Biography - Seren Trodden

Seren was born in 2004, and her primary and secondary school education was through the medium
of Welsh at Ysgol Gynradd Llwynderw, Mumbles, and Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr.
She completed her secondary education after achieving twelve GCSEs, all at A* to C grades, three AS
Levels at A and B, and four A Levels, including Art & Design A grade, and Design & Technology B
grade. In 2023 she completed her Certificate of Higher Education with a Distinction in Art & Design
Foundation at Swansea College of Art. Following the end of year Foundation exhibition, Seren was
awarded the Jane Phillips Digital Residency Award.
She went on to study BA Hons Design Crafts at Swansea Art College, where she is currently coming
to completion of her final year. Her Degree Show presented a group of puppet creatures made from
driftwood and seabird feathers foraged on local Gower beaches. Seren selected forms which
resonated with her and suggested creature body parts. These were then adapted and combined with
other sections to build complete figures at various scales. Joint mechanisms allow a sense of life-like
movement, made from fabric, wooden dowels and metal hinges, as well as other found
ironmongery.
For this body of work she was awarded the Mission Gallery Makers Award, selected from students
graduating in Design Crafts. Key selection criteria were originality of concept, application of idea,
making skills and integrity of finished pieces of work. Seren also received the Old Dy’vorians
Association President’s Award for her Degree Show.
Seren has always been inspired by a love of creatures of all sorts, whether natural, fictional or
mythical. The notion of animal character, emotion and movement has been a recurring theme
through her entire degree, with a passion for reinventing material through new configurations. She
is also intrigued by the craft of puppet-making and has sought to capture the nuances of this in many
of her degree projects, combining Design Crafts disciplines with the processes of creating characters
with kinetic motion capabilities. She works in a range of materials - found objects, natural forms and
mixed media.
Seren’s interests have included horse-riding from an early age, and she has her own horse and is also
employed part time as a Riding Instructor at an activity centre and riding school.
Her professional ambition is to work in the field of puppetry, making puppets whether for decorative
purposes or following the puppet-making for performance pathway. She will be commencing her MA
studies in Puppetry Design and Construction at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in
Cardiff in September 2026.