Artistic Care Home residents create colourful Croeso for National Eisteddfod

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Pictures by Rick Matthews

Creative care home residents are providing a colourful welcome to visitors expected at the National Eisteddfod.
Members of the art club at Pendine Park care organisations Bryn Bella home have been busy making vibrant decorations and 50 metres of multi-coloured bunting that will adorn the entrance way to the Maes.

Pendine, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is sponsoring one of the main choir competitions as well as helping out with the decorations.

Owners Mario Kreft MBE, and his wife, Gill, established the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT) to support the arts and community activities in North Wales.

Wrexham is rightly proud to be the host of this years National Eisteddfod and we are equally proud to be supporting the event said Pendine owner Mario Kreft MBE, who established the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT) with his wife, Gill.

It's one of the biggest cultural festivals in the world and all eyes will definitely be on Wrexham in August.

It's fantastic to think that the decorations made by our brilliant amateur artists at Bryn Bella will be adding even more joy to the occasion. Well done to them all.

Pendine Park consultant Artist in Residence Sarah Edwards has been leading the workshops in which residents have been making the bunting and other decorations adorned with heart motifs and the word Croeso, which in English means welcome.

Among the residents who is a regular at the art weekly Bryn Bella art sessions is Tony Ithell.


He said: I have made two of the large hearts which Sarah has designed. I started by painting the white background first then overlaying the colours onto it. It's taken me about four days in all, but it's been worth it.

The hearts, which are about three feet tall, will be unmissable at the entrance to the eisteddfod.

Some strings of bunting comprised heart shapes outlined in green with a bold bright red heart in the middle on a white background.

They have worked really hard on this, as we all determined to give the National Eisteddfod visitors a really big welcome to our home turf, added Sarah.

It's a simple design but it's surprisingly effective, said Carole Ball, another Bryn Bella resident who is a keen artist.

She also made a design of a traditional Welsh dragon. She said: We've naturally been using a lot of red, green and white in our paintings as those are the national colours of Wales. It's always good to know that our artwork will go on show and be seen by the wider public.

Fellow resident George Ullman also enjoyed making the heart shapes, while Wendy Powell used coloured pencils to decorate the word Croeso with an array of fun music themed motifs around it.

She delighted in the thought that her work would be seen by so many people over the course of the Eisteddfod week.