Modron

Dewisais adran o’r ffawydden a oedd wedi syrthio, cangen a oedd â dau foncyff cangen. Roeddwn am gadw cyfeiriad at ffurf wreiddiol y goeden. Wrth i mi gerfio a thynnu haenau olynol, dechreuodd y gwead ddatgelu ei naratif ei hun—olion lle’r oedd canghennau unwaith wedi tyfu, newidiadau mewn lliw, a newidiadau mewn gwead a ddilynai dwf y goeden. O dan y rhisgl, ymddangosai marciau ac yna diflannent wrth i’r cerfio fynd rhagddo, gan awgrymu hanes na allwn ond ei ddal yn rhannol.

Daeth troellau annisgwyl o liw i’r amlwg, ac roeddwn am gadw’r pren ar yr eiliad pan oedd yr haenau hynny’n teimlo’n fwyaf byw. Deuthum yn ymwybodol o’r goeden nid yn unig fel un organeb, ond fel cartref a oedd wedi cynnal llawer o ffurfiau bywyd eraill dros amser—cosmos ynddi ei hun.

Mae’r gwaith yn tynnu ar syniad Modron fel mam neu dir: ffynhonnell sy’n dal, yn cynnal, ac yn rhoi bodolaeth i ffurf. Mae’n ceisio adlewyrchu rhywfaint o haelioni’r goeden, ei bywyd mewnol, ei chof, a threigl amser.

Mae’r pren cerfiedig wedi’i osod ar sylfaen gwenithfaen o chwarel leol (trwy garedigrwydd Eric yn Chwarel Nanhoron).

I selected a section of the fallen beech, a limb that had two branch stumps. I wanted to retain a reference to the tree’s original form. As I carved and removed successive layers, the grain began to reveal its own narrative, traces of where branches once emerged, shifts in colour, and changes in texture that followed the tree’s growth. Beneath the bark, markings appeared and disappeared as the carving progressed, suggesting a history I could only grasp. 

Unexpected swirls of colour emerged, and I wanted to preserve the wood at the moment when those layers felt most alive. I became aware of the tree not only as a single organism, but as a home, that had supported many other life forms over time, a cosmos of its own. 

The work draws on the idea of Modron as mother or ground:  a source that holds, sustains, and gives rise to form. It seeks to reflect something of the tree’s generosity, inner life, memory, and passage of time. The carved wood is mounted on a granite base from a local quarry (courtesy of Eric at Chwarel Nanhoron)