Welsh cultural references inspire collaborative still life at Swansea College of Art

11 March 2026

Renowned artist Julia Griffiths Jones has been working with students of the BA Surface Pattern and Textiles as part of a series of events marking St David’s day celebrations at UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art.

Surface Patter and Textiles students work with Julia Griffiths Jones at UWTSD Swansea College of Art

A former member of staff of the University, Julia’s work is underpinned by drawing and making in many forms, often blending global cultural references with Welsh themes.

The event provided an opportunity for Julia to discuss her work and inspiration with students before leading a workshop in which they were invited to respond to a collaborative still life inspired by collections, cultures and day to day lives in Wales.

Students were invited to bring items in homage to the recurrent themes and motifs in Julia’s work including Welsh textiles, domestic items, tools and utensils, decorative embroideries as well as pieces representing Welsh folk and culture.

Georgia McKie, Programme Leader, said: “It is a treat to be able to welcome back to Surface Pattern and Textiles, our former colleague Julia Griffiths Jones. We have been so inspired to see the work she has gone on to do since retiring from lecturing in 2019. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our current students to see firsthand Julia’s beautiful work and to spend the day drawing with her. We love how she references our Welsh culture and heritage in such bold and unique ways; avoiding cliches and stereotypes, speaking to the textiles, crafts, objects and day to day Welsh life that means so much to so many of us.”

Second year student Jess Oliver said: “The vibrant Welsh culture was visually prominent within Julia’s drawings and when applied to her designs on fabric and books for exhibitions, and for her own personal collections. From the colours she picked out, to the symbols and motifs that she drew, this representation of her Welsh heritage really emphasises the value of this culture within current design practice. She continues to use these and composes them in layered artworks drawn from museums in Wales and globally.”

Kacie Anderson Goodfellow, also a second year student commented: “The thing that I valued most about the talk and workshop with Julia was the depth of information that she gave about both the surface pattern and textile route that we are able to take after graduation, she mentioned many different pathways and projects that she has taken on, and it opened my eyes to the types of things that you can do as a designer.”

Student Maja Lane added: “It was so helpful to see her journey and her working processes through her sketchbooks. It helps to take onboard another person’s process and way of thinking and it has definitely helped me to develop my own visual language.”

Julia Griffiths Jones added: “I was honoured to be invited back to Surface Pattern & Textiles, a course I worked on for fifteen years, to share how the culture of Wales has influenced and inspired my work.

“I was very impressed by the interest and response of the students to my talk, and the drawing workshop afterwards produced some wonderful pieces of work. Diolch yn fawr iawn.”

The activity was part of the annual St Davids Day Awards events throughout March which recognises the engagement with the Welsh language and culture by students and staff within Swansea College of Art.