Mostly I’m thinking about what it can mean to be with someone. To giving attention to each particular process with a person and seeing where it goes. Taking proper time to listen. Bringing a focus to the body perhaps. Being responsive to possibilities, trusting in the idea of possibility that connections can and will come. Something could go further than might appear possible at first. But it’s here in these spaces, in these places of discovery with someone that I like to be. It’s scary too and it’s hard to explain what might happen. Time and again I struggle to describe it. But I keep asking myself the questions around how and why, and who I am through all of this, and it keeps me here.

 

 

 

 

letter to the cottage (sent 8.3.17)

 

Thank you fire, chair, bed, blanket, hot water bottle, window

 

Chord from the light, reminder of a distant home

 

Preparing to leave

 

Casting a net over moments caught

 

Supermarket café, choreography of shoppers through the panoramic aperture between two spaces

 

Stirling in the moonlight – Timeless

 

Teddy folded, squashed inside the coils of cable, pushed hard under the chest

 

Daring to touch each other

 

Water pouring out of the land – hands carrying

 

Late night man thinking about his funeral

 

‘Lambing is as close to birth as you can get’

 

Cold feet on stone, reposition sitting reposition sitting

The Witness Tree – horses, outlaws, night into day

 

Horseshoe curves in the road.  Valleys rolling. Medieval Castle, stonewalls stacked layered, angles over angles. Tower circle, winding staircase. Up down just me. No visitors inside these damp walls. Just me

 

Motorbike in pieces, over sloping grass

 

Hair splayed out in sundials

 

Guitar rock loud from the graffiti hole – Mouth and body mimicking sound

 

Black notes, colony of ants, pouring into the grand piano

 

Leaving a life behind – starting a new

 

Talking to people

 

Tremor of emotion – his every word

 

Love love for the animals

 

Reading to a child, missing mine

 

The gift of gingerbread

 

Time is what we have

 

And invitations to a possible other place

 

If only I could reach you

In February 2107 we’ll be welcoming Jane Mason to 2 Penrhiw for a 10 day residency. Whilst deepen into articulating her own practice, she’ll also share time with members of the village as part of a connecting and making process.

Here are some of her early musings about the chance to be back in Abercych:

Thoughts on Abercych – 15 September, after talking to Stirling

 There was a distinct sense of community when I came to Abercych in 2015 to give some kind of performance/sharing of my work. I noticed in what must have been built up over many years, a vibrant atmosphere with great attention given to those present to absorb what was on offer in their own personal ways. A place where people seemed committed and open to talking to eachother, to understanding, thoughtful around what it might mean to talk about place, community, home, whilst listening, making space for questions and carefully finding ways to put the body into those conversations too. 

 

In my work with different communities I’ve become increasingly aware and perhaps more able to articulate what is important about this for me. It’s not an easy straightforward process to meet a person, someone I don’t have a relationship with already and gently find out about them, take them on some kind of a journey and invite them in different ways to trust in a process and to surrender to it. I often find that small interventions; shifting a physical instruction from a seated conversation to be on their feet, asking someone to reflect on a question from a different place in the room, asking someone to stop speaking but perhaps continue to tell me something about their relationship to the space physically – there are all kinds of ways to try and enter into a practical process with someone, which I hope aren’t glaring, formal and intimidating. I’m learning more how to describe what is important to me; explorations around form and structure, strategies up my sleeve to push something further, shape interactions in ways that are unique to me, to the encounter I’m in and not about simply reproducing known pathways.

 

It’s a very important part of my wider practice to be in dialogue with these kinds of situations/parameters. To ask questions about what it means to be in relationship to others and community through doing, in ways that are not linear, or previously defined, but making a space for something to happen, be shared, considered and perhaps experienced in unexpected ways by others witnessing. Risk is a part of that, in order for risk to exist there has to be safety, responsibility and care. I suppose this is what I’m always in some way working towards. Becoming surer of the value of these processes at the same time holding on to the need to keep letting go myself. I think it works because I am vulnerable too, I am not the expert and never pretend to be, I have to listen very hard and want to! so a set of modes are being activated, negotiated, and adapted from person to person, with the aim of awakening visibility on life, on ourselves, triggering imaginative and felt spaces to open up between people. 

