This week we had a visit from Kathryn Campbell, an artist based in Carmarthenshire who trained as a calligrapher. We have been searching for a calligrapher who can work with us to incorporate the beautiful couplets written by Damian Walford Davies in the windows. Kathryn is an artist I have known about for a while but had no idea she was a talented calligrapher, and, what’s more she is excited about our work and able to fit in to our tight deadline! Incorporating the poems in the windows needs careful thought and we have gone through a number of options and approaches, finally we decided we need to commission a calligrapher in order to do the work, and the poems, justice.
The painting is coming along well, we need to get all the glass painted and delivered to Swansea in a fortnight’s time for leading in order to comply with our installation date of March 8th.
I took a day in the week to work with Sarah Harman on our Rosebush Quarry project “Canu’r Oer Wynt”. This is a project I began in the autumn supported by a research and development grant from Arts Council Wales. I have been researching in archives, interviewing local people and experimenting with some glass ideas in my kiln, but since November the project has taken a back seat because of the Conwy commission. Sarah is a singer/songwriter and talented choir leader who is planning to write a suit of songs based on the history of the quarry, together we interviewed local people who remember the railway in Rosebush when it was operational, Peter Claughton, an industrial archaeologist and Geraint Harries, a friend and local man who works for The Pembrokeshire National Park Authority. We recorded the interviews to form the basis of our research for our project and discussed our ideas and plans. It was good to get back into this project.
Linda Norris Studio Blog 
Thanks for your reply. The window above looks absolutely amazing and the detail and influence of the St. Cystennin’s George panel can really be seen now. What a wonderful gift you have! Thanks for promoting our church at Llangystennin near Mochdre Colwyn Bay – although the present building is 1840s the history of the site in that it was probably one of the first Christian sites in Wales is amazing. We have taken photographs of the medieval panels that are on loan to Llandudno museum and hope to have them framed to hang in church – it would be lovely to also have a photograph of your glass to direct people to come and see it in Conwy Castle, if that could be arranged. We are trying to put our church more on the tourist map – it really is a forgotten gem!
Will pray that you reach your tight deadlines!
Thanks for your comments. Yes, the churches of North Wales are certainly hidden gems. I hope you will be able to get some funding to have the Llangystennin panels restored and put on display.
If you would like a photo and some accompanying information about our windows, contact David Penberthy at Cadw. He is the initiator of these commissions and is responsible for interpretation. I hope our work will stimulate interest in Gwynedd’s historic churches including the amazing Llanrhychwyn Church near Llanwrst, which is completely off the beaten track and houses gorgeous medieval glass in situ.