South Queensferry gran’s art lockdown tribute to hope and family

A South Queensferry grandmother has been making the most of the lockdown by creating a family mural inspired by her grandchildren.
This garden mural features many of the images the children and their friends have been displaying in their windows.This garden mural features many of the images the children and their friends have been displaying in their windows.
This garden mural features many of the images the children and their friends have been displaying in their windows.

Echline Primary School teacher Carol-Ann Preacher (66) used an old piece of hardwood which was covering a broken window in her garden shed. She brightened it up with symbols of hope during the lockdown, after seeing drawings by her grandchildren of rainbows and the sun.

Carol-Ann and husband Alan have six grandchildren living locally. She revealed why she was inspired by her grandchildren to create the colourful mural, which is now on her garden fence.

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She said: “I was doing what everyone else is doing at the moment, painting the fence and looking for things to do outside in the garden.

“I came to our old hut with a broken window, which had caused us to put a big piece of hardwood on to cover it. So I though I might as well paint that as well.

“My grandchildren have been drawing these symbols – rainbows, smiling suns etc. I’ve been getting these drawings and I thought I could paint some on this, then it really grew arms and legs.

“I’m not particularly artistic but it just grew and grew. It took eight or nine days on and off. It was quite relaxing to do.”

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Carol-Ann’s final touch on her mural was a picture of her mum Ann Ross sitting with her nine great grandchildren at Christmas time.

She said: “My mum will be 87 in June and she was a bit out of the family loop being in Bonnyrigg.

“So I thought I would stick her picture on it.

“I took the hardwood off the shed as we couldn’t really see the mural there. So I unscrewed it and put it on the fence where we can see it.

“And I think I will take it to mum when all this is finished and put it on her fence.

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“My sister Pat Coventry took a photo of the mural and took it to our mum when she went over with some messages. Standing at a safe distance outside the door, of course.

“I think there was a wee tear in her eye when she saw it.

“And my nephew got it printed on a card to send her at Easter, so she has that to keep which is nice.”

Carol-Ann spoke about how important her mural has become to her family during this difficult coronavirus lockdown, when they are apart and unable to meet up.

She said: “My daughter is a midwife at St John’s Hospital, Jane Preacher. So it’s for her also.

“Everything on it was symbolic of something.

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“There is the wee pics inspired by the kids and of course the photo of my mum.

“It means a lot to the family. It’s symbolic of what’s going on at the moment. If we preserve it in some way it will be something that the kids can look back on from this time.”

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