made the remark to knew exactly what I was talking about and the irony was that we had flown 10,000 miles and found a common thread, namely sand, turquoise water, and mountains.

I can get in the car and within half an hour be on a beach, in an forest, by a river, in woodland, beside a lake, in the mountains, among sand dunes, or on a rocky cliff. The only thing I can't arrange is 28 degrees C with the occasional cloud for artistic effect!

Mawddach

Whitsunday

AmeriCymru: Can you elaborate on your connection with Australia?

Graham:  I was born in North Wales and in 1973 we emigrated as £10 poms to Adelaide in South Australia. I started at the infants school there and started to speak 'Australian'. After a few years we returned to live in North Wales and then 32 years later, I returned there with my wife as we were considering emigrating and even visited my old house - a weird experience! Since then we have returned on four other occasions taking in places like Sydney, Hunter Valley, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Albany, Perth, Shark Bay, Margaret River, Whitsundays, the Daintree, and the Great Barrier Reef. Despite the horrendous exchange rate for us Poms (it gets worse on every visit), it's still definitely worth going there! Interestingly, most of the time photography is best done early or later in the day as this gives greater colour and shape. However, it can often be the case in Australia that 12 noon with a polarising filter is the best time, particularly in the northern parts. This is because a polarising filter will work in almost any direction that you chose to look when the sun is directly overhead.

Polarising Filter

AmeriCymru:  OK...the technical stuff. What is your favourite photographic equipment? What cameras do you use and why?

Graham:  In 1989 I worked in a camera shop in Cardiff and traded in my Nikon F401 for an F801 and thus began my brand alligience to Nikon. You tend to find this; once you become involved in one particular stable it becomes difficult to move away because you buy all sorts of extra pieces of kit that will only work with your brand. At that time I firmly believed that Nikon had the edge in terms of build quality. Due to the recession in 1990 I had to sell all my photography gear and it wasn't until 2010 that I reinvested in equipment and I suppose it was because of habit and the comfort factor that I bought back into Nikon once again. I bought a Nikon D5000. Some eight months later, as I result of people's comments, it became apparent that there was the potential to take things to a new level and so I took the plunge and went for an upgrade: a Nikon D3s. What I have found is that it is not the number of pixels that a camera has, it is how unique each pixel is able to be and this is very apparent with the new kit.

With regard to the 'digital dark room', I use a 27" iMac and Photoshop CS5. The Mac is callibrated and is the finest display I've seen so far. Whenever I send images for printing I use the printing company's ICC files and preview the image and adjust accordingly to ensure that the print is what I intended.

AmeriCymru:  How important a role do photographers play in creating and representing Wales image abroad?

Graham:  Things have now evolved to the stage where I believe the Internet can hold the key to the success of any business or even country; just look at what's happening in the middle east today. People read the internet differently from printed media; it takes them 25% longer to read it. They read out of sequence, they scan for hooks, headlines, and hyperlinks. The internet is a visual experience and it is therefore entirely logical that the value of a photographer has never been greater. When we speak of an image we can actually talk of two things; firstly there is the image in the traditional sense of a photograph, secondly there is the mental after-taste left in the viewers mind. The latter will have an effect on all manner of things from trade to culture to art. I believe the photographers' role has never been more important in this internet age- many people will know of Wales what we choose to show them. 2012 is going to be financially challenging for us all, so let's see if we can attract some of the Olympic visitors to Wales!

First Snow

Pensarn Turbines

Red Wharf Bay Morning

AmeriCymru:  Any major events coming up?

Graham:  I am really pleased to say that I've been invited to exhibit at Venue Cymru in Llandudno in 2013 Exhibition at Venue Cymru. I will be exhibiting between 1 May and 31 August. I am fortunate that photography is a passion, not a mortgage-paying enterprise and so we can develop things without worrying about sales figures or giving up the day jobs. This is great as the plan is just to get known currently.

AmeriCymru: Where can people go to view and purchase your work?

