Ymgysylltu â'r Gymuned

Ar ôl blwyddyn (2024) o greu tecstilau a chelf amlgyfrwng anhygoel wedi’u hysbrydoli gan Sain Ffagan, daeth aelodau Cutting Edge at ei gilydd yn Oriel Gweithdy, Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru ar 25 a 26 Ebrill i arddangos eu gwaith a chynnig gweithgareddau crefft a gwnïo i ymwelwyr er mwyn dathlu Wythnos Pontio Cenedlaethau’r Byd. Ac am ddeuddydd anhygoel! 

Roedd yr ymwelwyr wrth eu boddau’n cael gweld yr arddangosfeydd a darllen y gweithlyfrau a oedd yn disgrifio sut datblygodd y prosiect dros amser. Roedden nhw hefyd wir yn mwynhau bod modd iddyn nhw ymuno yn y gweithgareddau amrywiol, a chawson ni lawer o adborth dros y deuddydd, mewn sgyrsiau ac yn y Llyfr Ymwelwyr. Dyma flas o’r hyn oedd gan bobl i’w ddweud: 
 

“Fel cyd-gwiltiwr ac artist tecstilau, mae’n hyfryd mynd allan a gweld gwaith pawb. Llongyfarchiadau.” Lesley, Higham Quilters, Caerloyw 
“Roedd yn drawiadol iawn gweld darn mor syfrdanol o ysbrydoliaeth leol a gwaith dychmygus” y teulu Byron 
“Arddangosfa ffantastig. Da iawn bawb. Diolch am y croeso cynnes” Sue a Vicki 
  
Rhoddodd y plant gynnig ar y rhan fwyaf o bethau, o liwio i stampio i wnïo, a oedd i weld yn plesio pawb. Ar ôl lliwio llun ar ffabrig, roedd llawer yn awyddus i roi cynnig ar wnïo, a doedden nhw methu cael digon! 
Darluniodd un ferch fach y llythyren E yn fawr ar sgwâr tecstilau a dechreuodd ei wnïo. Roedd hi’n siomedig pan oedd rhaid iddi adael ar ganol ei gwaith, ond fe aeth hi ag ychydig o edafedd gyda hi i’w orffen gartref. Serch hynny, nes ymlaen daeth yn ôl i gasglu mwy o edafedd gan ei bod wedi rhedeg allan o un o’r lliwiau. Mae’n rhaid ei bod hi wedi dod o hyd i gornel fach i barhau â’i gwnïo wrth grwydro o gwmpas yr amgueddfa! 
Roedd yr oedolion yn mwynhau’r gwnïo hefyd! 
Bu criw Grŵp Pwytho Pontardawe yn mwynhau creu broetsys a thylluanod: 
“Am arddangosfa hyfryd, mor ysbrydoledig. Diolch am fy nhylluan/pengwin. Dw i wrth fy modd ag e! Rydych chi’n griw mor hyfryd. Diolch yn fawr i chi gyd!" Glenda, Stitch Pontadawe.  
“Am ddigwyddiad hyfryd. Diolch am y cit broetsh. Wnes i fwynhau ei greu yn fawr. Roedd pawb yn hyfryd a chyfeillgar.” Dawn 

Roedd digonedd o dylluanod yno diolch i Carol. Roedden nhw mor boblogaidd nes bod rhaid iddi fynd adre nos Wener i baratoi mwy! 
“Diolch Carol am fy helpu i greu fy nhylluan!” 
Roedd yna waith lliwio a braslunio gwych i’w weld. Roedd llyfrau braslunio lledr bach Pat yr un mor boblogaidd â thylluanod Carol. Dydy hynny’n ddim syndod, gan eu bod yn rhodd bach gwych i fynd adre gyda chi. 
“Diwrnod hyfryd gyda llawer o grefftau gwych, mwynheuodd y plant yn fawr. Diolch yn fawr iawn.”

Doedd aelodau Cutting Edge ddim yn ofni ymgolli yn y gweithgareddau eu hunain chwaith. Roedden nhw wrth eu boddau’n sgwrsio ag ymwelwyr hefyd, gan ei fod yn gyfle i rannu gwybodaeth, cyngor, ac i’w cyfeirio at adnoddau. Roedd un ymwelydd yn bwriadu mynd ati i drwsio lliain allor, ac roedd hi’n falch iawn o gael ei chyflwyno i ymwelydd arall a allai ei helpu i ddod o hyd i’r plethiadau oedd eu hangen arni. 
 

