Age UK Brief : Life Stories

Cheryl and her husband, Kenny - 2002

We were asked as a group to produce a book to promote age awareness  in collaboration with the charity Age Uk. We were split into two groups and visited two day care centres within the Manchester region. During these visits  we each worked with one of the people within the facility, the majority of which

whom suffered from dementia. The idea was to gain a sufficient amount of information 'Five things you didn't know about me' from the chosen patient in order to create a double page spread consisting of some imagery

representing the information and the transcript that influenced the piece. 

 

I have been working in collage using artists such as Erin Kemp  and Sabrina Ward as inspiration. I've been aiming to avoid using Photoshop as much as possible as it's my standard practise. I used it for the first time earlier to manipulate the faces of Cheryl and her husband into the heart locket above. 


[faces pixelated for privacy reasons]

I have been using Brusho as opposed to watercolour or acrylic and oil paints because I prefer the look it gives - anyone who has used Brusho before will understand it's unique powdered effect and impressive colour bursts when mixed with water.

/cheese/

You could argue that it reflects the strong memories within people, especially those suffering from dementia - the moment a memory resurfaces they will cling to it - emphasising the colours and expanding outwards the way Brusho powder does. 

/endofcheese

I did some test collage pieces using standard imagery inspired from the information I had managed to gain from my chats with Cheryl. I was greatly inspired by Sabrina Ward's font/writing style and have attempted to reproduce it within my own pieces. 

My main themes are 

Paris | Effeil Tower

Painting | Sketches

Scottish descent | Family

Classical Music

lipstick | red

Warm beds

Beach

My transcript that I'll be using to influence my piece is:

Cheryl was much like any other young lady, taking pride in her appearance, she enjoyed holidaying Paris with her two daughters and son, visiting the beach, swimming in the sea, lengthy busy pieces of  Classical Music, seeing family up in Scotland and the warmth of her bed. She used to create large vivid canvases and handheld sketches inspired by her vast experiences and currently lives with her 

loving husband, Kenny.