Graham:  Online at www.ImagesByGrahamWilliams.com We're also aware that many people want to see a printed image before buying, so we have also made a selection available at Electric Mountain visitor centre in Llanberis, North Wales. Hopefully, other outlets will follow later this year.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Graham Williams?

Graham:  I am really enjoying the photography and I'm learning all the time. We will be doing some more foreign travelling in 2012 although we haven't decided on where yet, somewhere in Europe and maybe the Canyonlands area, USA? In April 2013 we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary so want to do something extra special. And then of course, there's the Venue Cymru Exhibition!

I intend to do everything I can to continue to promote North Wales positively. It really is a beautiful and diverse area which is often overlooked by Welsh, British and foreign travellers.

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

Graham:  Continue to promote AmeriCymru to all your friends and family and participate openly and respectfully on the site.Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!

Find more photos like this on Americymru

Interview by Ceri Shaw Google+ Email

Welsh Double Agent Arthur Owens - An Interview With Madoc Roberts, Author of 'Snow'

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Welsh Double Agent Arthur Owens - An Interview With Madoc Roberts, Author of 'Snow'

Video Interview with Lovespoon Carvers Laura Gorun and Chris Watkins

We were lucky enough to get a few minutes at this year's NAFOW with lovespoon carvers Laura Gorun and Chris Watkins, two carvers from Ohio with very different styles but both doing fantastic work:

An Interview With Chris Chandler - "America's Best Kept Secret" On Stage at the West Coast Eisteddfod

Chris Chandler with Paul Benoit

AmeriCymru: Hi Chris and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. How would you describe your stage performance for our readers?

Chris: Describing my stage show would be like describing an opera by reciting the plot.

When I am on the road I find myself performing in a number of different venues. Seedy Bars, Union Rallies, Political Protests, Public Libraries, people's living rooms and (a first for me) in a fancy theatre competing in a Welsh Eisteddfod.

So, with all of these different types of venues I would say my performance is well… a gas… meaning it fits the shape of its container.

In a perfect world, I have a full band and a video projector (I am also a film maker, as well as songwriter)

My stories interact with both the band and the video – and of course the audience.

I think of it as collage. When it is done right the elements of the collage will break the plane of each other – till one definitive picture emerges. The seams are blurred, masked till the National Geographic aboriginal is seated on top of a Budweiser ad from Sports Illustrated at The Caernarfon Castle reading The Saturday Evening Post.

AmeriCymru: Your debut in show biz was working with the Georgia Satellites. How did that come about and what was your experience with them?


Chris: I wouldn't say I made my debut with the Satellites but they did on occasion bring me up on stage. Ya see I grew up in Georgia (USA) when I was OH, 13 or so I had a desire to hang out with the bands that practiced in the various garages in my neighborhood.

Well, up the street there was this one band – ya know a garage band – average age of about 16. They were called Pythagoras – it was the 70s and the sort of philosophical concept rock was popular amongst adolescents who had never read a book and the closest thing to a literary reference they could make was J R R Tolken. And I wanna take this opportunity to apologize to each and every one of you for my entire generation for being the ones that brought you STYX, REO Speedwagon, and Journey.

Now ya gotta keep in mind here that the difference between a thirteen year old and a 16 year old is great– so I as a skinny, hyperactive 13 year old had to have a reason to hang out in the basement with Pythagoras – or as we said in Stone Mtn – Pie –thug -orus.

Well, it was around Christmas – and me in my juvenile delinquent wisdom devised a plan – I would become the light man – and I went through the suburbs and stole all the Christmas lights in three upscale subdivisions. – I was sort of a blonde haired juvenile delinquent grinch – stealing Christmas for so that rock and roll would live forever – at least in the basements of Stone Mtn Ga. Ya see – I proceeded to take those Christmas lights into my high school shop class and built a light show. Soon every garage band in Redan High School could not consider throwing a keg party with out first contacting the light man.

As it turned out fate would soon become destiny and the bass player for one of the bands I worked with had an older brother in a bonafied bar band called – the Weasels – so at the age of fifteen I made my first fake ID and got a job with the Weasels. They played every Wednesday at a bar called Hedgen's– and I found myself hanging out there on other nights.