Adborth gan aelodau grŵp Cutting Edge:  
“Mwynheais i’r prynhawn. Roedd yn ffordd wych o’i dreulio. Ro’n i wrth fy modd yn edrych ar yr arddangosfeydd unwaith eto, a mwynheais i’r stampio!” Sally 
“Roedd yn ddiwrnod llawn hwyl gyda chymaint o ddiddordeb a gwerthfawrogiad... cwrddais i â phobl hyfryd, gyda rhai’n dweud eu bod wedi’u hysbrydoli i roi cynnig ar rywbeth creadigol eu hunain, a phlant cwrtais iawn oedd yn dweud diolch am eu helpu. Wrth fy modd.” Ella. 
 

“Am amser hyfryd heddiw yn cwrdd ag ymwelwyr oedd â chymaint o ddiddordeb yng ngwaith ein grŵp. Roedd cymaint wedi’u synnu ar yr ystod o wahanol sgiliau celf / tecstilau oedd i’w gweld.  Ond fy hoff ran oedd y bachgen ifanc yn y llun uchod, a oedd yn benderfynol o bwytho o gwmpas ei gennin Pedr cyn gadael. Roedd hi mor braf cael cyfle i annog y bobl ifanc.”  Liz 
 

“Deuddydd gwych, a chymaint o bobl yn gadael wedi’u hysbrydoli i barhau i bwytho.” Eleri 
Roedd y cwilt Monopoly yn boblogaidd, a chafwyd sawl awgrym ar gyfer cartref parhaol iddo, ond roedd llawer o’r farn y dylai aros yn Sain Ffagan. 
 

“Ystod anhygoel o waith a sgiliau. Wir wedi mwynhau’r arddangosfa gyfan, yn enwedig y cwilt Monopoly.” Lesley, Y Rhws 
Roedd prosiect pwytho coeden deulu Carol yn boblogaidd hefyd. Roedd Carol wedi’i syfrdanu gan yr ymateb a gafodd. O ganlyniad, mae cnewyllyn gweithdy bellach yn cael ei ffurfio! 

Dros y ddau ddiwrnod, cawson ni dros 650 o ymwelwyr – o bell ac agos – a rhai mor bell â’r Iseldiroedd! 
Roedd dwy fenyw o’r Iseldiroedd a ymwelodd yn awyddus i brynu darnau o’n gwaith celf. Pan ofynnon ni beth oedd yn denu eu diddordeb, cyfeirion nhw at gerdyn post Dianne a cherdyn post Thomas the Taylor gan Monica. Rhoddwyd y cardiau yn rhodd i’r menywod, a chyfnewidiwyd cyfeiriadau gydag addewid gan Monica a Dianne y bydden nhw’n postio cerdyn post ffabrig iddyn nhw hefyd! 
Deuddydd gwych, gydag ymwelwyr ac aelodau Cutting Edge wedi mwynhau fel ei gilydd.  
 

Diolch yn fawr i: 
Yr aelod o staff Sain Ffagan, Loveday, a aeth yr ail filltir i wneud yn siŵr fod popeth oedd ei angen arnon ni ganddon ni. Fe wnaeth hi hyd yn oed ymuno a helpu pan oedden ni’n brysur iawn, ac roedden ni wir yn gwerthfawrogi hynny! 
Gŵr Jan, Alan, am dynnu lluniau i ni. Maen nhw’n edrych yn wych yn ein halbwm! 
A diolch yn fawr iawn i holl aelodau anhygoel Cutting Edge am eu darnau o waith ysbrydoledig a’u hymroddiad i wneud y digwyddiad deuddydd yn Sain Ffagan yn un cofiadwy. Rydych chi’n sêr! 
 

Cynhalion ni’r digwyddiad yn ystod Wythnos Pontio Cenedlaethau’r Byd, a oedd ar ddiwedd y gwyliau Pasg. Roedd yn sicr yn ticio pob bocs ar gyfer ymgysylltu rhwng cenedlaethau, gan fod plant ac oedolion wedi gadael yno’n hapus ac yn fwy hyderus gyda’r sgiliau newydd roedden nhw wedi’u dysgu. 
“Arddangosfa wych a hyfryd oedd gweld yr holl sgiliau. Menter hyfryd, a gwych i blant o bob oed i’w phrofi!” 
"Fantastisch!" Lia, yr Iseldiroedd 
“Arddangosfa ysbrydoledig wych. Ro’n i’n hoff o’r amrywiaeth hefyd – patrymau, pwythau, dyfrlliwiau. Mwynheais i’r gweithgareddau ymarferol hefyd. Ymlaciol a hwyl.” Gwynedd 
“Am ddigwyddiad gwych, gyda darnau gwaith hyfryd i’w hedmygu ac i ysbrydoli! Roedd darparu popeth ar gyfer y prosiectau pontio’r cenedlaethau wnaethon ni mor garedig a hael” Caroline 
“Arddangosfa ardderchog. Menywod dawnus a hyfryd.” 

