Artist Jeffrey Blondes began his symbiotic relationship with le Bois de Mametz, the site of an infamous World War I battle, somewhat serendipitously upon the centennial of the conflict, adjourning a history-peppered conversation with a close friend and adjoining another on a personal journey. Incidentally, David Jones, Welsh poet, acclaimed artist and infantryman wounded in said battle, never intended to become a writer. Yet the words of Jones’ epic poem, In Parenthesis, outlining his harrowing experience wounded on the ground in the Mametz Wood, struck Blondes with inspiration.
