Rhiannon Evans Portreadau

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-In the early seventies, I wasn't a

-member of Adfer, nor was I a hippy.

-But I was determined to live,

-work and raise children...

-..in an area where Welsh

-was spoken as a first language.

-Before completing my Zoology PhD

-thesis at Cardiff University...

-..I married and moved to Tregaron.

-Tregaron was one of Wales'

-most Welsh areas.

-More than 90% of the population

-spoke Welsh.

-Looking back,

-it was a good decision.

-Welsh is still the natural language

-of every pub, shop and business.

-There's a nice sirloin

-in the fridge.

-Finding a job wasn't easy

-in the area.

-I'd have to make a living

-by my own devices.

-My Welsh husband

-moved here from London.

-He bought the 'Emporium', a former

-clothes shop on Tregaron square.

-We renovated the place, and opened

-a business selling Welsh crafts.

-I enjoyed travelling all over Wales

-visiting various craftsmen.

-I was looking for examples of work

-that was based on something Welsh.

-Something with a Welsh feel.

-I started asking hippies

-who had settled in Wales...

-..to read the Mabinogion

-and Welsh fables.

-This inspired them

-to create individual pieces.

-This drew a favourable reaction.

-Regarding the influx

-of newcomers to Cardiganshire...

-..I felt a sense of duty to convey

-some of our history to them.

-My father, Prof Jac L Williams, was

-from the Llanddewi Aberarth area.

-My grandparents

-farmed in the village.

-I loved being on the farm with the

-animals. I remember this clearly...

-..though I was only 3 when they sold

-Caebislan, and retired to Aberaeron.

-Llanddewi's landscape and houses

-haven't changed for centuries.

-The people and way of life haven't

-changed much, either, in my time.

-Llanddewi is a church and parish.

-There isn't a village.

-The church stands alone on top

-of a high hill looking out to sea...

-..high above Aberarth.

-It's a pre-Christian Celtic

-site of significance...

-..like many other ecclesiastical

-sites in Cardiganshire.

-Many of the gravestones

-attest to the maritime tradition...

-..of Cardiganshire coastal villages.

-My mother's background

-was totally different.

-Her family were from Caerphilly,

-and couldn't speak Welsh.

-The historical fortified town...

-..was built around the largest

-castle of the princes of the south.

-Grandfather was a cobbler,

-grandmother a dressmaker.

-Craftsmen, like me.

-I hardly recognise the place today.

-The language was lost

-in one generation.

-Today, Welsh schools

-are over-subscribed.

-A way of life

-has changed completely.

-My memories of black-faced miners

-walking home...

-..and women nursing babies in shawls

-seem silly and romantic now.

-The contrasting backgrounds

-gave me the best of both worlds.

-I was privileged to be brought up

-totally bilingual.

-I can't say Welsh or English

-is my second language.

-I've two first languages.

-It isn't just a matter of

-two languages though...

-..rather of two cultures.

-Two ways of thinking.

-My historical awareness

-came from two different directions.

-One had a literary,

-educational emphasis.

-The other was about belonging

-to a country and landscape.

-Both families,

-like other Welsh people...

-..put a great deal of emphasis

-on formal education to get on.

-Both my father and mother

-went to University.

-Dad and Granddad taught me the Welsh

-names of plants and wild animals.

-Mother introduced me

-to the English classics.

-When I was three, we moved

-from Caerphilly to Carmarthen...

-..my parents, me,

-and my little sister, Mair.

-My father

-was a lecturer at Trinity College.

-Our home was an old mansion

-which accommodated students.

-My parents were the wardens.

-When I was 9, Dad was appointed Prof

-of Education at UCW Aberystwyth.

-Discharging his duties with

-conviction and an individual mind...

-..from 1960

-until his untimely death in 1977.

-We moved to a big house

-in Llanbadarn Fawr.

-It's still my home,

-because my mother lives there.

-My father specialised

-in bilingualism.

-He studied Quebec's

-bilingual society.

-The name of the house

-was a bit of a joke initially.

-In fact, it was sheer coincidence.

-We didn't name the house!

-A study of

-Aber's

-bilingualism in

-the 60s would have been interesting.

-I attended the town's Welsh school

-for two years.

-That was quite an eye-opener for me.

-It was a shock to realise English

-was the language of the school yard.

-There was almost a racist prejudice

-against the Welsh language.

-Thankfully,

-things have changed today.

-The people of Aber

-are prouder of their Welshness.

-I was fortunate that my teacher was

-the Crowned Bard John Roderick Rees.

-He prepared us for the 11+

-as the exam used to be called.

-The standard was very high,

-higher than today's GCSE, I think.

-John Roderick Rees gave me an

-excellent linguistic foundation...

-..in both Welsh and English. I'm

-very grateful to him to this day.

