Celebrating 70 years of creative exploration
As a child, I always enjoyed schoolwork that allowed me to draw. I remember drawing the Globe Theatre and spending way more time on a detailed drawing than writing about the history.
I enjoyed being taught how to sew, embroider, and knit by my mum. At 15, the feeling of walking into art lessons gave me confidence and made me happy compared to the fear I had in other subjects.
I passed my O-level in Art, succeeding in still life drawing with the then, new felt tips back in the late 60s. My teacher, Mr Love, encouraged me to draw using pointillism.Unfortunately, there were no A-level Art courses where I lived, which brought an abrupt end to my learning. I would have gone on to study art, potentially theatre costume design, but instead I studied social work.
My creativity in my young adult life centred on making clothes. Accessing evening classes to learn tailoring, leading to my first big purchase when I started working, a sewing machine. I made many clothes and loved fabrics, searching through Northern markets and London cloth shops, eyeing a bargain.
Between 16 to 53, I didn’t paint or draw again. A discovery came in 2012, two years after contracting Meningitis. Losing my right hand and the fingers of my left hand led me to write on an iPad; I began typing quite successfully with my thumb. I heard about David Hockney’s use of painting apps; this felt like a revelation, and I began drawing on the screen. Wanting to explore more, I tried painting in oils, but made a huge mess. I began looking for art classes that were accessible, and by chance, I saw WEA classes, and that began my journey learning watercolour art.
I’m not able to hold brushes except those that are fine. My favourites are rigger brushes and sword liners. It helps not to have control, as I can achieve random strokes. I was introduced to mark making and have created some of my best paintings using various items like bank cards, cardboard, sponges, and I get my best results using mark making to interpret what I see.
Since losing my limbs, I have learnt two things. I can paint and draw, and I’ve lost my fear of deep water. I’ve attended art classes since retiring, escaping into creating. It’s not easy, often with negative reactions from people who do not like my amputated hand in particular. Creatively, I’m learning how to gelli print with acrylics, and I am able to use my sewing machine to make certain items, mainly bags. I miss making clothes and knitting, but I try not to think about what I can’t do and concentrate on what I can create.