 

 

In October 2013 Siriol Joyner (Cymru) & Nibia Pastrana Santiago (Puerto Rico) spent 10 days in residence at 2 Penrhiw exploring their dance making practice together here and in the surround area.

 

“Roedd 2 Penrhiw yn fwthyn clyd a chroesawgar i’n cynnal yn ystod ein preswyliad yn Abercych. 

 

Gerllaw mae neuadd pentref oedd yn stiwdio ddawns wledig a hyfryd iawn. Aethom i ddawnsio ar lan y môr ac i ganol cwm Cych,  buom yn darllen ac ysgrifennu yn y bwthyn ac yn cerdded ar hyd y Dulais. Rhoddodd 2 Penrhiw le a chyd-destun hynod Gymreig i gynnal ymweliad cyntaf Nibia i Gymru a chawsom gefnogaeth arbennig gan Stirling, Simon a’u teulu yn ystod ein deg diwrnod yn y pentref. Cyfnod o wreiddio prosiect a pherthynas newydd- cyfnod arbennig sy’n sylfaen  i ragor o waith yn Puerto Rico yn ystod 2015.”

 

“2 Penrhiw is such a warm and welcoming place, the cottage was a wonderful base and sanctuary for us during our ten day residency of working and exploring in the Cych and Teifi Valleys. The village hall nearby served as a beautiful rural studio for our dance practice. We also danced on the beach, in cwm Cych, we read and wrote in the cottage and walked along the Dulais river. Our residency at 2 Penrhiw offered a distinctively Welsh context for Nibia’s first visit to Wales and we received a very special sense of support from Stirling, Simon and their family. An extraordinary time of rooting this new collaboration and research which we hope to develop in Puerto Rico during 2015.” Siriol

 

 

For video of work in progress shown in Aberych Hall see: http://www.may-nard.org/2-penrhiw-residencies

For images see http://nibiapastrana.4ormat.com/aguaviva

 

 

Água Viva

 

Hydref 11-21 October 2013

 

“unheeded, happy and near to the wild heart of life” JJ

 

Dŵr

 

Water

 

Água

 

Here.

 

 

 

Sleep like a stone

 

Sing like a shark

 

Our tongues are golden.

 

 

 

Dawnsio

 

Double Act

 

RED heaters

 

wombs and placentas

 

“the oblique life is very intimate. I shall say no more about this intimacy so as not to harm thinking-feeling with dry words. To leave the obliqueness in its own uninhabited independence.”

 

 

 

INTUITION

 

Nora paints the apples with purple nail polish

 

“What I do by involuntary instinct cannot be described.”

 

 

 

Sglefren fôr

 

The sea doesn’t wait.

 

“but now I want the plasma- I want to eat straight from the placenta”

 

 

 

I don’t want to be a vessel

 

To be a vessel

 

To dance with water in the mouth

 

To sing like the Dulais. Llais Dulais.

 

“hear me with your whole body”

 

The texture of water changing from crystalline to saliva.

 

Thick and warm.

 

Ocean.

 

“I can stand it because I’m strong: I ate my own placenta.”

 

 

 

“There is no pattern to follow and the pattern itself doesn’t even exist: I am born”.

 

Ash

 

Ash

 

This is soft.

 

 

 

If fire could burn choreography, i would be ashes.

 

Forgotten, invisible, emancipated.
I gather: wood. yawning forms. saliva.
Fire tears oxygen away from time: the swollen joints of structures float away. let it BURN. BURN. BURN.
And, please water the pestilence tomorrow.

