Conwy Castle Poppy Exhibition In Aid Of The Royal British Legion
St John's Church in Conwy are proud to be part of an artist's vision to raise money for The Royal British Legion this year. Thanks to the success of the Tower of London's stunning ceramic poppy display in 2014, local artist Laura Stenhouse was inspired to create something similar in North Wales.
The display at the Tower of London consisted of 888,246 ceramic poppies, which represented each British fatality of the war and Laura hopes to make as many poppies as possible with the children of Conwy to exhibit at Conwy Castle. After the exhibit, the poppies will be returned to the schools and auctioned off in aid of The Royal British Legion.
On the 11th of August 2015, the Welsh Government gave the permission required for the poppies to be displayed at Conwy Castle. The display will include bamboo canes to hold the poppies and fix them into the ground, plus shallow anchors to safely fix the Welsh Dragon Frame into the ground. All of the permission granted is based on there being no disturbance to the ground or any sub-surface archaeological remains or deposits.
The poppies have been made at local schools including Ysgol Cynfran in Llysfaen and Ysgol Llandrillo yn Rhos and also at St John's Church Hall. They will be displayed at Conwy Castle, which is less than thirty minutes away from us here at Pen-y-Bryn Farm, for two weeks from the 7th of November 2015 as part of a county wide project which is open to all. Lots of school children from Conwy have already taken part in making the poppies and a Welsh Dragon frame has been made by the joinery department at Llandrillo College.
Laura Stenhouse, the artist at the heart of the poppy display in Conwy, has loved working with the children and seeing the enjoyment the poppy project has brought to them. Laura is involved with lots of local arts events and has run children's art and craft sessions for almost ten years now. She is also a librarian and storyteller.
Laura's facebook bio says 'I am a North Wales based Artist & Illustrator. I studied Fashion Design & Illustration at Manchester Met Uni and went on to the finals of the Young Designer of the year as one of ten finalists picked from the UK. I have since worked as a Freelance Illustrator and Artist with several Galleries in both England & Wales showing my work and stocking my Art work Prints & Cards ,Clothing range and Home wares.'
For more information on the poppy project, you can find Conwy Castle Poppy Exhibition & School workshops on Facebook or @poppyworkshops on Twitter.
To see examples of Laura's artwork, you can visit her Facebook page 'parliament of owls', or her website which can be found at http://www.laurastenhouse.moonfruit.com/.
You can make a donation to Laura's Poppy Project during your visit, or alternatively, to make a donation to the Royal British Legion directly, please click here to visit their donation page.
