MEET OUR MAKERS

SARAH HOPKINS

Print Maker / Gwneuthurwr Printiau

Industrial and agricultural heritage are recurring themes in Sarah’s work.

Sarah has always been fascinated with man-made landscapes and the architectural shapes and patterns which tell us so much about the history and culture of a place. Her most recent work celebrates Swansea’s short-lived production of porcelain in the 1800s and focuses on the significance of treasured objects and heirlooms.

Sarah works primarily with printmaking processes, and her screen prints are particularly celebrated. She creates intricate, hand-cut and torn paper stencils, and builds her images by printing multiple layers of colour adding depth and detail. She likes to challenge the conventions of traditional printmaking by layering light pigments over dark, enjoying the translucency and opacity of the medium.

Sarah has exhibited as a solo artist for 40 years and has worked collaboratively with artists in the UK and overseas on a variety of international projects and residencies. She is a proactive director at Swansea Print Workshop, and an elected member of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art. Through her role at Swansea Print Workshop she has developed partnerships with print organisations across Wales to establish MiniPrint Cymru | Wales, which aims to raise the profile of printmaking as an artform.
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Mae treftadaeth ddiwydiannol ac amaethyddol yn themâu sy'n codi dro ar ôl tro yng ngwaith Sarah.

Mae Sarah wedi bod â diddordeb mewn tirweddau a wnaed gan ddyn a'r siapiau a'r patrymau pensaernïol sy'n dweud cymaint wrthym am hanes a diwylliant lle. Mae ei gwaith diweddaraf yn dathlu cynhyrchiad byrhoedlog porslen Abertawe yn y 1800au ac yn canolbwyntio ar arwyddocâd gwrthrychau gwerthfawr ac etifeddiaethau.

Mae Sarah yn gweithio'n bennaf gyda phrosesau gwneud printiau, ac mae ei phrintiau sgrin yn cael eu dathlu'n arbennig. Mae hi'n creu stensiliau papur cymhleth, wedi'u torri â llaw a'u rhwygo, ac yn adeiladu ei delweddau trwy argraffu haenau lluosog o liw gan ychwanegu dyfnder a manylder. Mae hi'n hoffi herio confensiynau gwneud printiau traddodiadol trwy haenu pigmentau golau dros dywyllwch, gan fwynhau tryloywder ac anhryloywder y cyfrwng.

Mae Sarah wedi arddangos fel artist unigol ers 40 mlynedd ac wedi gweithio ar y cyd ag artistiaid yn y DU a thramor ar amrywiaeth o brosiectau a phreswylfeydd rhyngwladol. Mae hi'n gyfarwyddwr rhagweithiol yng Ngweithdy Argraffu Abertawe, ac yn aelod etholedig o Academi Frenhinol Gelf Cambria. Drwy ei rôl yng Ngweithdy Argraffu Abertawe mae hi wedi datblygu partneriaethau â sefydliadau argraffu ledled Cymru i sefydlu MiniPrint Cymru | Wales, sy'n anelu at godi proffil argraffu fel ffurf gelf.