Shirley Kay, a founder member of The Red Leaf Creative Collaborative, and carer for a family member with M.E. presents this stunningly ornate and uplifting piece ‘Red Leaf of Hope’.
I care for a family member with M.E. I am also a modern mosaic artist.
Creating a mosaic is both mindful and uplifting. It is a very therapeutic process carefully selecting the correct material, colour and texture to slowly build up a picture.
My mosaics are created using fragments of glass, mirror, wire and other mixed media materials, consolidated with grout to make a complete picture. Each fragment supported by the other, yet allowing each individual piece to shine within it.
This “Red Leaf of Hope” mosaic incorporates fragments of mirror, vitreous glass, iridescent glass, textured glass, millefiori, hand-shaped wire, with a contrasting black glass tile background and black grout.
Red mirror fragments are used to symbolise reflection: whilst living in the present we are also reflecting back on our lives before M.E. as well as reflecting forward, trying to create a better future for our loved ones.
Millefiori are the small circular details which I used to represent the moments of beauty and joy within our lives. These may be small or brief, often everyday things that others take for granted, but within our M.E. world they are recognised and celebrated.
The hand-shaped wire spirals represent the spiral of life, keeping sight of the bigger picture, going with the flow of life and trusting that there will be a better future.
The beautiful iridescent glass fragments create a kaleidoscope of colour when the light hits them, symbolising the importance of perspective, keeping the magic and hope alive.
The small red mirror fragments in the corners of this mosaic represent red seeds, the red seeds that will grow into red trees and produce red leaves of hope for the future.
Every day scientists, practitioners, parents/carers and some people with M.E. themselves, are working to find treatments and a cure for M.E., sharing their knowledge and lived experiences, united in trying to piece things together to create hope for the future.
My personal hope is that one day soon, all the pieces of the M.E. puzzle will finally come together and collectively create a beautiful picture. That picture being a world where there is compassion and understanding of M.E., where investment in research has produced treatments and finally a cure for M.E.
A world where people with M.E. can shine as individuals.