One Monday Night in December we were sitting around watching Monday night football when Howard Cossell comes on and announces to the world that John Lennon had been killed.

A couple of folks picked up some instruments and began playing. They vowed to play every Monday night at Hedgens It turned out to be Keith Christopher, Rick Richards Dan Baird and David Micelson. What would soon to be known as the Georgia Satellites formed that night. Soon Monday Night at Hedgen's was the thing to do. It was packed. I mean packed. The bars don’t close till 4 AM in Atlanta and they often locked the door after that. I typically left the bar in time to get to my high-school home room class.

Granted I was a kid – which in and of itself had a certain charm to it. I fancied myself a poet – I remember meeting a guy named Phil Rockstroh there. He was the first professional writer I had ever met. I showed him my work and he wadded it up and threw it on the floor.

He told me to go home and write about what I knew.

Yes, step one is write what you know. Step two is know something.

Anyway, the Satellites – along with other local Atlanta bands did on occasion – bring the kid up to read a few poems. That is where I first started performing. But – the thing is – I had never seen anything else – I just assumed it was always like that.

Well now 30 some odd years later – and having played to my fare share of empty (and full) houses. I know all too well that that is not the case.

AmeriCymru: You work on stage with musical accompanist Paul Benoit. What brought you together?

Chris: I had first met Paul in my mid twenties. He is a virtuoso guitarist – world class slide and blues player. His band and mine were playing some of the same festivals.

Well, I have had the good fortune of working with a number of terrific players in my band: Anne Feeney, David Rovics, Samantha Parton (The Be Good Tanyas) to name a few.

When he heard I was looking for a new music partner he volunteered. We have worked together (though not exclusively) for about three years – he produced our first album together "So, Where Ya Headed?" and is now working on producing our second (Tentatively titled "Matadors")

Our styles mix well. He is a calming influence. His deep roots help ground my flighty rhetoric.

AmeriCymru: You have worked with some amazing performers in the past. Care to tell us about your association with one or two of them? Lets start with Utah Phillips.


Chris: I had met Bruce a few times at festivals and such over the years – I doubt he remembered me – but I was a big fan. I was still either volunteering at the festivals or maybe booked on one of the side stages. But I was lucky enough to have some of the main stage performers invite me up during their set to read a poem. People like the Austin Lounge Lizards, Catie Curtis, Trout Fishing in America, Martin Sexton, Peter Yarrow. This happened often enough that I managed to put out a CD with me reading poetry on top of a different act on every song. Folks like Dar Williams and Dan Bern. It's called "Collaborations." Utah came across my CD while he was doing his radio show "Loafers Glory." That was about the time I started working with Anne Feeney www.annefeeney.com – who Utah called "The Greatest labor singer in North America."" And he is right. It is true. He came out to a few of our shows and even had us open for him a few times. Brilliant man. His grasp on the complexity of the labor struggle – which when you boil it all down is the only struggle – and his ability to distill that complexity into its simplest terms – while making you laugh – is astounding,

"The long memory is the most radical idea in America."

AmeriCymru: Allen Ginsberg?


Chris: I was a Street musician in the mid – late eighties. I had been playing the subways in New York and Boston for a few years and was starting to develop a reputation for being both political and funny – which got me into a few clubs. One in particular – the Wetlands in New York City. I would come in on occasion as an opening act – do a few of my funny political protest songs and then pass the hat.

The booker at the club seemed to like me.

Shortly after Abby Hoffman died The Wetlands did a little tribute to him – and they had Allen Ginsberg, William Kuntsler, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Norman Mailer, and Barbara Erinreich and well… me.

They wanted to put a young person on the bill that Abby had influenced. So I got to be on stage in a sort of round robin with these seriously heavy hitters.

The place was packed, I was petrified. The thing about Wetlands is – it had a mural against the back wall that looked like more people. They put speakers out on the streets so the crowd that couldn’t get in could hear.

