Weatheriggs and Rainbow Beach
90x90x4cm acrylic on cradled ply panel framed.
 
This painting is part of a new series  of still life created for my solo show " A Sense of Self"
Objects preserve a wealth of significant emotion and connection, serving as physical embodiments of identity. The narratives of these objects project a sense of self while sharing stories of lives lived in other places and times. They hold a physical representation of experience, speaking of familial ties and the story of who we were, who we are, and where we have been.
My Mum Mary was evacuated to the village of Kirkoswald in the Eden Valley of Cumberland in 1939/40 along with her siblings Alf and Jeanette. The Scott family was from Newcastle upon Tyne. During the Second World War, the old ship-building factories of Vickers Armstrong were repurposed to produce weapons and were a target for the Luftwaffe. The children of Newcastle were sent away to the country and my Mum, the eldest at 10 years old, my Aunt at 8 years old and my Uncle only 5 years old came to live the Eden Valley for the next 5 years, only seeing their Mum once a year.The children from the city travelled by train and were gathered at the Women's Institute in the village. A lady called Elizabeth Watson, who will reappear several times, wanted the two girls, but not little Alf. Mary and Jeanette refused to be separated from him, no doubt having promised their Mother Jane they'd look after him. So Elizabeth took all three kids and Alf turned out to be the tiny terror she suspected he would be golden curls and full of mischief.I now have several heirlooms from the Watson family. Some belonged to Elizabeth and some to her cousins Dorothy and Eva. I knew and loved both Doth and Eva as a child, Elizabeth had died before I was born. The Scott family's connection to Kirkoswald has remained strong. David and I were married at the Chapel and some of my parent's ashes are in the graveyard there. Weatheriggs is a pottery nearby and the brown jug is a classic example of the pattern used there. The large jug belonged to one of the Watsons."Rainbow Beach" refers to the small white, squat, handled jar. We have camped on the beach at Innskip Point many times and bought this jug in Rainbow. I loved the shape and its old-fashioned vibe, although it leaks.Rainbow holds sunshine memories of days on the beach and Kirkoswald memories of my childhood, my children, my parents and grandparents with walks in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside. It seemed to perfectly sum up the occasional whip-lash feeling of living on the other side of the world and parts of your heart left elsewhere.