Artwork in Copper and Glass in Memory of Sheila Ferguson

North Chapel 2010

 

Designed by Helen Whittaker MA AMGP

(©Barley Studio, York)

My design is a memorial to Sheila Ferguson; wife, mother and grandmother. It celebrates her life, work and achievements within the Church, the Girl Guides, and education.

 

Description: 

It seemed to me that the fruits of her life and labour could appropriately be symbolised by a ripe and fruiting apple tree – the tree most often used in Christian iconography to depict ‘the Tree of Knowledge’ – created from warm copper sculpture and glowing stained glass. From ancient times, Jesus Christ has been represented in Christian art and literature as an apple tree, and to the Christian, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the source of that knowledge of good and evil which educates us all to make right moral choices. 

In Him true life can be found, and though Him it can be restored to all people. His sacrifice (on another tree) serves also to remind us of the many years Sheila gave in loving and selfless sacrifice to the interests of others.

 

Her work for the Girl Guides is placed at the heart of the design, represented by their symbol which is woven within the sculpted copper branches of the tree.

The form of the tree itself draws together the three lights of the window, and adds a three-dimensional element to the composition – linking the two-dimensional world of glass with the rounded, living world we inhabit.

 

Sheila’s teaching career also allows a more psychological interpretation of the tree motif. Understanding good and evil, and developing a set of principles by which to live, is intimately bound up with memory, mingled with judgment.

We learn to avoid pain, seek pleasure for ourselves and others, demonstrate altruism, value intellectual and physical gifts and skills, and so on. This is a process profoundly influenced by inspirational teachers, whose words and books are the fruits of the tree of knowledge.

Guided by them we learn to make mature adult choices – like the choices being made by the small community of onlookers in the base of the window.

 

These small figures also relate the design to the surrounding windows, and place it in the particular context of this church.

A memorial inscription is engraved into the brass plate at the root of the tree. It reads:

In memory of Sheila Mary Ferguson 1948-2009.  A much loved and greatly respected lady.

Dedicated on Friday 16th July 2010.  Exactly one year on from Sheila’s death