Sheila lives with her cat in rural East Anglia. She became a member of the Age UK Telephone Friendship Service after the death of her husband in 2007, explaining “I decided to open myself to the possibility of friendship.”
Having had polio as a child, Sheila is now a wheelchair user, though likes to continue indulging her passions, indoors and out. As well as being an avid reader and assembler of puzzles, which were especially important for keeping her mind active during lockdown, Sheila is a keen gardener. She has a greenhouse that allows her to grow lettuces, tomatoes, peppers and green sprouts during the summer, which supplements her food shopping and allows her to make nutritious salads. She’s resourceful, too, having successfully sprouted dates in her airing cupboard and then grown on her kitchen windowsill.
An enduring passion
Sheila’s most enduring passion, however, is art. Having studied at art college in London, she went on to teach the subject for many years. And despite making her hobby her job, Sheila still gets a lot of enjoyment from being creative, turning her hand to everything from drawings to watercolours to tapestries.
“I make tapestries while sitting up in bed when I’m not feeling well,” explains Sheila. She used to do a lot of pottery too but is no longer able to because of her mobility. “I can’t stand, so using a potter’s wheel from a wheelchair is rather difficult.”
Compromises on creativity
These days, with her eyesight deteriorating and arthritis affecting her hands, Sheila finds some of the more intricate work more challenging, so tends to focus her efforts on making cards. At this time of year, she likes to create cards with illustrations of flowers, including snowdrops, considered the first to bloom after winter and symbolise hope. “You’ve got to think about the person you’re doing it for,” suggests Sheila, who’ll often add calligraphy to her efforts.
Sheila illustrates fauna as well as flora, often drawing animals, as well as some of the views she enjoys. Whatever she’s depicting, she has one key aim: to make it appealing. “I have a blank card, and I will put a base colour on it,” Sheila says of her creative process. “I use a sheet of paper in one colour and a smaller sheet in another colour and mount my picture on top of that. I’ll often decorate it to a certain extent with sequins and ribbons and string, which makes it very nice.”
An artistic getaway
If Sheila wants a change of scenery, and a space where she can really focus on her work, she’ll drive to her son-in-law’s farm. As well as having a small room there she uses as her studio, the farm provides plenty of subjects for her work, whether it’s the beautiful scenery nearby, or the architecture of the barn.
“I’ve always been creative, it’s part of my character,” explains Sheila. “If I didn’t do it, I would go mad. I think everyone should be creative in their own way – it helps with mental fitness, especially if you live alone.”
