Plas Bodfa

11/06/2026

Llongyfarchiadau Norman on your recent feature in CVAN North West. Wonderful to revisit your installation in the sunken garden way back in 2022 :) read on…..

Every month we feature the work of a North West based artist. This month it is Norman Payne

Norman is a sculptor currently living and working in Preston, Lancashire.

Originally from Southampton, he moved to the north in 1992 to study at UCLan where he was awarded a BA in Fine Art with first class honours in 1995. In 1999, he completed an MA in the History and Theory of Art, writing his thesis on the origins and purpose of art - an area that continues to inform his current artistic practice.

At this time, he exhibited across the North West in exhibitions such as ‘Visionfest 6’, Hebden Bridge Arts Festival and ‘Missing Pages’ a year-long site-specific exhibition that toured 7 Lancashire libraries.
After a 20 year break of raising a family he returned to his artistic practice in 2019, exhibiting in the Warrington Contemporary Open.

Since then, he has been commissioned by ‘Something’s Brewing’ and ‘Curious Minds NW’ during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to make the ‘Preston People’s Portable Plague Stone’. In 2020 he also became a studio holder at Preston’s Birley Studios and he regularly exhibits in their annual members’ show.

In 2022 he was commissioned by ‘Corridor 8’ to contribute to the publication ‘Northern Formations’ collaborating with Bolton-based artist Shonagh Short. Also in 2022, he produced a site-specific sculpture for the exhibition ‘Bodfa Continuum-the possibilities of time’ at Plas Bodfa on Anglesey. A video piece of which you can watch here.

In September 2025 Norman was part of a collaboration between Birley Studios and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery. The resulting exhibition ‘Artist Led’ featured the work of 6 Birley artists who exhibited their work alongside and in response to pieces in the Harris’ collection when the refurbished museum and gallery opened.

Credits:
Scholar Stones II
Fragment of an Inscribed Door Frame
Transmitter (2025)
Charm (2024)
An Act of Sheer Folly (2022)

All work and photography by Norman Payne.

10/06/2026

Playing Out - a project of Hopewell Ink - David and Kathy Hopewell. As part of the Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail 2026, they presented a sound installation about playing outside as children.

They asked visitors to tell them memories of playing out when they were young - this is the result! Funny, interesting, sad…do have a listen. . .

Chwarae Allan - prosiect gan Hopewell Ink - David a Kathy Hopewell. Fel rhan o Lwybr Cerfluniau Aberlleiniog 2026, fe wnaethon nhw gyflwyno gosodiad sain am chwarae yn yr awyr agored fel plant.

Gofynnon nhw i ymwelwyr ddweud atgofion wrthyn nhw o chwarae yn yr awyr agored pan oedden nhw'n ifanc - dyma'r canlyniad! Doniol, diddorol, trist…gwrandewch arno.

https://vimeo.com/user121566967/playingout

Kathy Hopewell
Hopewell Ink
David Hopewell

‘Playing Out’ by Hopewell Ink explores memories of playing outside as children and was created from an interactive sound installation for the 2026 Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail. It features a spoken word piece, a soundscape derived from sounds along the route of the sculpture trail and a collecti...

10/06/2026

🏳️ Heddiw rydym yn hedfan baner Cyfeillgarwch, un o gyfres o faneri a ddyluniwyd gan ddisgyblion Ysgol Llangoed.

Gofynnwyd i’r plant lunio’r pethau sy’n bwysig iddynt am eu cymuned. Ar gyfer y faner hon, dewiswyd dathlu ffrindiau – o’r ysgol a’r Sgowtiaid, o’r band ac o’r gymdogaeth.

Mae’r faner yn cynnig cipolwg ar y gymuned drwy lygaid pobl ifanc Llangoed.

Mae *Flags Flying in Llangoed* yn brosiect ar y cyd rhwng Plas Bodfa Projects a Neuadd Bentref Llangoed, gyda chefnogaeth Balchder Bro Môn.

🏳️ Today we are flying the Friendship flag, one of a series of flags designed by the pupils of Ysgol Llangoed.

The students were asked to draw things that were important to them about their community. For this flag, they chose to celebrate friends – from school and scouts, from band and the neighbourhood.

The flag offers a glimpse of the community through the eyes of the young people of Llangoed.

*Flags Flying in Llangoed* is a collaborative project between Plas Bodfa Projects and Llangoed Village Hall, supported by Balchder Bro Môn.

04/06/2026

Peaceful long-lit working days with every kind of weather. 🌧️🌦️💧🌈☀️⛅️🌤️ the historic wooden carved doors of Plas Bodfa . .

27/05/2026

Hungary tadpoles feast at piano buffet.

21/05/2026

It’s yellow rattle time! 💛Cribell Felen - A***n y perth - Cribell y gweunydd - Bwyell y coed 💛 such rich imagery in Cymraeg!

Plus red clover, bird’s- foot trefoil, the first daisy and the loooovely silver cinquefoil. Eight years after we started, here’s a window into our mid May wildflower meadow.

Since 2018 we have been working towards establishing a wildflower meadow in our paddock area. Follow along our journey on the project page.

