Tir Cyffredin - Common Ground

Philippa Mitchell and Olwen Thomas

21 March - 9 April 2025

Meet the Artists on Saturday 22 March 2- 4pm, and get *10% discount!​

 

We are pleased to present a new member to King Street Gallery, Fine Art Painter Phillippa Mitchell, who is showing her work along with our long-standing member Ceramicist Olwen Thomas in a joint exhibition called Tir Cyffredin - Common Ground: an exhibition of ceramics and paintings inspired by landscape and patterns.

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Philippa Mitchell

Philippa Mitchell lives and works in Pembrokeshire, having spent over twenty years in Scotland, and is a new member of our artists’ co-operative. Philippa paints in the field with watercolours as well as taking many photos to use as reference for her oil paintings completed in her studio and she will be painting in the gallery on 22nd March.

Do come along to meet her.

In this exhibition, Philippa is showing her first exploration of the Pembrokeshire woodland, estuaries and the coastal path. She is attracted to the way the light plays on surfaces and creates patterns in the landscape. Wildlife and especially birds are subjects that attract her attention.

 

Philippa trained as a textile designer and has transferred her skills with colour and design into her work as a visual artist which she has been practicing full time for nine years. She has exhibited with the Society of Wildlife Artists at the Mall Galleries in London and was given a Scottish National Heritage and Creative Scotland award for a project on barnacle geese. Philippa was the first Fife Coastal Path Artist in Residence.

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Olwen Thomas 

Olwen makes contemporary porcelain ceramics inspired by her Welsh identity and iconic Welsh blankets. The ‘Hen Wlad Fy Mamau’ range references the colourful patterns of these beautiful textiles; they also celebrate the role of women in our history and the tradition of collecting ceramics to adorn dressers.

 

The vessels are created by hand which makes each piece unique. The patterns are made with pigmented liquid clay on to a plaster slab, then porcelain is poured over it and the pattern becomes integrated into the clay. Once dried sufficiently, the decorated porcelain clay is lifted off, and the shapes are then cut out and folded, like a blanket, to form the vessels.

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"The years I spent as a child in the Dinorwig area in North Wales are a source of inspiration for another branch of my art. The old Welsh slate fences (Crawiau), are now gradually being reclaimed by the land and look sculptural as they meander in the landscape, adorned with moss and beautiful lichen in vivid shades of amber, lime and grey. I use a variety of techniques in stoneware to create these and use glazes and underglazes."

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*10% discount applied to any of Philippa's or Olwen's work on 22 March from 2 - 4pm only