In true Abbie fashion – I told the crowd I lived in a car and was trying to make it to some political event or other (which was true) and I passed the hat to this very large crowd as I played a song called Watergate Generation which was about NOT being part of the 50s-60s radical levitate the Pentagon, poetry banned and going to the supreme court, representing the Chicago 6, Black Panther Party, American Indian Movement, New Journalism, Ms Magazine, Mother Jones, Village Voice, New Democratic Socialist movement .


Ginsberg laughed – thought it was a gutsy move – he said nice things about my work – I was well – he wrote the single greatest American poem of the 20th Century – needless to say – speechless.

A few years later we had managed to talk him into doing a few lines on my first CD (As Seen on No TV) but the scheduling didn’t work out. I am still sad by that.

AmeriCymru: Ani Di Franco?


Chris: I came across her first in the late 80s at an open mic in Boston. A place called The Naked City. She was traveling around in a car – playing the streets – same as me.

We exchanged Cassette tapes.

Our paths would continue to cross for the next few years - we wound up on the same song swap at a festival in Winnipeg. They always do that – out the weirdoes on the same stage together. That is the only time she and I ever collaborated. Years later, she produced a friend of mine's CD (a fellow Los Angelian ) Dan Bern.

She did a great job – but I was just hanging out – I did not really contribute anything creatively.

Dan did however wind up on this collaborations CD I made that I mentioned earlier.

Ani and I were both road rats at the same time – we were bound to cross paths and we did.

AmeriCymru: Who do you listen to for relaxation? Any recommendations?

Chris: The Cramps.

AmeriCymru: Who do you read or what are you reading currently?

Chris: I just finished Dylan's Chronicles and am in the middle of Alexander Corday's A Matter of Wales series.

AmeriCymru: We learn from your website that you have been described as 'America's Best Kept Secret' by someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Any clues? Any thoughts on that description?

Chris: Oh, I know why they want to remain anonymous. Kinda like Wikki Leaks.

AmeriCymru: Any plans to visit the UK?


Chris: Yes, soon I hope. Jen and I had a great trip there last fall. It was the first time I had been there since I was a teenager – when I went there playing Soccer on an all star team. I want to go back. I see Wales as the West Virginia of the UK. As a southerner – I think highly of West Virginia. She, like Wales has a rich history. Poor but cantankerous, rebellious, triumphant.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Chris Chandler?

Chris: Tomorrow afternoon I am going to see the Saints play here in Oakland. No, seriously… I am working on this new CD I mentioned with Paul Benoit www.paulbenoitmusic.com – I hope to have it out by Christmas. Jen and I hope to make it to the UK this year – I would love to do my show there – but I haven’t done it yet. I am crossing my fingers.

I am working on a few short films for David Rovics www.davvidrovics.com and Anne Feeney (two of the truly great protest singers of our time – if not all time).

I would like to pull off a one man lay for fringe festivals. – I have a raft of projects on my plate. I would love to clean that plate – clean enough so I don’t have to do dishes. I hate doing dishes.


Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

A Video Interview with Megan Morris at NAFOW 2011

The AmeriCymru interview with mezzo soprano Megan Morris at this year's North American Festival of Wales in Cleveland, Ohio:

Find out more about Megan or buy her music at http://meganmakesmusic.com/

An Interview With Jen Delyth - Welsh / Celtic Artist

 









Visit Jen Delyth's site here:- Jen Delyth Celtic Art Studio

"The magical weavings of Welsh Artist Jen Delyth are founded in a deep connection to her Celtic heritage. Her original iconographic designs express our mythic connection to the natural world, through original Celtic paintings and illustrations which explore the language of myth and symbol inspired by Celtic Folklore and the Spirit within Nature. Jen Delyth is well known for her original works, which inspire a fresh connection with the beauty and wisdom of the ancient tribes, whilst contributing to the living tradition by creating new archetypal images that resonate with us today....."  Read more here:- Jen Delyth Bio. Read our previous interview with Jen Delyth Here  

   

Jen Delyth       

www.celticartstudio.com

AmeriCymru: Hi Jen and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed . What is "Celtic art"? What makes something visibly "Celtic" to you?  
 

