
PAINTBOX COLLABORATOR: RUTH BLACKFORD

THE ARTIST: RUTH BLACKFORD
This art work was inspired by the knowledge that the love we have for those who die never ‘goes away’ or diminishes with time. If we loved them, that love lives on for as long as we do, despite them not being there. For many of us, we find ways to live with that grief and move forward with our lives, but for some, their loss governs the rest of their lives.

THE ARTWORK: HE NEVER GOT OVER THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER
I am a celebrant, and was told about an elderly man whose funeral service I was creating and delivering, “He never got over the death of his mother”. His mother had died 40 years earlier and her loving son, this elderly man, had suffered with severe depression since, preventing him from working again, developing relationships and generally engaging with life. I never met this man, and I never saw any photos of him, but this is the image of him that came to my mind, an elderly gent weighed down with sadness.
I was originally trained in textiles, and worked in the industry for a while but in more recent years I have moved into the field of illustration. However, you can take the girl out of textiles but you can’t take the textiles out of the girl! Much of my illustration work therefore is decorative, incorporating colour, pattern and texture – the constant threads running through my work. For the most part, my work is commercial, upbeat and fun but for some personal art work I return to themes that resonate with me and my experiences. My mother had Alzheimer’s for many years, so that is a subject I return to frequently, wanting to convey the frustration, bewilderment and confusion that sufferers of the disease experience and the difficulties that carers are faced with. Some of the stories I hear in my work as a celebrant inspire my personal work too – everyone has a story and as a celebrant, I am often privileged to hear that story and tell it. Occasionally, those stories spill over into my art work.
To find out more about Ruth & her work please visit her website.