-I moved to Secondary School - the

-same building as Penweddig today.

-Ardwyn, as it was known,

-was Aberystwyth's grammar school.

-Most of the lessons

-were through the medium of English.

-The school had mainly traditional

-English aspects...

-..though some subjects were taught

-in Welsh for the first two years.

-That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

-I was fortunate to be taught

-in an academic environment...

-..by intelligent, gifted teachers.

-This was perhaps the best time of

-my life. I was very happy in school.

-I enjoyed learning all sorts

-of subjects - two in particular.

-I was pulled in two directions,

-between Biology and Art.

-I had the privilege of having

-Hywel Harries as my art teacher.

-He was here for many years. His work

-can still be seen in the school.

-Having to choose between

-the two subjects was very hard.

-At that time, academics

-and teachers, and my parents...

-..thought art college

-was for stupid people.

-The emphasis was on academia.

-I ultimately chose science.

-I continued with my art

-through college years as a hobby.

-My Biology portfolio was more

-a work of art then a science paper!

-I studied Zoology and Bio-Chemistry

-at UCW Bangor.

-Bangor had one of the best Zoology

-departments throughout Britain.

-But I was disappointed.

-The narrow-minded scientists

-had personal agendas.

-They didn't want to know

-about the relevance of other fields.

-We weren't encouraged to think

-or to nurture new ideas.

-We regurgitated

-the lecturers' own ideas.

-Memorising Biological and

-Bio-Chemical terms was a challenge.

-Whilst I followed a science course,

-most of my friends studied Welsh.

-They introduced me to scholars like

-JG Jones and Bedwyr Lewis Jones.

-I started to take an interest in our

-early literature and folk tradition.

-I participated in the activities

-of the Welsh Language Society.

-I decided to stay in Wales, and

-live through the medium of Welsh.

-After graduating from Bangor...

-..I was invited to study

-for my PhD in Cardiff...

-..through the medium of Welsh.

-No-one else had written

-a Science PhD essay in Welsh.

-This ground-breaking opportunity was

-enough to persuade me to continue.

-But I was beginning to have second

-thoughts about a scientific career.

-By the time I'd finished

-three years of research...

-..I was fed up with science

-because of the need to specialise...

-..narrowing the field

-of study and information.

-My interest was in the wider,

-philosophical aspect of Biology.

-I found the necessity

-to specialise frustrating.

-But more than anything, I realised

-that a scientific career...

-..would mean laboratory work

-in a big city.

-That wasn't what I'd set my mind on.

-And anyway, for too long, my art

-had suffered because of science.

-Tregaron would change

-that completely.

-

-In the beginning,

-we sold Welsh crafts in Tregaron.

-Soon after opening, I came across

-an exhibition of Celtic treasures.

-Many of these superb works

-struck a chord in someone like me...

-..who had fallen in love

-with Welsh and Irish legends.

-I realised people who speak Celtic

-languages have a unique heritage...

-..and how much the rest

-of the British Isles has missed out.

-Creating within the Celtic tradition

-would be my life from now on.

-Metal was the obvious

-medium to choose.

-I hadn't been involved

-with metals previously.

-I learnt to work with silver

-and gold through reading books...

-..and studying experienced people at

-work. I also experimented on my own.

-I didn't have specialist

-equipment to start...

-..nothing but a saw and files, and

-my parents' Black and Decker drill.

-Owning my own shop allowed me

-to experiment with the market.

-Much to my surprise,

-most of my pieces sold well.

-Things developed with time. I

-didn't want to progress too rapidly.

-The market kept growing.

-I talked to a friend of mine,

-Professor Leopold Corr from Austria.

-Many Celtic discoveries were made

-in Austria at that time.

-He suggested I wrote to a highbrow

-Austrian and German catalogue.

-Leopold helped me

-with the German translation.

-Much to my astonishment, quite

-substantial orders began to arrive.

-To make each one by hand without the

-proper equipment was time-consuming.

-But the money was good, and I

-was paid promptly and regularly.

-It's true to say that the German

-catalogue established my business.

-The money was used to buy better

-equipment, and I could work quicker.

-But in reality, the way I make my

-artefacts and gems hasn't changed.

-I certainly won't ever

-mass-produce them factory-style.

-The pieces are all

-individual and unique.

-When most people

-consider Celtic art...

-..they think about

-intertwined patterns.

-Lines weaving through each other

-in complicated, decorative patterns.

-Birds are a common feature

-of Celtic art.

-Birds are a common feature in our

-mythology and oral traditions.

-The starling in Branwen's tale,

-Rhiannon's birds...

-..or birds used as love messengers

-in our songs.

-The dragon, as we know it today,

-doesn't feature in early Celtic art.

-The early dragon was more

-of a water serpent or beaver.

