'Locals' research (Grandma)
Over the Christmas break, we have been set the brief to research a local person of interest, or family member, ahead of a stop-motion puppet project.
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I considered local artists and several family members but still come back to one inevitable answer: my Grandma, Mollie.
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I remember wanting to make Grandma an animated clay character long ago as a child and even talking to her about it. She is no longer with us but she made a massive impact on my life and her joyous spirit inspires me to this day. Mollie was a devoted parent to five and grandparent to countless grandchildren. She loved life, always chatted with strangers and didn't take herself too seriously. I have clear memories of spending time with her, and additionally I have been asking about stories of her at family gatherings.

Grandma and me, 2003.
As is evident in these photos, Grandma's flat was full of stuff, probably too much stuff. But I loved that- it spoke to her boundless curiosity. She collected mementos of her travels, anything connected to family, and she accumulated tons of books of every subject imaginable. I like to think that endless fascination with life is something that has rubbed off on me, and I admire that quality in her that she continued to discover new things to explore for all her glorious 81 years.


This wall in the living room shows how much family was the main focus and all of us felt right at home with Grandma. Going to Grandma's felt warm and cosy, and although there were loads of us in the family we all felt valued and seen as individuals.
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Mixed in with family pictures would be works of art and the odd poem or prayer. I feel fortunate to have grown up in an environment that treasured the arts without ever a trace of snobbery, art was always just seen as enriching daily life.
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Though Grandma did not paint, she relentlessly took photos. Whether it was on her travels or appreciating her immediate surroundings, I remember often looking up and seeing her about to take another picture. I am able to see this spirit of picture-taking in much of what she left behind; I particularly love the everyday snaps in and around the flat.

Watching the bird table outside the kitchen window.

Photo of the TV during The Queen's speech.


Beefeaters across the road from the flat.
Snow on the bin and bird table.

On travels in Austria, taking video footage.
Above all, I remember a readiness to be silly and joyful, whatever the situation. I'm glad I can look back through these photos where Grandma is hamming it up a little for the camera, true to how I recall her playful personality.



As I mentioned previously, I had always wanted to include Grandma as the main character of a story. At first in animation and more recently, in an illustrated picture book. 'Mollie!' (with a characteristic exclamation mark) was what I called the story, as yet unfinished. At first I called it 'Jolly', fitting the theme and rhyming with Grandma's name.
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The picture book included one magical element, that Grandma could fly. This was in some part inspired by her love of birds- she would keep track of which birds had visited the bird table every morning. I also liked the juxtaposition with her failing mobility, now being able to take off with relative ease- though sometimes with a bit of clumsiness, more like a bumblebee than an eagle.

Charcoal pencil and watercolour drawing for 'Mollie!'
True to how Grandma liked to feed birds, and with a touch of beautiful chaos...
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A scene from the start of the day-in-the-life story, waving to a blackbird. I was trying to show both her child-like enthusiasm and a slight sense of isolation, as she lived alone in her flat. I'm glad we got to spend so much time with her in her final years, I know how much she loved company and a good, long chat.
Below, the first flying scene, referring to the forgetfulness of old age. I was playing with the memory of Grandma forgetting why she entered a room and applying it to flight: 'Now, what did I come up here for?'
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I wanted to make flight almost an unremarkable occurrence; here Grandma is popping out for a pint of milk from the corner shop.



The flying image perfectly suited how I saw Grandma, just going from here to there with a superhuman spirit of joy and generosity. She once gifted me an encyclopedia of DC superheroes, at the peak of my comicbook fanaticism, and in her inscription at the beginning of the book wrote: 'I'm sure I'm in here somewhere!' Said in jest, but not far off how I really see her- though more on the whimsical side, like a Father Christmas or a Mary Poppins figure.
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Here are some more sketches from developing the 'Mollie!' story, including some digital drawings. Initially I thought it best to design the flying grandmother character as a generic grandma, but I soon realised how much the specificity of my Grandma enriched the texture of the whole piece. The tartan from her Scottish upbringing, the rituals of tea and custard tarts, the buying of novelty gifts for us for no particular occasion... All of these details build the picture of a person that left an indelible mark on me.




Looking ahead to the current project, I am working on fresh studies from photos of Grandma. Here are the results so far...

A wintry watercolour portrait, mainly in red and indigo.

Pencil sketch of Grandma trying out a La-Z-Boy recliner, possibly for the first time. I like to remember moments of Grandma discovering a new gadget, something that made life a little more comfortable and happy. It can be so easy to ignore that with so much technological advancement. She would proudly wave around her grabber which helped her to reach the top of the curtains, or even delight in a simple back-scratcher.

Pencil sketch of Grandma with crutches, next to a bunch of swans somewhere near Edinburgh. Despite what must have been a struggle to adjust to mobility issues, my recollection of Grandma when she was with me was to play around with her new walking aids. She would irreverently waggle them about and particularly loved how her walking stick would fold up and automatically snap back together.