Jen: Hi Ceri, thanks for inviting me! What is Celtic art… An interesting question, and a bit of a puzzle like an intertwining spiraling knotwork design! My first response is that this is a living tradition that continues to evolve and change. .There are many contemporary artists who are inspired by the Celtic culture in their work, but I think we tend to relate to “Celtic art” in its more traditional forms, but it does not have to be restricted to that.Traditional Celtic Art has its roots stretching back into the ancient past, even before the people and culture we call “Celtic” (which means “Barbarian” in Greek by the way!) came to spread across northern Europe, to land in the modern Celtic countries that are home to many of us, and from where so many people came to live - here in North America and other places today.

Traditional Celtic art has a recognizable design lexicon of interlaced knotwork, spiral, keyknot and zoomorphic (animal design) patterning. However, we find similar patterns used in other cultures such as Islamic, Nordic, Asian, but Celtic art has its own distinctive style that is visually and intuitively apparent to those of us who have followed it.

The ancient Celts were strongly influenced by forms and techniques that they came in touch with from other cultures, however they developed their own inherent style, which is difficult to define, and continues to evolve. Celtic art tends to be strongly stylized, playful, fluid, mostly curves with few sharp lines, having an internal sense of rhythm and balance, without being always strictly geometric, and which integrates this design language to create dimension through a flattened non-realism form.

But it is the mythic quality that is most telling, the symbols woven through abstractions drawn from a culture of tribal people whose religion and lives were so closely connected with the spirits of nature; a warrior people who inscribed their weapons and horse tack with complex sometimes magical patterns; and later the monks who decorated their manuscripts with the complex intertwining designs, expressing their delight and respect for the natural world whilst illustrating the new Christian stories.

As a contemporary Celtic artist, I enjoy continuing to use the traditional design language, but as did the ancient artists, the challenge for some of us is to create new patterns and symbols, not only to repeat designs from antiquity... The core Celtic myths and symbols are inspiring and full of wisdom, and in my work, I focus on drawing out those archetypal symbols that express the beauty and wisdom of nature, through the characters that populate the organic and mythic world that resonate within the folk-soul of our culture. An Irish American artist friend Steve O’Loughlin, who is a founder member of our group “Contemporary American Celtic” (www.contemporaryamericanceltic.org) illustrates modern freeways, airplanes and contemporary subjects using the Celtic design language, and that is a wonderful example of this being a living tradition. Which is very inspiring.

AmeriCymru: Are there particular Celtic elements or styles that can be identified as coming from the areas that are today Scotland, Wales, Ireland, things that are particularly Scottish or particularly Welsh or particularly Irish?  
    

Jen: Yes there are, but such distinctions are often subtle. . The Scottish tradition integrates the Pictish style – which works alongside and through the Celtic, and the Welsh have some classical elements mixed in. In Ireland we think of the Book of Kells as the definitive Irish style, but that manuscript traveled between Ireland and Scotland, so again, the geography and cultures weave like.. well Celtic knots!. (Can’t answer this question well!)

AmeriCymru: Your work seems to create new familiar icons, it seems to be full of things that seem very familiar, as though they should have already long existed as part of a tradition - an example is your Celtic Tree of Life, people look at that and think that it mist be an ancient design when in fact you created it. Another would be your Morrigan Ravens - would you agree that your work has that effect and did you set out to do that or was it more a surprise that these pieces had that effect?  

       

Jen Delyth  'Celtic Tree of Life'

Jen: Thanks for asking.. It has been a total surprise, and I’m most proud of those designs that perhaps resonate to people as ancient motifs…I did not set out to confuse people into thinking they were from antiquity – and in fact that has made it a bit of a problem for me, as artists have to work extra hard these days with the proliferation of images on the internet without credit to the artist, to maintain copyright protection!

