Jan Mitchell's Irish remembrance at Glendalough in Ireland.
Last week the ashes of Jan Mitchell, my godmother, were sprinkled over Glendalough by her sister. An occasion that I should have gone to but I was not organised and did not have the finances.
Glendalough was one of the places where I used to go with Jan and her boys for picnics, when I was little. I used to paddle in amongst the fools gold that glistened in the water or wander around with my handbag and rainbow fake-fur coat.
There were lots of people at Glendalough whom I haven’t seen for over 20 years or so. On the photos Eugene and May Lambert are looking well. Years ago I worked for the Lamberts at their puppet theatre. At the theatre Jan had made the first knitted puppets in the world.
I had the privilege of re-painting a sign Jan had designed thirty years before. Of course I had to make it exactly the same. Beads of sweat came pouring down my face while I was being watched by the Lamberts’ grandchildren while painting it.
Then there is Willy Finnie… I had a work experience placement with Willy in the graphics department when I was at college. He had been trained by Jan and always praised her and the good old days. I went to college at the time when computers started replacing people.
During my work experience I made a little 8mm film in one of the empty studios. Willie put on a gorilla costume for it and lots of old faces came in and said something on my film. The film came out upside down however – I wish I knew what I was doing at the time. One thing I did learn was that being on a computer in a dark room was no life for a creative artist like me. And what did get on the cards was going to visit Jan, who by then lived Down Under.
Jan will be missed by a lot of people, she was hugely inspiring.
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