-A strange, other-wordly creature who

-lived in lakes, rivers and wells.

-Spiral patterns are a characteristic

-of early Celtic art.

-Especially the 'Trisgell',

-a spiral pattern of three.

-Three is central to the whole Celtic

-tradition, and is extremely complex.

-It has run through the tradition

-for 3,000 years and more.

-Because I'm known

-as a Welsh goldsmith...

-..there is popular demand,

-especially from overseas...

-..for Welsh symbols

-in gold and silver.

-I often create love spoons from

-gold and silver, rather than wood.

-I also make larger silver spoons -

-the National Eisteddfod series.

-I made my first

-for the Lampeter Eisteddfod.

-Appearing annually, they feature

-each Eisteddfod's logo.

-They've become collectors' items

-over the years.

-These are mainly for Welsh people.

-I never produce more then fifty

-a year, and each is numbered.

-They're quite rare, and will be

-worth keeping for the future.

-I've recently started working with

-bronze. It's a new departure for me.

-Bronze was

-the Celts' favourite metal.

-It was what they used most

-in their everyday work.

-I felt this was relevant

-to modern work.

-I wanted to make heavier and larger

-pieces than what I was used to.

-Of course, this is rather expensive

-if you're using solid silver.

-Bronze is much more suitable,

-and cheaper, for this purpose.

-I've been fortunate enough

-to have worked with Welsh gold.

-Welsh gold was mined

-in the 1980s.

-I was one of only three goldsmiths

-allowed access to it at that time.

-I was fortunate to live at a time

-when Welsh gold was mined.

-Welsh gold isn't on sale any more

-to people like me.

-It's not for selfish reasons I hope

-Welsh gold is mined once again.

-It's an important part

-of our heritage.

-The National Trust looks after

-Dolaucothi Gold mines today.

-The mine was worked

-until the late 1930s.

-But the history of Dolaucothi mines

-dates back nearly 3,000 years.

-The Romans arrived

-and began mining for gold.

-But experts have discovered signs of

-earlier mining by Bronze Age Celts.

-It's good that people can appreciate

-an important part of our history.

-But our gold industry shouldn't

-become a mere tourist attraction.

-Tourism is, and always will be, an

-important part of the Welsh economy.

-The popularity of Tregaron

-and mid-Wales with visitors...

-..has been beneficial

-to my business.

-But all businesses

-have to broaden their horizons.

-When I started selling to America,

-I had to correspond.

-This was a painfully slow process.

-The fax speeded up the process.

-Now, we have a full colour

-catalogue on the World Wide Web.

-This has transformed

-a niche market, like mine.

-The possibilities for the future

-are very exciting.

-Every artist is restricted,

-to a certain extent, by the market.

-To make a living, one has to create

-pieces that will sell.

-And since I run my own business,

-the problem is greater.

-It's difficult sometimes...

-..to know where to draw the line

-between what I'd like to create...

-..and what I know will sell -

-what my customers will like.

-I'm not prepared to compromise

-one way or the other.

-I would never make anything

-I thought was ugly and tasteless...

-..just because it would sell.

-But not all pieces are for sale.

-Individuals and establishments

-have commissioned me over the years.

-Pleasing the commissioner as well

-as myself is an enjoyable challenge.

-For the series of Welsh stamps...

-..the Post Office asked me to make

-the Prince of Wales feathers.

-I tried to make them look

-like real bird feathers.

-The Post Office, not me,

-chose the design. I chose the style.

-The brief asked for great detail,

-and the best possible craftsmanship.

-Throughout my youth, I attended the

-ancient church of Llanbadarn Fawr.

-Two remarkable

-holy stones can be found there.

-Such stones are dated according to

-the carvings upon them.

-Experts are convinced these belong

-to the early Christian Age.

-The shape of the stones

-are interesting.

-One is phallic, and masculine.

-The other is obviously feminine.

-Pagan and Christian traditions

-have a great deal in common...

-..more than we are willing

-to acknowledge today.

-I find a certain Celtic spirituality

-in places like Strata Florida Abbey.

-This fascinates and inspires me.

-I'm drawn to the bond

-between humanity and nature.

-The awareness that time,

-and the age of man...

-..is nothing

-but the passage of time.

-I know these are obscure things,

-impossible to put a finger on...

-..but this colours the way I think,

-and influences my work.

-No boundaries separate

-two worlds in Celtic tradition.

-There isn't a boundary

-between one art form and another.

-My work is a kind of visual poetry.

-A poet's work

-is full of poetic imagery.

-That makes sense in Welsh,

-doesn't it?

-In the same way,

-the past is a part of our present.

-If I succeed in conveying part

-of the richness of our tradition...

-..to other people, and to future

-generations, I'm happy in my work.

-S4C Subtitles by:

-GWEAD