Shirley Jones

Shirley was born in 1934 in the Rhondda Valley of Wales. From 1954 to 1957 she studied English Literature at University of Wales Cardiff. During 1973-75 she partook in part-time courses in Printmaking and Sculpture. This she followed up in 1975-76 with a post-graduate course in advanced printmaking at Croydon Art College. In 1977 she set up her own etching studio and in 1979 she acquired a proofing press and began printing the text of her artist's books (since 1983 the 'Red Hen Press' now in Llanhamlach, Wales)

Shirley Jones is one of only a handful of artists who create artist books, or livre d'artists, i.e. who write, set and print the text, create and print the accompanying images and design the binding.

Katherine Reagan, curator of Rare Books at Cornell University/USA wrote of the artist in 2003: "Shirley Jones is not only an artist & printer, but an eloquent writer & storyteller. Her books achieve a harmonious balance between text & illustration seldom seen in the work of contemporary fine printers. The quiet strength of her deeply personal works, many of which are steeped in the history of Wales, transcend the specifics of time and place, resonate with universal experiences of memory, land, location and loss."

In 1975 Shirley Jones produced her first book ("Words & Prints") written, illustrated and bound by her while still a postgraduate printmaking student. Twelve colour prints of flowers and poems printed on waterleaf paper. Since then she has created a further 21 artist's books under the imprint of the Red Hen Press. Her own poems, prose pieces and translations of Old Welsh & Old English are illustrated with her etchings and mezzotints. The little used technique of mezzotint, the most difficult and time consuming of all printmaking processes, is her preferred medium. She sets and prints her text by letterpress on handmade or mouldmade paper in editions limited to 40 copies. Each of her books is a total concept, a planned integration of different crafts, involving visual and literary creativity of a highly personal and individual nature. The choice of paper and typeface, the unity of text and images, the harmony of the binding are just as carefully considered (quoted from exhibition notes by kind permission of the artist).

Awards: 1994 winner of the British Book Design award for limited edition books with "Llym Awel"; 1999 elected associate member of the Makers' Guild of Wales & three years later becomes a full member; 2003 Welsh Artist of the Year - Highly Commended

Commissions: numerous

Public Collections in the UK: The Library National Museum & Galleries of Wales; Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery Brecon/Wales; National Library of Wales; National Art Library Victoria & Albert Museum London; British Library London; London College of Printing; Manchester Metropolitan University

International Links:
exhibitions abroad: 1982 Atelier 2, Vierse/Germany (solo); 1989 Neilsen Library, Smith College Massachusetts/USA (solo); Hargrett Library, University of Georgia/USA (solo); 1990 International Exhibition of Creative Typography, Lausanne/Switzerland (mixed); Bailey-Howe Library University of Vermont/USA (solo); Temple University Library Philadelphia/USA (solo); 1994 'Master of the Craft' New York Center for Books'Arts (mixed); 1996 at Dartmouth, Smith & Wellesley Colleges/USA (solo & mixed); Washington University St.Louis/USA (solo); 1998 McCabe Library Swarthmore College, Philadelphia/USA (solo); 2000 British Council Exhibition in Brunei & Singapore (mixed).

public collections abroad: Library of Congress Washington/USA; New York Public Library; Newberry Library Chicago/USA; Boston Public Library/USA; Guttenberg Museum Mainz/Germany; Klingspor Museum in Offenbach, Frankfurt/Germany; Otto Schaefer Library in Schweinfurt/Germany; Rijksmuseum, Museum van het Boek/Netherlands; Thomas Fisher Library Toronto/Canada; University of British Columbia/Canada; and in 31 other libraries across the United States.

lecture tours abroad: 1984-2002 thirteen tours in USA e.g. Institute of Art Chicago; New York Centre for the Book Arts; Pyramid Atlantic Washington DC; Alcuin Society Vancouver; Caxton Society Chicago, universities Harvard, Iowa/Iowa City, Ohio/Athens, Vermont, Washington/St.Louis, Temple/Philadelphia; colleges at Smith, Dartmouth, Skidmore, Vassar, Swarthmore, Wellesley & Wells.