Clare Rose

My mum Clare Rose, nee Morison, died on May 15th. She died suddenly and she/we hadn't know she had any illnesses or major health issues. She was very active and much fitter than me.

Clare Rose

There were two areas of her life which took up major amounts of time. One was looking after the house she shared with her sister (it had been my grandfather's house before), which although small has a fairly large bit of land with fruit trees, lawns and even a small wooded area. The other was being a trustee of a UK charity working in Romania. Both could be considered full time jobs that she'd taken on since retiring only a few years previously from her work as a support worker in adult mental health. 

As a young woman she'd studied at Art College before marrying my father and dropping out. They separated a few years later and, when I was small, she picked up creative practice again by getting into weaving. She had a loom out back of our house, and I believe she was selling her pieces in galleries and fulfilling commissions. Of course, now I wish I'd asked more about it when I was older. Much more. 

Life got in the way and she stopped weaving. For many years she didn't have or make space for her own art. But when she retired she took up printing - I think encouraged by my having done some courses in it. She was still often too busy to really focus on it as much as she would have liked. Sometimes she showed me pieces, but I wish I'd really paid them more attention, and paid her more attention. 

On the Way Lino cut print of rape fields in Romania

Having to clear out her belongings I've finally seen how much work she created, and of what quality. Her notes show that she was thinking as an artist about composition, form , direction. She tried a range of techniques, but mainly focussed on linocut, woodcut and collagraph. She was serious about it, not a dilettante. She was always a modest person, but I hope on some level had started to realise what talent she had. 

 

 

I don't know what to do with all her work. Friends and family have each taken a print but there are many remaining. I thought a good place to start, at least, would be to log them all. And so I've started an Instagram page where I aim to do that. It's called Clare Rose Prints.  Sketchbook page by Clare Rose