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Art for heartache

Helping people to rediscover their talents can be a strong medicine, says Rosa Hudson

Jack came into the health centre today to look at his drawings which we are exhibiting as part of our Celebration of Health through Art festival this month. He was 90 last week and has never had an exhibition before.

His drawings glow with colour. They have a tranquillity which moves people visiting the health centre to comment. But behind these drawings is a life of anxiety. Jack has had severe agoraphobia all his life, alleviated only by being able to go out with his wife, who died five years ago. After her death he became severely depressed and has never quite forgiven me for admitting him to hospital, where he had to be with lots of people in a strange place.

I saved his life but I wondered then at what cost. The person he valued most had died, so what point was there in going on? Since he retired from his job as a watchmaker, with his workshop in his home, he had never been out without his wife and he was lost without her. He stopped drawing because he was so agitated that he couldn’t sit down long enough to draw. He couldn’t eat and he couldn’t sleep.

Though he bitterly hated the hospital, he gradually recovered. After his discharge he was fostered by a retired couple who nurtured him like a delicate plant and gradually helped to build up his confidence. His social worker found him a private old people’s home with a beautiful garden and big windows that allow in plenty of light. As Jack started to draw again, residents and staff took an interest in his work and he now has many friends.

If Jack had not been from a poor, working-class background, I am sure he would have gone to art school and made a living from painting. As it is, he is being admired at 90 for the brave and talented man that he is, and enjoying it.

Our festival hopes to encourage local people to use their talents and to try out different skills at any age by means of workshops, art exhibitions and events in the surgery for all to join in. Our motto is ‘Anyone can do it! Everyone is welcome! It’s free to all!’ Despite the deprivation of our inner city community we have many skilled and talented people. Encouraging them to use their talents brings joy into the lives of those around them. That’s what our festival is all about.