Painting Cornelia Parker for the Tate

International Women’s Day, March 2021

Here’s how it came about….

I had been off work from my teaching job since October 2020 whilst getting treatment for breast cancer. For most of that time, England was in some stage of Covid lockdown, so I wasn’t alone in my confinement! My treatment was great, I was lucky to catch it early and for most of the time, I felt well and fine, but appreciated the time to rest and reflect – and would go for long walks around Hove and the South Downs with my friends to get out and talk. During this time I asked my friends to let me take a few photos of them and started making small portraits of them. This felt both therapeutic and celebratory – I was noticing these women in a deeper way and appreciating them with every brushstroke.

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