Ar ôl y digwyddiad, roedden ni’n falch iawn o dderbyn llun o’r digwyddiad gan Mike, sy’n aelod o Grŵp Braslunio Sain Ffagan. Ymwelodd ar y dydd Sadwrn, gan eistedd yn dawel yn y gornel yn braslunio’r olygfa o’i flaen. Roedd e’n meddwl bod ein gwaith, fel ei waith e, yn anhygoel: 
“Cefais i’r cyfle i ymweld â’r arddangosfa o waith aelodau Grŵp Tecstilau Cutting Edge yn Sain Ffagan. Roedd hi’n ddiwrnod hyfryd, ac roedd y digwyddiad yn boblogaidd iawn gyda theuluoedd yn mwynhau diwedd gwyliau’r Pasg. Roedd llawer o weithgareddau llawn hwyl i blant ac oedolion. Cefais fy annog i ymweld ag arddangosfa Grŵp Tecstilau Cutting Edge i weld beth maen nhw’n ei wneud gan aelod o’r grŵp sydd hefyd yn aelod o Grŵp Braslunio Sain Ffagan. Yr ateb yw llawer, gyda’r safon yn uchel iawn hefyd! Roedd pawb mor garedig yn rhannu eu gwaith. Mae gen i lwyth o syniadau, a cheisiais ddal y digwyddiad yn fy mraslun” Instagram @mikelinewalker 
 

Nodyn cloi: 
Postiodd Monica gerdyn post ffabrig at un o’r menywod o’r Iseldiroedd a ymwelodd â’r arddangosfa, ac fe gyrhaeddodd y cerdyn cyn iddi ddychwelyd adre i’r Iseldiroedd! Dyma’r e-bost gafodd Monica gan Thea: 
“Annwyl Monica, 
Am sioc oedd darganfod bod y cerdyn anfonaist ti ata i wedi cyrraedd yn barod erbyn i fi ddychwelyd o fy ngwyliau yn teithio drwy Gymru.  
Roedd hi’n braf iawn dy gwrdd yn yr arddangosfa a chael dewis o’r cardiau roeddet ti wedi’u creu. Roedd hi’n arddangosfa ysbrydoledig iawn, a mwynheais i hi’n fawr. 
Bydda i’n dangos y cardiau i aelodau’r clwb cwiltio yfory, ac rwy’n siŵr y byddan nhw wrth eu bodd gyda nhw hefyd. Mae angen i fi ddod o hyd i le da i’w rhoi nhw, un ai yn fy nghartref neu yn fy ysgol, lle bydda i’n mwynhau edrych arnyn nhw, ond dydw i ddim yn siŵr eto. 
Dymuniadau gorau, ac i aelodau eraill Grŵp Tecstilau Cutting Edge 
Thea”

I ddysgu mwy am Grŵp Cutting Edge, ymwelwch â: Cutting Edge | Sharing textiles knowledge, ideas and skills

I am a history MA student, and since April 2024 I have been a volunteer for the museums second-hand book sale. 

A typical session volunteering includes categorising and pricing donated books stored in the volunteer hub. Once we have chosen which books to keep (which is most of them) we place and organise them at the front of the museum. You can choose how long you want to volunteer for and if you want to be alone or work with someone else. Sometimes there are a lot of books to sort and sometimes all you need to do is put out more on the shelves to sell.

I started volunteering because I took a year off university in between my undergrad and postgrad, and I wanted to do something that would give me an insight into how the heritage sector worked. I find organising and arranging the books calming and the staff and volunteers are always really friendly! 

Maia – Book Sale Volunteer

Who are you? How and why did you join Demystifying Acquisitions? 

My name is Abraham Makanjuola, I am originally from London and I work as a Health Economist for Bangor University. During my masters, I was working with the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel (SSAP) on a documentary about narratives about the African Continent from the perspective of people from the diaspora linked with the UK. Following the release of this, I was approached about being involved with filming behind the scenes content for Demystifying Acquisitions. I was initially not sure, because I didn’t know what I had of value to offer the project, but I was met with encouragement and that helped me make my decision. I think that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life to date. 

