A community-run venue in Tre’r Ddol will start the new year in style with not one, but two new exhibitions.

The exhibitions at Cletwr display the work of two very different artists. Hefin Jones, who is well-known in the area for his career as a headteacher, is also an experienced photographer having studied photography as a hobby and worked with some of the best of Welsh photographers.

His exhibition, titled Gwlân (Wool), celebrates the farming life and its dependence on sheep.

Commenting on this aspect of his work, Hefin said: “Over the years I have developed many pictures featuring sheep and wool. I have enjoyed taking portraits of people who work with sheep.”

The black and white photographs frequently feature people whose lives show the various activities associated with working with sheep, such as those of Dei Cneifwr (Dei the Shearer) and Bennett Jenkins of Cerrig Carnau. Hefin visits agricultural shows, including the Royal Welsh and the Tal-y-bont Show, on the lookout for interesting pictures, although some of those photographs are more abstract and give an unusual glimpse of sheep and wool.

In complete contrast are Ynyslas-based artist Anne Thomas’s colourful textile, hand drawn and painted mandala hangings, which she describes as “exploring harmonious relationships within the complexity of life”. They include images based on plants and animals which “celebrate the lives of our indigenous companions and the delicate balance of the world we co-habit”.

Anne is an artist and wellbeing guide, and her artwork is informed by an animistic spirituality, expressed in paintings and ceramic sculptures.

Mandalas are circular designs that offer glimpses of harmonious unification within the seeming chaos of the complex world around us. They demonstrate connection, interdependence and community; where if one thing changes within the design, it affects the whole.