MEET OUR MAKERS

CHRISTIAN RYAN

GLASS / GwYDR

Christian is an award winning welsh stained glass artist. Over the last seventeen years he has been commissioned to create glass artwork all over the United Kingdom and abroad, from public projects to private commissions. In 2012 he established his studio in Ewenny near Bridgend to focus on designing and making stained glass using traditional techniques. He is a member of the Makers Guild in Wales, has taught on the stained glass degree programme at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Swansea and in 2016 won the Made By Hand Best Maker in Wales award.

My work as a glass artist has come from combining my love of painting, graphics, craft and architecture. Having studied stained glass at Swansea I was exposed to a traditional craft education that was underpinned by a strong emphasis on drawing and painting that still informs the development of my work today. Glass has almost magical properties, an inner luminescence, modulating the light, delivering an unrivalled intensity of colour. It is these qualities that I explore when making my work. It offers the possibilities of being used both as an art form within architecture and also on an intimate scale. As a result I enjoy working in a variety of scale and techniques, from architectural commissions to small panels. Commissioned architectural work is always in a response to a brief dealing with the needs of the client and the architecture with the aim of creating work that fulfils the vision of the building. Smaller scale work is more personal and self directed often drawing on nature as a primary source of inspiration, celebrating the beauty of the world around us.

Mae Christian yn artist gwydr lliw Cymreig llwyddiannus. Dros y ddwy flynedd ar bymtheg diwethaf, fe'i comisiynwyd i greu gwaith celf gwydr ledled y Deyrnas Unedig a thramor, o brosiectau cyhoeddus i gomisiynau preifat. Yn 2012 sefydlodd ei stiwdio yn Ewenni ger Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr i ganolbwyntio ar ddylunio a gwneud gwydr lliw gan ddefnyddio technegau traddodiadol. Mae'n aelod o Urdd Gwneuthurwyr Cymru, mae wedi dysgu ar raglen gradd gwydr lliw ym Mhrifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant Abertawe ac yn 2016 enillodd wobr Made By Hand Gwneuthurwr Gorau yng Nghymru.

Mae fy ngwaith fel artist gwydr wedi dod o gyfuno fy mwynhad o beintio, graffeg, crefft a phensaernïaeth. Ar ôl astudio gwydr lliw yn Abertawe, roeddwn yn agored i addysg grefft draddodiadol a oedd yn cael ei hategu gan bwyslais cryf ar ddarlunio a phaentio sy'n dal i lywio datblygiad fy ngwaith heddiw. Mae gan wydr briodweddau hudolus bron, cyfyngder mewnol, golau mewnol, gan ddarparu dwysedd lliw digymar. Y nodweddion hyn yr wyf yn eu harchwilio wrth wneud fy ngwaith. Mae gwydr yn cynnig y posibiliadau o gael eu defnyddio fel ffurf gelfyddyd o fewn pensaernïaeth ond hefyd ar raddfa fanwl. O ganlyniad rwy'n mwynhau gweithio mewn amrywiaeth o raddfa a thechnegau, o gomisiynau pensaernïol i baneli bach. Mae gwaith pensaernïol wedi'i gomisiynu bob amser mewn ymateb i frîff sy'n delio ag anghenion y cleient a'r bensaernïaeth gyda'r nod o greu gwaith sy'n cyflawni gweledigaeth yr adeilad. Mae gwaith ar raddfa lai yn fwy personol a hunangyfeiriedig yn aml gan dynnu ar natur fel prif ffynhonnell ysbrydoliaeth, gan ddathlu harddwch y byd o'n cwmpas.