Shirley Jones (born 14 November 1934) is a Welsh writer, poet and printmaker whose works include limited-edition artist's books published from 1983 to 2016. As a printmaker, she is known particularly for her mezzotints.Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (The Red Hen Press)

Jones's work has been widely exhibited, including solo retrospective exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Library of Wales and Newport Museum. Many of her artist's books were published under her imprint The Red Hen Press (not to be confused with the Californian publisher Red Hen Press).

Early life and education Jones was born on 14 November 1934 in Rhondda Valley, Wales. Her father was an unemployed coal miner, who later became a railway signalman.Shirley Jones, Five Flowers for my Father (The Red Hen Press, 1990) She studied literature at Cardiff University, where she met and later married Ken Jones.Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (The Red Hen Press), p. vi. They had three children, who feature in a number of her books.Shirley Jones (1979). Rhymes for our TimesShirley Jones (1989). Soft Ground, Hard Ground (The Red Hen Press) After graduating from Cardiff, Jones taught English for seven years, while also taking various art classes. She finally left teaching in 1974, aged forty, to study art full time.Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (The Red Hen Press), p. 1. She took courses in sculpture and printmaking at Croydon College of Art and Design, leading on to a course in advanced printmaking in 1975–1976.

Exhibitions

Jones' work has been the subject of over twenty-five solo exhibitions since 1983.'Shirley Jones and The Red Hen Press', FYI:Brecon (7 June 2014) Major retrospective exhibitions include: 'Two Moons: Ten Years of the Red Hen Press', National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (6 Oct. 1993 – 8 January 1994)Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (The Red Hen Press), p.24 'Shirley Jones: Artist, Writer, Printer. Retrospective Exhibition' National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth (1995)Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (Red Hen Press), p. 40 'The Written Word. The Printed Image: 25 years of The Red Hen Press. An exhibition of the artists' books and prints by Shirley Jones' Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Newport (2003) 'The Artist's Book in Wales: Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press' Vassar College Library, Poughkeepsie, New York (January–May, 2013) 'Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press' National Museum of Wales (20 April – 30 June 2013) Jones' work has also featured in many thematic exhibitions, such as Cardiff University's 'Neighbourly Devils' (31 October 2017 - 31 March 2018).

Collections

Shirley Jones' work has been collected by over a hundred institutions, particularly in the United States.Ronald D Patkus (2013). Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press Vassar College, USA, p. 79. Notable public collections of Jones's work include those held by the National Museum of Wales, The British Library, The Library of Congress,'Jones, Shirley, 1934 November 14-', Library of Congress Catalog Cornell University 'Jones, Shirley, 1934 November 14-', Cornell University Catalog Vassar College, Smith College, and Wellesley College.

Cardiff University acquired a complete collection of her books by donation in 2019. It has digitised and electronically published these, in line with Jones's wish that her images be made available on a Creative Commons Licence (CC-BY). High resolution versions of some of her prints have also been make available on Wikimedia, including those in the Gallery, below. On 7 March 2024 Cardiff issued a press release and video about the donation to mark World Book Day and International Women's Day.

Publications Jones's publications are listed below. Most are artist's books published by The Red Hen Press during the period of 1975–2016, with print-runs of between six and fifty copies. All of her books (see first footnote) have now been digitized and are available as jpg and tiff files as part of the Cardiff University, Digital Special Collections: "The Red Hen Press: hand-printed, hand-bound artists' books from Shirley Jones' The Red Hen Press". Twenty four of the books (see second footnote) are also available as e-books on the Internet Archive, which allows them to be read in manner closer to their original format. The 'Contents' section in the table is based on the descriptions in Ronald Patkus' bibliography and Jones' reflections on her books.Ronald D Patkus (2013). Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press: a bibliography by Ronald D. Patkus with commentary by the artist Vassar College, USA. The translations from Old English and Middle Welsh are by Jones.

