After a traumatic and still unexplained accident, former art teacher Sally Wilson from Holmfirth thought she might never be able to draw again.
But nearly a decade later, during which time she has followed her dream to become a full-time artist, two of her beautifully detailed works have been chosen for DRAW 14, the 93rd Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art in London.
This year has been a particularly successful one for Sally, 47, who has also had a sculpture accepted for the National Open Art Exhibition at Somerset House. In March she scooped the Overall Winner award in the National Stitch Competition with a piece of machine embroidered textile art.
And yet, back in 2005, Sally suffered from a brain injury so severe that she was left with an impaired memory and other long-term effects that changed her life overnight. She also broke her left hand - her drawing hand.
To this day she remains uncertain as to how she injured herself but believes she may have fallen down a flight of stairs. She explained: “I have no memory of what happened, I was knocked out for about 10 or 12 hours. At the hospital they thought I might have been knocked down by a car but the last thing I remember is walking up the hill behind a group of lads on my way home.”
Sally, former team leader for art at Huddersfield New College , now suffers from cognitive problems and fatigue so overwhelming that she can sometimes sleep for 20 hours or more. The hand injury has also had long-term consequences, as she now has no feeling in her thumb and suffers from arthritic stiffness. But, she no longer views the accident as a tragedy.
She said: “Prior to the accident I had gone down to a four-day week in order to do my own art work. When I came through it all (the accident) I love what I’m doing now. In a very bizarre way it has given me what I always wanted - to be an artist full time.”
In fact, the hand injury led her to explore textile art, expanding her repertoire. And now that she has recovered the use of her hand she was able to return to sculpture and drawing.
“Art is the thing that keeps me going and has sustained me through a horrible period in my life,” she added.
Sally trained in sculpture and metalwork at Loughborough College of Art and Design and worked at New College for 19 years before being forced to give up.
Much of her work is nature based but the works produced for the SGFA exhibition, which attracted submissions from all over the country and has a theme of Remembrance, are architectural. They represent many hours of work. She explained: “If I’m doing views or buildings then I try to go and sketch quite a bit and then take photos as well. I will keep going back. It’s very time consuming. Most of my work takes between a month and six months to complete.”
Her view of Sheffield chosen by the SGFA shows the town’s remembrance commemorations on a rainy day, which allowed Sally to exploit the reflections on the water-logged pavements. “I like to draw in Sheffield because the city has some absolutely wonderful buildings,” she said.
She also enjoys drawing in the capital city, where her boyfriend lives and works. Her sculptural piece, being exhibited now at Somerset House, is an architectural view of The Thames.
Sally is currently in London for the private viewing of DRAW 14 on October 7, which will be attended by broadcaster and journalist Andrew Marr. She will also be attending a special evening at Somerset House.
* SGFA is the only society dedicated exclusively to drawing. Its annual show ends on October 18 at the Menier Gallery.
