Islwyn Watkins (1938 – December 30, 2018) was a Welsh artist, educator and slipware ceramics expert. Born in

Tonypandy Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town was ...

, Rhondda, he studied at

Cardiff College of Art Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of S ...

from 1954 to 1959 and was influenced by the work of

Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...

. Watkins was a member of

The Welsh Group ) , image = , image_border = , size = 200px , alt = , abbreviation = , motto = , formation = 1948 , type = Visual arts , location = Wales , membership = ~40 , website www.thewelshgroup-ar ...

from 1959. Watkins taught art at

Ravenscroft School Ravenscroft School is a coed independent school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school enrolls students between PreKindergarten and 12th grade, and serves 1,239 students. The school has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School an ...

from 1959 to 1964 and later studied lithography at Hornsey College of Art. In 1960 Watkins started to make abstract, waste wood assemblages. He collaborated with

Jeff Nuttall Jeffrey Addison Nuttall (8 July 1933 – 4 January 2004) was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of l ...

, the author of ''Bomb Culture''. A book by Nuttall called ''Mr Watkins got drunk and had to be carried home'' was named after him. In 1965 together with

Bruce Lacey Bruce Lacey (31 March 1927 – 18 February 2016) was a British artist, performer and eccentric. After completing his national service in the Navy he became established on the avantgarde scene with his performance art and mechanical constructs. He ...

and John Latham he helped create the ''sTigma'', an installation at

Better Books ''Better Books'' was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London. The shop was a significant location in the 1960s counterculture movement in London. History It was founded by British ...

in Charing Cross Road, London. Watkins completed a master's degree at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. In 1967 he lectured at

Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...

. Moving to Knighton, Powys Wales in 1978 he was appointed chair of the Welsh Group. He also ran the Offa's Dyke Antique Centre in a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building, in Knighton. At the 2000 Brecon Jazz Festival, Watkins and Nuttall created ''Merz Jam'', an installation inspired by

with Lol Coxhill performing. His work is in the collection of

Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, branded as simply Amgueddfa Cymru (formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and legally National Museum of Wales), is a Welsh Government sponsored body that comprises seven museums in Wales: * N ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Islwyn 1938 births 2018 deaths University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni People from Tonypandy Welsh artists