Year TitleContents 1975 Words and PrintsShirley Jones, Words and Prints (The Red Hen Press, 1975).Internet Archive edition.Twelve prints and poems 1977 WindowsShirley Jones, Windows (The Red Hen Press, 1977).Internet Archive edition.Five poems and prints with personal themes 1978 The Same SunShirley Jones, The Same Sun (The Red Hen Press, 1979).Internet Archive edition.Social, political and personal poems with nine colour etchings 1979 BackgroundsTen poems and colour etchings based on Jones' experiences 1979 Rhymes for our TimesShirley Jones, Rhymes for our Times (The Red Hen Press, 1979).Internet Archive edition.Reimagined children's nursery rhymes, accompanied by colour prints 1980 Greek DanceShirley Jones, Greek Dance (The Red Hen Press, 1980).Internet Archive edition.A poem and five etchings about Lindos in Rhodes 1980 Sunflower, Rainflower, Pale Morning StarThree poems and prints 1983 Scop Hwīlum SangShirley Jones, Scop Hwīlum Sang (The Red Hen Press, 1983).Internet Archive edition.'Sometimes a Poet Sang': six etchings inspired by Old English poetry 1984 ImpressionsShirley Jones, Impressions (The Red Hen Press, 1984).Internet Archive edition.Eight aquatints with poems inspired by Jones' first visit to the USA 1986 A Dark Side of the SunShirley Jones, A Dark Side of the Sun (The Red Hen Press, 1986).Internet Archive edition.Six poems and mezzotints about people 'who live in the shadow of the sun'Ronald D Patkus (2013). Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press Vassar College, USA, p. 39. 1986 Ellor-GāstShirley Jones, Ellor-Gāst (The Red Hen Press, 1986).Internet Archive edition.'Alien Spirit': the monsters in Beowulf 1988 The Making of Ellor-GāstShirley Jones, The Making of Ellor-Gāst (The Red Hen Press, 1986).Internet Archive edition.Short booklet about the difficulties encountered in making Ellor-Gāst 1987 Nocturne for WalesFive aquatints and short stories about Jones' childhood in the Rhondda Valley 1988 For GladstoneShirley Jones, For Gladstone (The Red Hen Press, 1988).Internet Archive edition.Stories of a family cat, accompanied by eleven mezzotints 1989 Soft Ground, Hard GroundShirley Jones, Soft Ground, Hard Ground (The Red Hen Press, 1989).Internet Archive edition.Prose and poetry about being a woman, with twelve colour etchings 1990 Five Flowers for My FatherShirley Jones, Five Flowers for My Father (The Red Hen Press, 1990).Internet Archive edition.Eulogy to her father, with five prints and prose pieces 1991 Two MoonsShirley Jones, Two Moons (The Red Hen Press, 1991).Internet Archive edition.Nine mezzotints and poems about those labeled as 'mental defectives' 1992 Ordinary CatsShirley Jones, Ordinary Cats (The Red Hen Press, 1992).Internet Archive edition.Six mezzotints and poems about cats 1993 Llym awelShirley Jones, Llym awel (The Red Hen Press, 1993). Internet Archive edition.'Sharp the wind': Early Medieval Welsh poetry: translations, introductions and seven prints 1995 Falls the ShadowShirley Jones, Falls the Shadow (The Red Hen Press, 1995).Internet Archive edition.Five essays by Jones about idealism and its outcomes, with six prints 1997 Etched in AutumnShirley Jones, Etched in Autumn (The Red Hen Press, 1997). Internet Archive edition.Poems and prints responding to Jones' return to Wales and its landscape 1999 Y Morgrugyn CloffShirley Jones, Y Morgrugyn Cloff (The Red Hen Press, 1999). Internet Archive edition.'The Lame Ant': seven tales from The Mabinogion 2000 FootprintsShirley Jones, Footprints (The Red Hen Press, 2000). Internet Archive edition.Twelve mezzotints and short stories about family pets 2002 Etched OutFive mezzotints and prose pieces about the Epynt clearance 2005 ChwedlauShirley Jones, Chwedlau (The Red Hen Press, 2005). Internet Archive edition.'Legends': essays by Jones about fifteen centuries of Welsh myths and folklore, with seven prints2005 Comfort Me With ApplesShirley Jones, Comfort Me With Apples (The Red Hen Press, 2005). Internet Archive edition.A collection of previously published poems, prose pieces and translations 2007 Taith Arall - An other journey'An other journey': a commentary on Giraldus Cambrensis' tour of Wales in 1188. 2009 Terra ContiguaShirley Jones, Terra Contigua (The Red Hen Press, 1995).Internet Archive edition.'Border Country': a visual response to the poems of Henry Vaughan and Thomas Traherne 2011 A Thonau Gwyllt y MôrShirley Jones, A Thonau Gwyllt y Môr (The Red Hen Press, 2011). Internet Archive edition.'And the Wild Waves of the Sea': Five poems and etchings about the coast of medieval Wales 2016 The QuestShirley Jones, The Quest (The Red Hen Press, 2016). Internet Archive edition.The quest of Culhwch and Olwen in The Mabinogion 2019Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journeyAn autobiographical account of Jones' printmaking and book production

Gallery

Bibliography

Jones's artwork has been covered in the following books, journals and newspaper articles: Suzanne Askham (13 February 1994). 'Balancing the book: on a publisher putting profit second', Financial Times Weekend, p. xiv. Beth Cook (April 2000). 'Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press' Parenthesis, Vol. 4. Colin Franklin (Autumn 1998). 'The books and prints of Shirley Jones', The Private Library, pp. 115–123 Dorothy Harrop (Winter 1996). 'Review of Falls the Shadow, The Private Library, pp. 183–84. Dorothy Harrop (1998). 'Private Presses' in Philip Henry Jones and Eiluned Rees (eds.), A Nation and its Books (National Library of Wales & Aberystwyth Centre for the Book), pp. 376–77 Shirley Jones (2003). The Written Word, the Printed Image: 25 Years of the Red Hen Press: an exhibition of the artists' books and prints by Shirley Jones (Newport Museum and Art Gallery) Shirley Jones (2019). Mezzotint and the Artist's Book: a forty year journey (The Red Hen Press) Ronald D Patkus (2013). Shirley Jones and the Red Hen Press: a bibliography by Ronald D. Patkus with commentary by the artist Vassar College, USA, 79 pp. Anne Price-Owen (Winter 1995). 'Review of Llym Awel (Llanhamlach, Brecon: Red Hen Press)', Printmaking Today, Vol. 4. no. 4, pp. 11–12 Anne Price-Owen (1999). 'Review of Y Morgrugyn Cloff (Llanhamlach, Brecon: Red Hen Press)', Printmaking Today, Vol. 9. no. 4, p. 33

References

External links

Cardiff University, Digital Special Collections, "Red Hen Press: hand-printed, hand-bound artists' books from Shirley Jones' Red Hen Press"