When I first started working with the folk art of my culture as a way to express essential archetypes and symbols in visual rather than verbal form, – it seemed natural for me to choose certain subjects – such as the “Tree of Life” – and create that motif in an essential, simple yet strong Celtic form. My departure from the tradition – and perhaps my contribution to it – is that symbols such as the Tree of Life, do not appear in Celtic works of antiquity as recognizable tree illustrations - it was probably thought by the Ancients to be sacrilegious to depict the works of Creation, which is partly why the Celts (and some other cultures) worked with two-dimensional stylized forms. The usual form of the Tree of Life as symbol appears as a pot with vines intertwining from its source. So it was natural for me to create a more coherent “Celtic Tree of Life” design, in a traditional style, as there wasn’t one available at the time!

I have noticed that my Celtic Tree of Life – made in 1989, has perhaps inspired many other interpretations – but that could have happened anyway. I’m honored that it has become so popular – another example that this is a living tradition in that it continues to evolve, with new designs added to the language lexicon.

The meaning within the Celtic Tree of Life as symbol is that life is interconnected - all life, within and without – this is a core Celtic belief.. They did not use a tree as a symbol to depict this important philosophy. Today it intuitively makes sense to us to do so. The interconnection of all life is understood today by physicists, as well as poets and spiritual folks. The design speaks on multiple levels – something that was clear to me at the time I was articulating it.

The design “with roots growing deep into the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens” created itself really, without having to say it with words.. which is the true value of symbols, when they work.

A friend of mine, Pat Fish once told me, that like folk songs, my Celtic Tree of Life design had become a folk motif, which is very lovely in a way. Although as an artist who makes my living from this work, I have the unenviable job to remind people, that it is not actually an ancient design, and they need to credit all artist’s and musician’s work as its important to maintain copyright protection. I do hate to disappoint people though, and feel like maybe it could spoil their relationship to the image for them, once they know it is not actually an ancient design! So its interesting quandary for me.

Jen Delyth  'Ravens Morrigan'

The archetype of the Morrigan in triple raven form is inspired from Celtic mythology, and although many triple forms of birds and creatures can be found in the works of antiquity, I never discovered any triple Ravens depicted – and I love those noisy powerful black birds that I see in my walks along the beach – so it was natural to decide to create them using the traditional style as best I could. The Triple Morrigan is a Celtic Goddess of death and rebirth, who always appears in triple form in the stories and folklore. My Ravens circle the spiraling Triskele form, which relates to the Triple Goddess as its become known, some forms as old as the triple spirals on New Grange Megalithic Passage tomb 3000 BC – the spirals probably representing the (female) triple cycle of life and death (maiden, mother and crone). So using the ancient design language in a conscious way, the symbol perhaps speaks to people on an intuitive level - and that gives me great pleasure to work out in visual form!

AmeriCymru: You've been in the San Francisco Bay area for some years now, how has your work been received by American audiences? What effect do you observe it's had on people?   

Jen: The Bay Area resonates for me with its coastal beauty, foggy misty climate, and nature easily accessed from a wonderfully creative urban area. I grew up in South Wales, where industry surrounded by coastal and mountainous wild beauty were the landscape which informed me, and it feels natural to live here. I have indeed been here a while now. Since 1985.- my branches have crossed the water – and like the Tree of Life the branches have become roots – roots in this new country. I became a dual citizen a few years ago, so now I am proud to be a Welsh American! As some of my ancestors did who moved to Pennsylvania for work at the turn of the century. Although that is not why I came!

I am still very close to my family back home, living in south and north Wales, and other places too, and keep in close touch, and visit often. . Last year was an especially wonderful visit, with my fiancé Chris Chandler, introducing him to my family and old friends. We made some wonderful trips to my favorite stone circles together, (Pentre Ivan, and Castlerigg in Cumbria) and I revisited Saint Fagans Museum near to where my mother grew up in Cardiff– which is a special outdoor exhibition and collection of actual buildings - houses, barns, chapels from many eras of Welsh history, brought stone by stone and reconstructed with full contents accurate to the period they represent.

We also visited my favorite castle (a real Welsh castle – not one built by invaders!). Perched high on a wind swept craggy hilltop with a beautiful view of a most Welsh green valley, Carreg Cennen has an underground tunnel down to a damp prehistoric cave.