Thanks again to Trevor Dines for his research and study, and very useful lecture back in 2021. (link to the Plantlife YouTube channel on our wildflower page)

https://www.plasbodfa.com/explore/wildflower-meadow

20/05/2026

Dydd Sadwrn yma - this Saturday! Teithio Troedio Trawsnewid 🦅 Journey of the Shape Shifter contemporary Welsh circus at Neuadd Bentref Llangoed Village Hall

15/05/2026

‘The Erratics’ by Mai Thomas
GeoMôn Unesco Global Geopark - Anglesey's geopark�an initiative of Plas Bodfa Projects

[Cymraeg yn y post blaenorol]

~ new art inspired by landscape, ecology and deep time ~
A unique opportunity for organisations working in North Wales to be paired with creative individuals - working together, learning from each other and creating something new.

Mai Thomas immersed herself in the erratics of Lleiniog Beach,learning their origin stories and understanding their complex material makeup. Using material derived from the landscape of Lleiniog beach, she processed her own pigments through a long meditative process of soaking, pulverising and grinding the sentiments into smooth, rich colours. Using this rich palate, she produced four large-scale drawings, monumental observations of the Lleiniog erratics.

The four drawings were presented at Llangoed Village Hall as part of the Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail 2026.

About the Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail Commissions:

The Micro-Residency
Organised through an open call for proposals, the chosen artist is embedded within the host organisation - meeting, learning, inquiring, discussing, creating and exploring. The residency experience is tailored specifically for the artist and organisation, ensuring that everyone gets the most out of the experience.

The Commission
The results are premiered during the annual Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail, where the artwork, performance and related events are shared with the wide audience of the Trail - over 1,300 in 2026!

More info about the work

https://www.plasbodfa.com/geomon-commission-mai-thomas

15/05/2026

‘Yr Erratics’ gan Mai Thomas
GeoMôn Unesco Global Geopark - Anglesey's geopark Micro-breswylfa 2026
menter gan Plas Bodfa Projects

[English in next post]

~ celf newydd wedi’i hysbrydoli gan dirwedd, ecoleg ac amser dwfn ~
Cyfle unigryw i sefydliadau sy’n gweithio yng Ngogledd Cymru gael eu paru ag unigolion creadigol - yn gweithio gyda’i gilydd, yn dysgu oddi wrth ei gilydd ac yn creu rhywbeth newydd.

Ymgolchodd Mai Thomas yn erratics Traeth Lleiniog, gan ddysgu am eu hanes, eu tarddiad a’u straeon. Gan ddefnyddio deunydd a ddeilliodd o dirwedd traeth Lleiniog, prosesodd ei pigmentau ei hun trwy broses fyfyriol hir o socian, malu a malu’r teimladau yn lliwiau llyfn, cyfoethog. Gan ddefnyddio’r blas cyfoethog hwn, cynhyrchodd bedwar llun ar raddfa fawr, arsylwadau coffaol o erratics Lleiniog.

Cyflwynwyd y pedwar llun yn Neuadd Bentref Llangoed fel rhan o Lwybr Cerfluniau Aberlleiniog 2026.

Ynglŷn â Chomisiynau Llwybr Cerfluniau Aberlleiniog:

Y Breswylfa Ficro
Wedi’i threfnu trwy alwad agored am gynigion, mae’r artist a ddewisir wedi’i fewnosod o fewn y sefydliad cynnal - yn cyfarfod, yn dysgu, yn ymholi, yn trafod, yn creu ac yn archwilio. Mae’r profiad preswyl wedi’i deilwra’n benodol ar gyfer yr artist a’r sefydliad, gan sicrhau bod pawb yn cael y gorau o’r profiad.

Y Comisiwn
Caiff y canlyniadau eu dangos am y tro cyntaf yn ystod Llwybr Cerfluniau blynyddol Aberlleiniog, lle mae’r gwaith celf, y perfformiad a’r digwyddiadau cysylltiedig yn cael eu rhannu â chynulleidfa eang y Llwybr - dros 1,300 yn 2026!

https://cy.plasbodfa.com/geomon-commission-mai-thomas

12/05/2026

Land Art ROUND UP from -
Llwybr Cerfluniau Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail, Llangoed, Anglesey, Wales. 28th-29th March 2026

He says “I thought I would bring together the four pieces I made on my trip to Wales as an artist for the Aberlleiniog Sculpture Trail in Anglesey. It was such an immersive and rewarding experience.”

Thank you so much Winston, for your calm presence, your careful hand and keen eye for texture, colour, context and space. It’s very interesting to see the works in succession like this, as in situ they were all in quite different places!




~~~

Roeddwn i’n meddwl y byddwn i’n dod â’r pedwar darn a wnes i ar fy nhaith i Gymru fel artist at ei gilydd ar gyfer Llwybr Cerfluniau Aberlleiniog yn Ynys Môn. Roedd yn brofiad mor ymgolli a gwerth chweil.

Gallwch chi ddysgu llawer mwy yma -
cy.plasbodfa.com/projects/aberlleiniog-sculpture-trail