How did you find the overall experience of working for Demystifying Acquisitions? 

It was sensational, I would do it all over again exactly as it has played out. I genuinely have nothing negative to say and there aren’t any glaring issues that require addressing from my perspective. I think that is a testament to the people I was blessed enough to work with. I have enjoyed myself and learned so much over the past couple of years and I am grateful to all involved. 

What set of skills did you gain while working on the project? 

Specific to new museum knowledge, I learned about the conservation of artwork, how the bid and grant writing process works, and how to write labels for artworks in galleries. Wider softer skills I was able to develop were teamwork and collaboration, and project management. 

What was your favourite part of working on the project? 

My favourite part was being a part of the install day of the redisplay, I even got to put up one of the works which was cool. Prior to this day though, my favourite part was learning about label writing. Did you feel listened to? Were you able to influence or change things? What instance? Throughout the process we were given complete autonomy and were encouraged and supported with our group decisions. With this support we were able to respect museum practices but also shake things up and challenge how things have previously been done. We did have push back for certain decisions we made but there was always mutual understanding and respect.


 

In March 2024, I became part of a team of volunteers at National Museum Cardiff, our objective to setup and maintain a second-hand bookstall in the main hall of the museum.  

I have a background in education, community arts, and creative writing. When the opportunity to volunteer as bookseller with National Museum Cardiff came about, I eagerly applied and was over the moon to have been invited to join. Being involved in the running of the second-hand bookstall resonates with my, and the museum’s, commitment to making education accessible. At the stall, we always have a host of history, science, and arts books available for children and adults. The bookstall also promotes an ease of access to a wide variety of fiction books, which thrills the creative writer in me. 

Whenever I go into the museum, I am warmed by how interested everyone is in the bookstall. I often chat with visitors about their unique finds, or how excited they are to get stuck into a new book, as well as talking about the museum and its exhibits. Members of staff at the museum are always taking an interest too, and I’ve gotten to know some members of the front of house team well. It is always nice hearing about their book finds, or updates about the money the stall has raised, or to catch up and chat about how our weeks have been going.  

We stock the bookstall with second-hand books donated to us by members of museum staff, and members of the public via donations to St Fagans National Museum of History, at which they have their own successful second-hand bookstall. I go into the museum once a week to sort through these donated books, in addition to tidying up and restocking the bookstall. Sorting books sees me sort books by genre, and alphabetise the fiction, as well as to make sure that books are marked with a suggested donation. Green =50p, Blue =£1, Yellow =£2, and our red stickers mark custom prices, usually to highlight rare editions, or bundles.

Sorting through the books is a great joy, we never know what is going to come in, and there are always fascinating gems to be found. I’ll set myself up in the volunteer hub, usually with an audiobook or some music and make my way through the book piles. Some of my favourite donations have been the unique specialist books donated by museum staff, books that you simply wouldn’t find in your average bookshop. But the fact is, I never know what is going to turn up. Several finds which have stood out to me, and highlight the diversity of books that come in, include: the score to Westside Story, a guide to scuba diving, a book of Mastermind questions, and an omnibus of Alien vs Predator novels! Just goes to show that it’s always worth popping in to see what’s there.  

Being a part of the bookstall has been greatly rewarding, I’ve gotten to know lots of museum volunteers and staff alike, and my relationship with the museum has provided me with opportunities to attend unique talks and events for volunteers, such as our tour of National Roman Legion Museum, back in November ‘24. Notably, I am proud of the money that the bookstall has raised for the museum, £4300.88 at the most recent count up by staff!

The second-hand bookstall is made up of four bookcases which can be found in the main hall of National Museum Cardiff. Books can be purchased by making a donation at the card reader, or by dropping some cash into the collection box beside the shelves.   

Daniel Skentelbery – Book Sale Volunteer

1 Corinthians 12 introduces its readers to the lasting image of the fledging church as a physical body – each part with different but important roles to fulfil. This metaphor has endured for centuries, and is a challenging one for many Christians today, who struggle with things like hard denominational boundaries and tribal us/them attitudes. For Fr. Ruth, a queer priest in the Church in Wales (CiW), it has a similarly challenging but uplifting message. 

