Celebrating Margaret Jones
A couple of weeks ago I drove west to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. I was there to celebrate the life and work of artist and illustrator Margaret Jones who is just short of her hundred and first birthday. The auditorium was full of fans and fellow creative there to honour her. All the pictures on this page are Margaret's.
The creation of Blodeuwedd
The birth of illustration
The event was led by storyteller artist and event organiser, Peter Stevenson. First off, he gave us an outline of Margaret’s life, including her time in India. A few years later, she and her family settled in Aberystwyth where she still lives. In the early twentieth century high quality colour printing was invented. This caused an explosion in illustration which inspired Margaret Jones’ work.
Arianrhod, Lleu and Gwydion
You can find out more about Peter’s presentation from this facebook post .
You can see examples of work by these, and other artists, on this Pinterst board.
Pictures in our heads
Illustrators have had a huge impact on how we see the world of the stories we read. The Dickensian London in my head is the one drawn by Hablot Knight Brown (aka Phiz). Norwegians tell me that the trolls of their imagination all look like they’ve been drawn by Erik Werenskiold or Theodor Kittelsen.
Margaret Jones has had an equally strong impact on those of us who tell stories from the Mabinogion. She has a knack of being able to combine the medieval and prehistoric layers and weave in the lives of the characters with the magic that surrounds them. The natural world that impinges on and influences the stories is present in almost all of her Mabinogion illustrations.
Margaret’s illustrations of the Mabinogion. The hunt of the Great Wild Boar is in the lower-right corner.
Although she had been honing her craft since childhood, she didn’t start illustrating professionally until she was in her sixties. I am a great believer in the slow creative burn. Some of my most satisfying projects have been years in the making. So, it is great to see an artist who waited for the right moment before letting her work flow out into the world.
Creative Community
Cai and Bedwyr riding on the Salmon’s back.
I have told stories from Mabinogion for many years. Now I am putting the biggest of the lot, Pig Boy, into a book. Whether spoken or written, Margaret’s images are always there in my imagination. Each picture informing the story that I am creating.
Click here for more blog posts about art, Pig Boy and much else besides...
As a writer I spend a lot of time on my own in front of my computer. It is good to celebrate the achievements of those who inspire us. It reminds us that we are not alone in our work. In the words of the Welsh poet, Waldo Williams, we are 'cadw tŷ mewn cwmwl tystion' - keeping house in a cloud of witnesses.