My parents still live in an old village Llangennith in the Gower Penninsula of South Wales, in a cottage dating back to the 13th century, when it was used for milling flour. A well known local folk singer Phil Tanner used to live there... My father Fred recently wrote a wonderful children’s book based around their life with their dogs in the Old Mill Cottage, which I designed and illustrated for him. Its our first title in my new company Ninth Wave Publishing (www.ninthwavepublishing.com).

Hiraeth – longing for ones’ homeland – will never go away – but I have been very fortunate to find such a supportive audience in this country – where I think my work has been particularly appreciated, as we take much of our cultural heritage for granted growing up surrounded by it!

I can’t answer to the effect my work has had on people, except to be grateful for many wonderful letters people send me, sharing their appreciation and support. I think that in the looking back from a distance to my own roots – as many people do who are born of immigrants here – has effected me strongly, and made me more appreciative of richness of the culture I left behind. I’m lucky to have an interesting life, and to be supported and creatively employed!

AmeriCymru: Your work will be the cover of the Welsh Mythology and Legend Art Show book that A Raven Above Press is creating for this year's West Coast Eisteddfod, can you tell us how that came about?  
   

Jen: Thanks to the generosity of Lorin, whose wonderful poem has been illustrated by some excellent and truly contemporary artists inspired by the Welsh mythology theme of the poetry. I am taking this as an opportunity to stretch out a bit towards a more modern interpretation of what is “Celtic Art”, and create something with a more loose interpretation of the traditional design language, to illustrate the cover – which I feel would work best with the other contemporary artwork inside. The title is “A Welsh Alphabet”, and since Oghma is the Celtic God of Language and Knowledge, literature and eloquence - he seems like an appropriate subject! I should not talk about a painting whilst its in process, but I am looking forward to playing with a more open and modern style for the book – which brings back the question, what exactly is “Celtic Art”!

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us about the image that will be used for the book cover? What subject did you choose and how did you come to choose that? What medium or material was used to create it?   
     

Jen: Sorry, I think I just answered that question somewhat! I have been working with egg tempera for a few years now. Which is a lovely organic medium, that was used before oils were used for painting – mixing egg yolk with some water, and ground pigments – to make a luminous, organic and long lasting paint. I’m hoping that Oghma will emerge through the painting process, although probably not in the way I ever first expect! Oghma is depicted in mythology and some metal work images, with chains connecting his tongue to the ears of his followers, who are slaves to his eloquence! It is a startling image to draw from - however I am thinking of a more subtle visual interpretation, as I don’t want the bardic volume to be perceived as a modern primitive tattoo and piercing book! That is my point of inspiration though… we’ll see!

AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to view and purchase your work online?    
 

Jen: I have recently started a new business, after a new chapter has recently begun in my life - I am now engaged to a wonderful poet/spoken word performer, Chris Chandler (www.chrischandler.org), who continues the bardic tradition of his ancestors - who came here, some from Wales – long ago through Alabama and Tennessee, in a totally contemporary and American way. We have formed a new company “Ninth Wave Publishing” to publish our work in poetry, music and art together… I recently launched a new online website www.celticartstudio.com which also features my books, calendars, textiles and also limited edition Fine Art Prints and Canvas’ that I make in here in my studio.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Jen Delyth?  
     

Jen: Next is catching up on the last few years, and starting my new creative partnership here in Oakland where Chris and I moved recently. I grew up with poetry and spoken word, and some years ago made a Celtic mythology animation DVD - Beyond the Ninth Wave - combining Celtic artwork, video, animation, with Celtic poetry (including my mother reading some Welsh poetry!) and music. Since Chris also uses story-telling, poetry, music and video in his work, I’m looking forward to us working together more with the magic of multimedia – the new tools that would have boggled the minds of the old Celts – and stretching once again, what it means to be a Celtic Artist!

AmeriCymru: Any final message for our members and readers?  
   

Jen: Thanks to all who continue in the creative path, in whatever medium or style, as it is the music, poetry and art that keep our culture alive and thriving, connecting past, present and future. And most of all, thanks to everyone who supports us that are lucky enough to make our living this way. Diolch yn fawr! Hwyl! jen Delyth – August 16th 2011

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email