Testimonials

"We first commissioned Beryl having seen the amazing wolf sculpture she had made for display at Coed y Bleiddiaid on the Ffestiniog Railway. I was able to convince my colleagues that we should do this simply by emailing round a digital image of the work!

The first piece Beryl made for us was a large sculpture of an ancient oak. We used this on numerous occasions, at the Royal Welsh Show, the National Eisteddfod and the Hay Festival, not to mention the Senedd, the home of the National Assembly for Wales, where it graced the main concourse area was admired by all who saw it. It was a brilliant piece of work, striking, beautiful but also great fun for children and adults to play in. And as well as making the piece, we also commissioned Beryl to work with children at the Royal Welsh Show, making 'oak leaves' for the tree, out of basketwork. We were very happy with this.

So pleased were we with Beryl's work that we later commissioned her to make a sculpture of the mythical figure Blodeuwedd, which played a key role in a children's drama production in one of our woods. The whole event, including the sculpture, was a great success, with very positive feedback from those who saw it."

"Not only does Beryl produce beautifully crafted willow sculptures within an agreed timescale — she is also a pleasure to work with in terms of her clear communication, her promptness in responding to queries and her willingness to respond to suggestions without compromising the finished product."

"The gallery invited Beryl Smith to exhibit her work as part of the themed exhibition 'Made in Wales' which ran from 14th September 2009 to the 12th February 2010. It brought together and celebrated the engaging diversity of contemporary and historical Welsh visual culture. A range of informative activities were organised to complement the exhibition and enhance student participation and project work. Beryl led three days of exciting and engaging willow weaving workshops in the gallery space, allowing students the opportunity to have a go at weaving and view a wide range of her willow baskets, sculptures and projects.

Beryl worked with a variety of different students within the art department including Introductory and First Diploma, National Diploma, Textiles, Craft and WJEC Foundation. All were fully engaged with learning about the sustainability of willow, how it can be used as an artistic material and had the opportunity to learn weaving skills. These introductory sessions were enhanced by a final drop in afternoon where students came along and worked with Beryl to improve their skills, resulting in willow stars, flowers and fish, and plant supports which were later sold at the student market as part of their enterprise project.

Beryl was excellent with the students, who had a range of abilities, and created an exciting atmosphere within the gallery. The workshops brought together notions of teamwork, gaining traditional craft skills, sustainability and the opportunity for students to work with a professional maker."

"An exciting way to transform and enclose our garden area. Very worthwhile activity which involved the children and gave them ownership. Children (and staff!) were amazed at the process and delighted with the end result. An extremely professional and efficient job well done."

"I employed Beryl to construct the willow elements of the theatre set Gluscabi for Theatr na n'Óg. Beryl's work was amazing — she was able to fulfil and exceed the needs of the brief, and was flexible in her approach as the design and construction changed during the development of the production.

Beryl's ability as a weaver and craftsperson are of an extremely high standard. The willow elements of the set were much remarked upon by the schools that the production toured to and helped underpin the foundation phase and Forest School ethos of many primary schools in Wales."

"Beryl had already created a wicker sculpture of a howling wolf which stood in the Coedydd Maentwrog National Nature Reserve at the top of the magnificent oak woods, beside the main footpath and the Ffestiniog Railway in a part of the woods known as Coed y Bleiddiau (wood of the wolves), where local legend has it that this was the place where the last wolf in Wales was killed. As the wicker wolf gradually reached the end of its life, someone suggested replacing it with a permanent living willow sculpture. Beryl was instantly enthusiastic and suggested it be built in a sitting, howling position, hollow inside with openings so that people could actually get inside it.

Beryl produced a very favourable quote to supply the materials and construct the sculpture, with a tight deadline for completion before the end of the financial year. She arrived with everything required — willow poles, tying twine, metal bars for making holes, mulch matting and more — and the wolf was erected and complete within 5 days, despite requiring over 400 deep holes in rocky ground. Now growing leaves and filling out with green, the project was completed on time and to budget, with detailed instructions left for caring for the sculpture.

It was a pleasure working with Beryl on the project, both in terms of her very pleasant company, her in-depth knowledge of the materials she's dealing with and her efficiency and organisation."

"As a setting we have recently had a willow tunnel constructed in our garden. Beryl was extremely helpful with the advice she gave and the best situation it should be in. The speed that the dome was built was incredible and the whole process was not intrusive to the daily running of the setting. The willow tunnel is looking fantastic and Beryl is great with providing reminders as to how to care for it — the children are really enjoying the new creation and we look forward to Beryl returning to expand on our existing tunnel!"