 

 

 

N notices the moon through the window and begins to howl. We howl together, it is a song. We are breathing together. S pulls the blue Welsh blanket towards her and over her head to make a tent. N is sitting in the opposite corner and slowly closes her eyes: they don’t see each other. S moves diagonally towards N. Leading with the butt, S is swooping all the objects on the floor.

 

N- What is this? You know this. (a wooden blue stick, is dropped on the floor).
S- Yeah…
N- Is not what it is, but what is does.
S- Gravity.
N- Loud object

 

 

 

A Video Transcript:

 

N: This is soft

 

S: Bod mwy cyfoes, being mega contemporary

 

N: In my next life, I don’t want to have bones

 

S: Blap!

 

N: I want to be like a

 

N & S: Blap! Blap, blap.

 

S: Like that?

 

N: Like your hair, more contemporary though.

 

S: Mega!

 

N & S: Mega, mega mega.

 

S: Sometimes people drive too fast

 

N: And what happens?

 

S: Squashed

 

Roadside burial

 

Can you see me?

 

N: No

 

S: Can you see me now?

 

N: No, but I can hear you

 

S: This is soft

 

Buuu uuuu huuu

 

N: I would name this ‘Fake death and a song”

 

S: What?

 

N I would name this ‘Fake death and a song”

 

S: Buuu huuu huuu huuu oooo

 

I think it’s untitled.

 

N: Temperature: Cold, Hot, Warm.

 

Diolch

 

Ahhh! Oh no! So sorry, so sorry.

 

S: Aw.

 

N: It’s these lights: they are too theatrical!

 

S: Pop, pop, pop

 

S & N: AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

N: Aaaaaaaaaashes?

 

S: Yeah! Ashshhhhhhhhhhh

 

N: Ok!

 

S & N: Shhhhhh huuuu shhhhhh

 

N: Meaningful, meaningful, meaningful, meaningful.

 

Waterfall, waterfall, waterfall.

 

Who am I?

 

S: I don’t know who you are!

 

N: I’m you!

 

S: Oh!

 

N: The title of this section is “Constant Horizon” or ‘Recent Horizon”

 

S “Recent Horizon”.

 

 

 

 

 

10 Teitl/Titles:

 

1. Clarice One
2. All the blankets i can fit in my mouth.
3. Benjamin Jones was a tall man.
4. Apples without meaning.
5. Red moon
6. Dance number 31368
7. Phallic (these are good, they are very human)
8. Frontal sensation
9. Sweeping nape of neck
10. No axis , 4 blankets and this is not a healing dance

 

 

 

*with quotes and fragments from Água Viva by Clarice Lispector

 

 

 

 

video still : Ben Stammers in Abercych for Maynard, come home 2013. by Rhowan Alleyne

We are delighted to announce the next round of Dance Residencies at 2 Penrhiw:

Siriol Joyner and Nibia Pastrana Santiago: 11-21 October 2013

‘We come to the residency at 2 Penrhiw with no subject, but with the intention of sharing and exchanging practices and to be together,exploring Abercych and the surrounding area. We don’t know how this “being together” will look or what the outcome of our exchange might be. We have a few starting points which include: dancing together, indoors and outdoors, drawing and walking.’

Siriol and Nibia met while taking part in the danceWEB scholarship programme at ImPulstanz festival in Vienna 2011. Siriol comes from Wales and Nidia from Puerto Rico.

Sharing Event with Siriol and Nibia, followed by Tea, discussion and films:

Sunday 20 October, 2pm meet at 2 Penrhiw, Abercych.

Neil Callaghan: 6-16 June 2014

Neil will spend 10 days at 2 Penrhiw focusing on the relationships between inside and outside, both the interior and exterior of the body and what it means for a body to be outdoors or indoors. Neil works in a variety of contexts and is particularly interested how we experience, and engage with, environments that surround us.

