A rare moth finds itself at the centre of a community textile project.

In 2020 the people of Llangynfelyn in Ceredigion were locked down and missing the usual friendly meetings and chat that takes place at the Cletwr community owned café and shop. However, the Ashley Family Foundation had awarded Cletwr some funds to make a textile hanging to brighten the Cletwr café. Undaunted by the problems caused by the pandemic, an enthusiastic group formed and, communicating and working via Zoom, the textile project got underway.

Elin Vaughan Crowley, an artist with a lot of experience of leading community arts projects, helped the group to discover and illustrate the things that are valued in and around the villages of Tre Taliesin and Tre’r Ddôl. Some members of the group were excited by the walks that they were doing during the lockdown; others looked more closely at the plants and animals they encountered. Cors Fochno, the nearby raised bog area and nature reserve that stretches from the villages down to the Dyfi Estuary, soon became the focus of the art work. Elin took the individual drawings and lino prints made by members of the group and created a wonderful design with the rare Rosy Marsh Moth at its centre. The Rosy Marsh Moth loves wet areas and Cors Fochno is one of the few places in Wales where it is found. Another important feature of the textile is Irish Lady’s-tresses, an orchid first discovered in Wales on Cors Fochno in 2019.

When the members of the textile group could finally meet up, work started on the big canvas, bringing the design to life with a variety of skills, including stitch embroidery, crochet, appliqué and needle felting. The project developed as more people got involved.

The Rosy Marsh Moth is a demonstration of the enthusiasm of the creative community in the Llangynfelyn area and of the role of Cletwr in bringing people together. One participant described the artwork as “a wonderful collaborative celebration of the local area created at an extraordinary time. I think it will be enriching and uplifting for visitors and local people to see and discover the story of the creation of the artwork.”

A launch event of the textile will place this Sunday, 2 October, at Cletwr and the colourful textile hanging will then be on permanent display there.