Osi Rhys Osmond prize, Oriel Osi, Llansteffan

I feel very honoured to have won the Osi Rhys Osmond prize, an open exhibition and competition for students of Carmarthen School of Art.

Osi was a well-respected and much-loved Welsh artist, based in Carmarthenshire, and a former teacher at the college. The theme of the prize this year was ‘my brief eternity’ – I recommend watching the short film, ‘My Brief Eternity : Ar Awyr Le’, made by Clare Sturges during Osi’s last days, and about the last painting that he made, in which he speaks very movingly about his work and his thinking.

Osi was my teacher years ago, the first to teach me book-making, along with other crafts. I learned from him how to create books from used envelopes, and discovered the absolute magic of books with windows opening through the pages. So there is a sense of completion and circularity for me in all this – especially since my entry was an artist’s book.

You can access the virtual exhibition of all of the entries, which takes the form of an e-book, at this link– just look for the banner for the ‘Osi Rhys Osmond Prize’ above a photo of the artist. Or you can pop in to Oriel Osi in Llansteffan, where you can see my work alongside the work of the shortlisted artists, Angela James, Valerie Beadle , Angharad Caines, Carole Jones-Hovey and Cerys Anne Williams.