These Residencies are supported by The Arts Council of Wales and produced by 2Penrhiw and Maynard

Here are some images and audience responses from Joanna and James’ residency this October. Works on Penrhiw was shown on 19th October at a wooded river site above Fynonne waterfall and then to the same audience in the intimacy of 2 Penrhiw Cottage. 10 days later the material was reworked for Aberych Village hall and shown during the biannual Twmpath. Joanna’s reflections follow also beneath the images.

“It was enchanting- the simplicity drew me into the minute magic that you weaved. A beautiful still breath in a busy world.” Manda, audience member

“As I come inside from outside I have space inside from outside.

And so I can be close. I like being close. It’s warm inside.

A gesture of opening, in the inglenook, after close detailed hand movements… hand and heart and I wonder is her heart opening. I am aware of the soft skin under her chin, soft open neck.

Outside where do the gestures stop, how do we reach the edges. Inside there are many edges and she reaches them sooner.

I wonder is that reassuring after all that space, all that possibility.

Expanse, open possibilities.

Close familiar.

Both… how we inhabit a place… grateful for the weather and the shelter both.”    Audience member

Joanna’s reflections:

“2 Penrhiw is an enchanting space to work and be.  It seemed to work on us as much as we worked in it, leaving us with a sense of calmness and openness, which were essential to tune into our surroundings. We began our residency with the instructions to ‘observe and respond’ and to ‘rely on instinctive choices to lead us through each day.’

We became fascinated with the juxtaposition of working both outside and inside.  We would find a space outside to quietly study and respond to and then noticing areas in the house where the material could also resonate.  The sites created the material and informed each other and we noticed how each time we performed the material we were affected by the memory of its opposite space, outside or inside.

Our observations of the 2 Penrhiw and its surrounding area, especially within the woods and above the Fynonne waterfall aroused an interest in ‘the borders between movement and stillness’, ‘change that happened so slowly that it felt sudden’, ‘memories & imaginings’ and ‘family, folklore & ritual’.  Threads of these interests weaved into the sound and movements and resulted in a presentation of our work at the end of our residency, performed outside and inside.

There was something about the timeless quality of the cottage and the expanse of nature surrounding it that led us away from using technology… Instead of filming the dance and recording the sound we chose instead to document our experience in free writing and then directly into music scores and movement scores, which at the end of the residency were presented live, solely existing in those who experienced them, or on paper that offers a freeness in interpretation.

The residency was a unique opportunity to work in such a beautiful and inspiring place with the gift of time to explore our practice and follow our interest without judgment or pressure.  James and I are keen to continue to explore the work we began at 2 Penrhiw, finding new ways to explore and show the work created.

We would like to offer thanks to Stirling, Simon, Nora & Beti for the opportunity and their generosity, openness and inspiring presence during our time at 2 Penrhiw.  We look forward to keeping in touch and hearing about future artist experiences and continuing the work we began at 2 Penrhiw.”

Joanna Young will be in residence at 2 Penrhiw from the 10th to 20th October 2011, researching for the development of a dance work for film with composer James Williams. ‘Works on grass’ is inspired by vast Welsh landscapes and visual artist Georgia O’Keefe, aiming to embody the soul of the outside into performance using live sound and dance. Their intention is to research the landscape and culture of the area through sensing and improvising, to take time for a detailed and in depth process towards creating performance that is visually hypnotic and conceptually                                                                             driven.

At the end of the 10 days Joanna and James will share their work informally in site – please do be in touch if you’d like to attend.

Joanna Young is a Welsh based choreographer and performer who graduated from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2006. Working under the name of Alice Theatre Joanna has created work for stage, film and site. Her choreography is laconic with a surreal edge, linking intricate gestures with dynamic and forceful movements.

James Williams is a Cardiff based composer who works in theatre and dance. “The music for this collaboration will be exploring the pastoral in the context of past and present. It will concentrate on the elements that represent the changing and unchanging forces of nature; in particular water, wind and birdsong. It will also explore rhythms that are suggested by the land and the impact that farming has had on the land.”

