Anne Garrett

Anne Garrett’s, profile below, black and white pictures showed a delicacy of style and a desire for precision and balance; in particular her Harvest Mouse nesting in a corn field well deserves the success it has gained as a popular issue of notelets.

 

 

 

Born in Kent in 1942, Anne grew up with fond memories of summer holidays hop picking. Always enjoying the outdoors and surrounded by dogs and horses her love for animals and nature was evident in her artwork. Her dream was to go to Art College but this didn’t happen as she took a job at the local telephone exchange and met Dick, a local carpenter whom she married in 1966.

 

Their first home was to be in Beaulieu. A daughter and a son followed. Anne spent the rest of her life living in the New Forest, with odd jobs as Teaching Assistants and latterly in Plant Nurseries. She always had some craft project in the pipeline be it dressmaking, soft furnishings, knitting or needlecraft. Anne also loved to take photographs - usually of a pretty view or wildlife that caught her eye.

 

The loss of her son in 2002 prompted Anne to become more involved in her local Church where she sang in the choir, helped with the flower arranging and became part of the Committee. She also became a member of Boldre WI. This is when she finally managed to get back into her drawing as she produced many of the covers for the Parish magazine and frequently entered WI classes at the New Forest Show. She experimented with different media but her favourites were pastel or pen and ink drawings. The pictures on view here are a few that were used for the Parish magazine. Her greatest success was the “Harvest Mouse” a series of note-lets sold at the Church Fete last year. She also designed a set of Christmas Cards for the Church before the strength in her hands left her.

 

Anne would always greet you with a warm, friendly smile no matter what. She was always willing to help in any situation. However, her busy and sociable life was brought to an abrupt end once she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the end of March 2007. Her speech was the first to go but the quality of her hand writing remained and her grammar would have made any English Teacher proud!!! Proof perhaps that she never gave up. She died less than six months from diagnosis.

 

 

 

 

NEW FOREST AND EAST DORSET BRANCH of the MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE ASSOCIATION ART EXHIBITION,

UPTON HOUSE,

MARCH 2008.