An unexplained accident left Holmfirth artist Sally Wilson struggling to hold a pencil.
But using art as therapy she’s not just regained her abilities she’s gone on to have works accepted in a number of major national exhibitions.
This year alone Sally has had two sculptures accepted for a Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London; three of her sculptures are currently being shown by the Society of Wildlife Artists at the Mall; a sculptural relief was short-listed for the National Open Art Competition; and she has just seen four pieces shown in the Society of Graphic Fine Art annual exhibition at the Menier Gallery in London - one of which was runner-up for the Visitors Choice Award.
Sally, who suffered from a traumatic brain injury back in 2005 – the details of which she has yet to fully remember – says such successes have helped her to cope with the challenges of living with the legacies of severe fatigue and depression, and arthritis in her left hand, which she broke in the accident. She believes she may have fallen down a flight of stairs but recalls little except the fact she was on her way home when it happened.
Inspiration for much of her work this year, which has a strong marine theme, came from the fish caught by crew of the Prosperity of Flamborough - a boat that was featured on the BBC’s Countryfile and, more recently, in the Examiner. (The crew, one of whom is from Huddersfield, spotted and filmed a basking shark, a species rarely seen off the East coast.) Sally’s best friend is married to a member of the fishing team.
A former team leader for art at Huddersfield New College, Sally had to give up work after suffering brain damage but says that “in a very bizarre way it has given me what I always wanted - to be an artist full time.”
Last year she was also selected for the National Open Art Exhibition but also scooped the Overall Winner Award in the National Stitch Competition for machine embroidered textile art.
Much of her work is based around nature and her sculptural pieces this year have taken the forms of lobsters, crabs and fish in three-dimensional forms. One of her works, featured by the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Viridi Altum Acrius, was created using a welded steel armature covered with a layer of free machine stitching and was one of only 329 pieces chosen from 3,000 entries.
Having enjoyed recognition for her work, Sally has no intentions of resting on her laurels and has just entered two pieces for the Columbia Threadneedle Prize.
One of her ambitions, apart from building on her portfolio of work, is to write about her experiences and life with traumatic brain injury and how she has used art to recover. “One of the reasons for this is to help other sufferers, as help and support varies through the phases of treatment,” she says.
“Individuals often feel lost and segregated from normal life.”
Limited edition prints and small original works by Sally can be viewed at the Mezze Bar in Holmfirth.
