Sian
Anwyl Williams
Being
away from my homeland creates an intense sense of 'hiraeth'. There
is no comparable word in English that describes this longing. This
longing has drawn me back to my roots which are buried deep in the
hills above the Conwy valley, North Wales, to my family's farm.
Inspired by these rich rural agricultural surroundings, through
my work I aspire to reconnect to my home and to familiarize others
with fading farming customs.
My
jewellery is inspired by the structure and surface of old iron fencing
that borders most of our fields. Bringing rusted iron parts from
the fencing with me and incorporating them with precious metals
reminds me of my farmstead and also challenges peoples perception
of what is precious.
Sheep
Ear Marking Spoon's
A traditional
farming custom that intrigued me was the sheep identification marking.
The tradition is most commonly used when sheep roam on 'common'
in the mountains and moorlands of North Wales. To identify the sheep
and their owners, every farm has a set of marks which are cut into
the left and right ear of the sheep. Robart Jones, the previous
owner of my family's farm, Moelogan, collected sheep ear markings
from all the local farms compiling them into a book, which he then
gave to my parents when they bought our farm from him. The book
which is old and torn contains accurate handwritten diagrams of
the ear markings along with the farms they belong to; these are
listed alphabetically under every village. Having this incredible
historic book was a privilege and it compelled me to restore the
memory of the custom and the story of the book, through my work.
Biographical Details