Collection: Bronwen Gwillim : Plasticsmith : South Pembrokeshire

Bronwen calls herself a plasticsmith and is interested in waste plastic as a raw resource for making.  Much of it is collected from her local beach on the South Pembrokeshire coast where she is drawn to the pieces that show the signs of their journey across the sea - the marks of rocks, bleaching from sunlight and salt. She picks up on each piece’s intrinsic colour, texture and form by using only hand tools to cut, file and scratch its surfaces. The waste dust she creates is, in turn, mixed with bio resins and used to create new composite materials - very little is thrown away. This slow and very considered approach is inspired by the natural processes of wear and weathering and her shapes resemble those found on a beach.  

Seeking a more sustainable practice Bronwen’s work has always been led by the materials she finds: originally a painter making her own colour from unorthodox materials (Goldsmiths) she then trained as a jeweller and silversmith (Camberwell) and more recently completed an MA in textiles (Bath Spa).  Her mixed media pieces bring all these interests together combining wearable elements on textile or plastic grounds as well as ‘paintings' combining plastic with earth pigments for which she recently won the Canfas award at Craft Festival Wales 2024.