The ladies of local Welsh language group Merched Y Wawr Y Bannau have produced a series of six stitched panels under the theme of ‘Mountains and Lakes’ to celebrate Brecknock’s year as Feature County of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show 2012.
Produced thanks to £650 from Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund, the six-piece tapestry will be unveiled publicly for the first time in the Glamorgan Hall at the Llanelwedd showground next week.
Made using recycled materials, sheep fleeces from local farms and standard wool; it took the 17 members of Merched Y Wawr Y Bannau almost 1,000 hours in just 18 weeks to complete the project. The finished woven masterpiece pays tribute to famous natural landmarks around the Bannau Brycheiniog such as Pen y Fan, Llyn y Fan Fach, the Epynt, Sgwd yr Eira waterfall and Llangors Lake. The artistic sections also feature poetry paying homage to the local scenery written by local poets John M Edwards of Brecon, and the late Tom and Aeron Davies from the Trecastle area.
Merched Y Wawr Y Bannau Chair Gwynedd Deville said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bits with the finished piece. It’s brought us all together as a group, while the Welsh learners have found it a good opportunity to practice in the medium of Welsh. It’s been a lovely experience.
“We’d have never got the project started without the Sustainable Development Funding, which was arranged by our treasurer Marian Lewis. For such a small group to have achieved this in such a small space of time is excellent.”
Fellow Merched Y Wawr Y Bannau member Nita Jones added: “It took over our lives. I spent very many hours doing it, which included looking on the internet for different knitting techniques to achieve different textures. It was hard work but it’s brilliant to see it now.
“It would not have been possible without our talented, artistic member Ros Price Jones, who led and had the creative vision to put the whole project together.”
Cllr Evan Morgan, Chairman of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund, said: “This project encompasses everything that is special about the landscape of the Bannau Brycheiniog, and enhances the cultural heritage of the area through the medium of Welsh. I’m sure it will be one of the highlights of this year’s Royal Welsh Show and I look forward to seeing it for myself.”
Merched Y Wawr Y Bannau’s ‘Mountains and Lakes’ tapestry will be toured around the region after its exhibition at this year’s Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.
If you have a project or event that you think would be worthy of funding support from the Sustainable Development Fund, contact Helen Roderick or Ceri Bevan on 01874 620471 to discuss how we could help or visit www.breconbeacons.org for further information.
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