Fitzwilliam Museum
Ode to Obie
Ode to Obie was acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2024. It depicts a personal scene for Vicky:
‘My mother battled with many illnesses towards the end of her life and died in January 2024. Obie is the hospice dog. He comes to spread a little joy. Thank you for sending the sadness away Obie, for the time that you were there. Even in her hospice bed, my mum was sat snipping and collaging her last picture. She had hoped to get it finished before she left but sadly it did not happen. The pot shows mum working on a painting of Obie, me and my three sisters like paper dolls cut from one of her magazines. I have two faces, one of a daughter and one of a carer. Family, gardening, birds and home were everything to her. She was the queen bee to us. A crane for longevity. She lives on through all of us.’
Sampler Bear
The Sampler Bear was acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2016. It is an early bear with decoration inspired by mirrored sampler embroideries.
‘The animal sampler design is something that I come back to often, experimenting with how it wraps around various forms. Originally inspired by an antique appliqued quilt, the design is ever evolving but usually comes back to some sort of symmetry which was at the heart of the quilt’s design. My symmetry is not perfect; as I paint the design, I enjoy the challenge of trying to flip my brain and hand from left to right. I like not being in complete control and that there is something/somebody else in the final design that is a little surprise for me!’