Link here to see this work in progress… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O54yNpLDWO4

Here are just a few images from Sera’s residency here in March, and some of her words of reflection on her time here.

“Quite possibly, a testament to the fact that my strengths lie not in words but in more abstract methods of communication, the writing that I had attended to diligently every day at 2 Penrhiw during my residency, was lost on my return to Scotland when my computer finally shuffled off this mortal coil.

What I am left with is a memory of the great calm and generosity of spirit that pervades 2 Penrhiw. Stirling Steward and Simon Whitehead are remarkable people and 2 Penrhiw is a remarkable place.

Being introduced to the cottage is like reading a book for the first time; each door hails a new chapter. The unassuming front door gives nothing away and as each room is entered a tale of quiet history and loving restoration unfolds until, as with all good stories, the back door and final chapter reveals an unexpected, and in this case, immensely elevating, twist.

As I draw and paint from life, I had planned to work with the house, the immediate environment surrounding the house and people from the village. Thorough observational drawing gives me the skills I need to work from life in ink and paint. I enjoy the intensity and challenge that working in indelible media creates and the necessity for integrity in practice. I also relish the challenge of drawing transient or moving subjects for the same reasons.

The residency provided a supportive and peaceful environment to do this with a wealth of subjects to work from; the cottage itself, the surrounding old trees, the vast clouds which rolled past and the people from Abercych who generously gave up their time to sit for me.

It was an invaluable period of time for me to work without distraction and to return to a part of Wales that provides me with many fond memories of childhood visits to my aunt who lived nearby.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Stirling and Simon for their vision and generosity; to Beti for the calm that emanated around her and to Nora for her enthusiasm and her gifts of warm chicken eggs and other little handmade treasures.”

 

We are delighted to welcome Sera James Irvine here for the first 2 Penrhiw residency in 2011, 18th to 28th March.

During the residency Sera will be drawing the interior of the house, the landscape around it and people from the village. She means to use drawing in its broadest sense through using line, mark making, mono print and paint in response to what she sees.

“My practice is quiet and spare with a strong foundation in observational drawing. Through line I explore forms in space; how a drawing might be made in the lifetime of the event it responds to; how the act of making the drawing is intrinsic in the piece and how line can manipulate our perception of a flat surface.

As time goes on I realise that much of this is also an exploration of my own perceptions about myself and the world I live in.

Much of my work is done outside and most of it is done from life.”

Sera grew up in North Wales and since 1997 she has lived and worked on the east coast of Scotland. In addition to her drawing practice she curates shows at her Contemporary gallery in the village where she lives. She also organises events in her village and is presently directing the artistic input for a conference at Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability.

We will keep you posted as the residency progresses and will announce any public events here…

Twice a year the former worker’s cottage at 2 Penrhiw, Abercych, will be made available for a 10 day residency for an Artist who through their practice will explore the changing environment and culture of this rural village. These first residencies are for emerging artists from, or based in, Wales. During the residency we invite you to engage with and make a contribution to the cultural life of the village and its environs. This could for example take the form of engagement with individuals in the community, running a workshop, a performance or an informal presentation of your work.

A small fund has been made available through Pembrokeshire County Council for the first two residencies. An honorarium of £200 will be given to each residency Artist. Collaborative residencies (up to 2 Artists) are welcomed, however the honorarium would need to be split between those involved.

The first residency is 18th to 28th March 2011 and is open to Artists in any medium. The second residency, 7th to 17th October 2011, is for those with a Dance/Movement practice. To apply send a short biography, a description of your idea, and two images of your work, by 10th February 2011, to:

Stirling Steward and Simon Whitehead, 1 Penrhiw, Abercych, Pembrokeshire SA37 0HB; email hello@2penrhiw.co.uk.