Ruth is a curate (trainee vicar) in the Islwyn Ministry Area in the Diocese of Monmouth, and she’s part of a team that looks after twelve different churches up and down the Gwent Valleys. She’s also bisexual, gender-non-conforming, and in a civil partnership with her spouse, Hannah. In addition to her ministry in the CiW, Ruth is one of four Pastoral Leaders of an ecumenical LGBTQ+ church in Cardiff called The Gathering. 

If that surprises you, that’s okay. But, despite what you may have been taught, queer people have always been a part of the life of the church. We have always been vicars, ministers, deacons, worship leaders, caretakers, congregants, youth group leaders. We are a part of the heritage and life of the church in a way that has, for too long, been overlooked and brushed aside.

The Anglican Church, in particular the Church of England, is undergoing a real reckoning at the moment over the issue of blessing same-sex marriages. The CiW has already had this conversation, and voted in 2021 to bless the marriages of same-sex couples. Whilst, for many, this does not go far enough, it is generally seen as a good first step, and it sets a precedent for other Anglican churches also having this discussion. It also puts those campaigning for marriage equality in a really good position for the Church in Wales to formally allow the sacramental celebration of marriage (hopefully) soon. The current position is bittersweet for many, though. As Fr. Ruth explained to me: “When the current legislation passed, that was a huge change for the Church in Wales. But I felt quite conflicted about it. In part, I am delighted that we can offer something to people for whom the church have been offering nothing. But, in part, it feels like a half-hearted step, where, what you're saying is ‘we're going to recognise that these relationships are good and holy and that God can bless them, but we're not willing to offer you the sacrament of marriage’. It feels theologically incomplete. And it's hurtful, as a queer person in a relationship, to know that the sacrament of marriage is withheld from us.”

It is still a huge deal, though, especially when you consider the length of Christian history that we were completely excluded from the public life of the church. We were still there, though, in closets and in the background, and I like to find queerness reflected in artwork throughout Christian history. It’s forever fascinating to me the ways in which artists, for hundreds of years, have been interpreting biblical stories in ways that we, as audience members and critics, can see the homoerotic. In this artwork, we can see ourselves reflected; here, in the shadow of gender transgression, there, in the hint towards homoeroticism. Indeed, for many artists throughout history, the only acceptable outlet for them to express their homoerotic desires was to displace them through artistic interpretations of ‘safe’ stories and figures – biblical scenes and characters. For example, artwork depicting the martyrdom of St. Sebastian is almost always homoerotic – after all, an attractive young man, mostly naked, is often depicted as being penetrated by arrows.

For Ruth, the ways in which she honours her place in the Church, and where she sees herself in the heritage of the church, is through the practise of the Eucharist. A useful image for her in thinking about the Eucharist is that of a human heart. “During the Eucharist, the church is like the chambers of the heart. It draws in that which needs nourishment. In the movement of the Eucharist, the nourishment is received, like blood going out to the lungs and coming back again, and then it's sent back out into the rest of its community.” So, when Jesus says, at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19, NRSV), and we partake in this remembrance, we become a part of something bigger than us – an invisible string that stretches back centuries, connecting everyone across the world that’s ever remembered Jesus’ life in this way, like branches of a nervous system spanning time and space and holding us together. In this act of remembrance, “in becoming the body of Christ, all of the boundaries get blurry. So we become parts of a whole. That requires all of our differences.” It requires our differences in sexuality and gender identity, and how we interact with the world around us as embodied creatures. “As someone who the church historically would have said ‘we have no need of you’, I find it really, really heartening that those who still wish queer folks weren’t in ministry can't say ‘we have no need of you’. Because here we stand within the sacramental honours of the life of the church. You cannot say to me: I have no need of you. The challenging side is, I can't say to them I have no need of them either. We are brought together in that wholeness. And that wholeness is of God and so it's not up to us to say we have no need of one another.”

In a world full of divisive individualism, rituals like a Eucharist serve as an important reminder that we are a part of a much, much larger whole. The human body is an ecosystem of multitudinous grace, apathy, compassion and anger – never just one thing, always many interlinking feelings and experiences and beliefs. And, if a single human body is an ecosystem, how vast must the ecosystems of our societies be? Another word for Eucharist is Communion. This is the term that I grew up with in my faith tradition, and it holds both a special and fraught place in my heart because of it. The obvious reason behind it being called Communion is that it is through this ritual that we commune with God – we honour Jesus’ life and death, and are in communion with something greater than ourselves. But, through the connections and interconnections of this action, are we not also in communion with one another? Are we not then, in spite of all the things that separate us, one body? 

 ‘Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. […] If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” […] If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.’ (1 Cor. 12:12-26, NRSV).