Brian Jones

“There are two sides to my work; my own artworks, plus the workshops and projects that I undertake. The aims of my workshops are to Create, Demystify, Educate and Inspire. I enjoy working with kids, and groups with mixed abilities, and have conducted workshops in t-shirt printing, stencil and screen printing, collage, stamp design, and digital collage (Photoshop). Workshops are a way of ‘putting something back in’; for a child to be shown how to, and then to print their own t-shirt, is both empowering for the child and satisfying for me. I can either work to a brief, or tailor projects and workshops to the needs of those participating.”

Throughout the past year, Brian has designed and printed the signs for the recycling points at the Llanfyllin Workhouse, conducted print workshops with over 500 children, set-up a new screen printing studio, designed and printed the ‘Dolydd’ currency, produced his first bronze edition, became a ‘Pioneer’ member of Culture Colony, produced works for Futile Gestures, and made ‘The Ghosts of Llanfyllin’ with his youngest son for the Ffilmic Festival (being awarded ‘Best Sound Design’).

He has had an active involvement with community arts since completing his Fine Art degree at Liverpool Art School, has been a member of the Regional Print Centre (Wrexham) since 2002, and is a current member of Arts Connection.

Recent projects include the highly successful “All Together Now”, which was a series of cross-community and mixed-ability workshops in Derry, Northern Ireland. This involved pupils from two schools, whose works were exhibited at the Void Gallery (Derry), four large format prints are now on permanent display at the HML building in the city. This project was undertaken in partnership with the Cresco Trust/Stravaganza, and was funded by a grant from UnLtd.

He was also the lead artist for the Regional Print Centre and Arts Connection’s collaborative ‘Exploring Cultural Identity’ project with pupils from Gwenfro CP School, Wrexham. The children produced collages which were then printed as sheets of gummed and perforated postage stamps. These works were shown at the Memorial Gallery (Wrexham) during Spring 2010; three large format composite works are now on permanent display at the school.

He has represented Wales in Bulgaria as a visiting artist, which was funded by Wales Art International, showed at the ‘Prints of Wales’ exhibition in Kansas City, and in Tokyo for ‘Art Machine’.

His works were exhibited at the first ever Western Pop Art show at Singapore’s Collector’s Contemporary Gallery, and he was the featured artist in China’s Fantasy Art magazine. He has also contributed to numerous book and magazine projects, including a feature on ‘Welsh Money’ in the first issue of Welsh Art Now, and Grapheion magazine’s Yearbook.

Over the past few years his works have shown literally alongside those of Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton and Roy Lichtenstein to name but a few.

Now living in Wales Brian Jones shows both nationally and internationally, and his works are owned by politicians, football managers, film and pop stars, plus other notables in the creative industries.

Mae dwy ochr i'm gwaith; fy ngwaith celf fy hun, yn ogystal â'r gweithdai a'r prosiectau yr wyf yn ymgymryd â nhw. Nodau fy ngweithdai yw Creu, Datgelu, Addysgu ac Ysbrydoli. Rwy'n mwynhau gweithio gyda phlant, a grwpiau o alluoedd cymysg, ac wedi cynnal gweithdai mewn argraffu crysau-t, stensil a sgrin-brintio, collage, dylunio stampiau, a collage digidol (Photoshop). Mae gweithdai yn ffordd o ‘roi rhywbeth yn ôl i mewn’; mae dangos i blentyn sut i, ac yna argraffu ei grys-t ei hun, yn rhoi grym i'r plentyn ac yn rhoi boddhad i mi. Gallaf naill ai weithio i friff, neu deilwra prosiectau a gweithdai i anghenion y rhai sy’n cymryd rhan.”

Yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, mae Brian wedi dylunio ac argraffu’r arwyddion ar gyfer y mannau ailgylchu yn Nhloty Llanfyllin, wedi cynnal gweithdai argraffu gyda dros 500 o blant, wedi sefydlu stiwdio argraffu sgrin newydd, wedi dylunio ac argraffu arian cyfred ‘Dolydd’, wedi cynhyrchu ei raglen gyntaf. argraffiad efydd, daeth yn aelod ‘Arloesol’ o Culture Colony, cynhyrchodd weithiau ar gyfer Futile Gestures, a gwnaeth ‘The Ghosts of Llanfyllin’ gyda’i fab ieuengaf ar gyfer Gŵyl Ffilmic (yn cael ei wobrwyo â ‘Dyluniad Sain Gorau’).

Mae wedi ymwneud yn weithredol â chelfyddydau cymunedol ers cwblhau ei radd mewn Celfyddyd Gain yn Ysgol Gelf Lerpwl, mae wedi bod yn aelod o’r Ganolfan Argraffu Ranbarthol (Wrecsam) ers 2002, ac mae’n aelod cyfredol o Cyswllt Celf.

Mae prosiectau diweddar yn cynnwys y rhaglen hynod lwyddiannus “All Together Now”, a oedd yn gyfres o weithdai traws-gymunedol a gallu cymysg yn Derry, Gogledd Iwerddon. Roedd hyn yn cynnwys disgyblion o ddwy ysgol, yr arddangoswyd eu gwaith yn y Void Gallery (Derry), mae pedwar print fformat mawr bellach yn cael eu harddangos yn barhaol yn adeilad HML y ddinas. Ymgymerwyd â’r prosiect hwn mewn partneriaeth ag Ymddiriedolaeth Cresco/Stravaganza, ac fe’i hariannwyd gan grant gan UnLtd.

Ef hefyd oedd yr artist arweiniol ar gyfer y Ganolfan Argraffu Ranbarthol a phrosiect cydweithredol ‘Archwilio Hunaniaeth Ddiwylliannol’ Cyswllt Celf gyda disgyblion o Ysgol Gynradd Gymunedol Gwenfro, Wrecsam. Cynhyrchodd y plant collages a oedd wedyn yn cael eu hargraffu fel dalennau o stampiau post gwm a thyllog. Dangoswyd y gweithiau hyn yn yr Oriel Goffa (Wrecsam) yn ystod Gwanwyn 2010; mae tri darn o waith cyfansawdd fformat mawr bellach yn cael eu harddangos yn barhaol yn yr ysgol.

Mae wedi cynrychioli Cymru ym Mwlgaria fel artist gwadd, a ariannwyd gan Wales Art International, a ddangoswyd yn arddangosfa ‘Prints of Wales’ yn Kansas City, ac yn Tokyo ar gyfer ‘Art Machine’.

Cafodd ei weithiau eu harddangos yn y sioe Gelfyddyd Bop Orllewinol gyntaf erioed yn Oriel Gyfoes Collector’s Singapore, ac ef oedd yr artist a gafodd sylw yn y cylchgrawn Fantasy Art Tsieina. Mae hefyd wedi cyfrannu at nifer o brosiectau llyfrau a chylchgronau, gan gynnwys erthygl ar ‘Welsh Money’ yn y rhifyn cyntaf o Welsh Art Now, a Yearbook cylchgrawn Grapheion.

Dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf mae ei weithiau wedi dangos yn llythrennol ochr yn ochr â rhai Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton a Roy Lichtenstein i enwi dim ond rhai.

Bellach yn byw yng Nghymru mae Brian Jones yn dangos yn genedlaethol ac yn rhyngwladol, ac mae ei weithiau yn eiddo i wleidyddion, rheolwyr pêl-droed, sêr ffilm a phop, ynghyd â rhai nodedig eraill yn y diwydiannau creadigol.