Intricate and colourful glass models of bird skulls have won the Gold Medal for Craft and Design for an artist from Denbighshire at the National Eisteddfod
Verity Pulford from Eryrys near Ruthin will receive the medal in a special ceremony on the first day of the Eisteddfod, which is being held this year in Wrexham.
She submitted two pieces of work for the selectors to consider for the Eisteddfod’s extensive art exhibition, Y Lle Celf.
Describing her work, she said, “I made the two pieces this year for Collect at Somerset House.
“The three bird skulls are made of layers of glass in different colours, with gold on the beaks. In 2023, I spent a month in Lybster in the north of Scotland on a residency at North Lands Glass, and that’s where my interest in shoreline discoveries began.
“I collected many natural objects from the beaches there, including a guillemot skull. By making a mould and then using lost wax casting, I can recreate the shape and textures of the original.
“I started using casting in my work after receiving a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) scholarship and studying the different techniques.
“The second piece, Dark Treasures, combines elements of pâte de verre glass and cast glass pieces, brought together to create imaginary organisms displayed as a collection.
“The colours used are reminiscent of Wunderkammer collections, using black and gold glass. I’ve also incorporated elements from old-fashioned microscope slides, claws, and crab shells.”
Verity added that her work is inspired by the structures and growth patterns in plants and other life forms, “Non-flowering plants like lichens, algae, ferns, and mosses, and also the magical world of fungi. I play with ideas of magical realism – creating my own forms inspired by or combining different plants and organisms.
“Mutualism, my most recent project funded by the Arts Council of Wales, gave me the opportunity to research marine invertebrates, and many of these are now a source of inspiration.
“I’m also interested in and influenced by the cataloguing of nature – natural history artefacts, early cyanotypes, x-rays, microscopic images, and botanical drawings.”
Verity has exhibited at Y Lle Celf twice before – in 2023 with In a World of Its Own, a group of glass mushrooms under a dome, and last year with a collection of work from the Mutualism project.
She added, “It’s a great honour to be awarded the Gold Medal for Craft and Design. I’ve been supported throughout my career by so many wonderful people and organisations, and the Arts Council of Wales has helped me to develop and grow as a maker.
“I’m so grateful for all this support and to those who have encouraged me, supported me, and believed in me. In Wales, I’m part of an exceptional group of makers and artists, and it’s an honour to live in this beautiful country surrounded by such a talented and loving community.”
Verity said she enjoyed making things at school but never seriously thought it would become a career, “In my early twenties, I travelled to Barbados and lived with an artist called Aziza. She encouraged me and my friend Sarah to draw and paint, and that was the beginning of the journey that led both of us to become artists.
“I went to art school and discovered glass, specialising in Architectural Glass for my degree.
“I draw and collect natural elements a lot, and I also draw and paint. These 2D explorations are never really designs – more ways to play with colours and shapes, combining structures and forms, using tone and pattern.
“From there, I work through ideas – mainly in glass – which means I have a lot of discarded pieces because it takes me a while to achieve what I want.
“It takes courage, vision, hard work, and relentless determination to work with glass. So many failures and so many disappointments!”
Verity Pulford’s work will be on display throughout the Eisteddfod in Y Lle Celf.
The National Eisteddfod will be held on greenfield land in Is-y-coed near Wrecsam from 2-9 August. For more details, visit eisteddfod.cymru.
