Brothers Mark and Richard Gunton contributed a cross-stitch panel to the ‘Our Social Fabric’ tapestry at Moseley Road Baths. Mark writes about the therapeutic value of this activity to Richard, who is currently a care home resident.
Cross-stitching has been a long-standing hobby of mine, started as a form of relaxation and concentration. I always use pre-designed, downloaded patterns to form a finished product – a paint-by-numbers, but with coloured thread instead.
Over the last few months, I was involved in submitting a small piece of work towards the ‘Our Social Fabric’ project that ran on the July and August ‘Second Saturday’ events with Amal Creative at the Old Print Works. The aim of the project was the production of a fabric artwork, now installed in the magnificent Gala Pool at Moseley Road Baths. During the two events, family members of all ages were involved in producing small pieces of fabric that included weaving, crochet, macrame, embroidery and paint, which were put together to make a large-scale installation displayed for everyone to see. Multiple media has been used, including wool, sequins, thread and many more, creating exceptional pieces of art with a common thread related to the Baths – its building, features and main purpose, swimming. An art work for the perfect gallery.
What has made the piece that I have submitted more personal, is that I have worked closely with my younger brother to produce a memento of what is currently a difficult situation.
In Spring 2020, my brother, Richard, suffered a fall, resulting in a major brain trauma that initially caused him being placed in a coma. Once conscious, he had no recollection of the incident. Over time, his retention of long-term memories has surpassed any short-term ones, and this has meant he believes that these events have occurred in the previous few weeks, and not, in actuality, the last few years or even decades. Over the last two years, he has been placed in many professional facilities to aid his recovery, which, during one placement, resulted in him contracting Aspiration Pneumonia leading to hospitalisation. Since then, he has been confined to a wheelchair, fed through a PEG into his stomach and most conversation is non-verbal. His most recent institution is aiming to improve his movement through physiotherapy, speech & music therapy and psychological care.
For the piece, we worked together to produce small parts of the design. He held the pre-threaded needle, whilst I gently guided it to the point in the pattern which required stitching, so that I could pull the point of the needle from the rear of the material producing the requisite stitch. We did this for short periods of time on each visit I made to his current Care Home. On several occasions, he gently held a pair of embroidery scissors and helped cut the thread when necessary. Obviously, the time taken to produce the finished item between the two of us at regular visits would have surpassed the completion date, so I continued the work in between.
I submitted the completed pattern on the requisite date and took a picture of a large number of the finished pieces, before they were eventually pieced together for the final product. Each time I visited I showed him the photograph and he always recognised our work.
I am extremely proud that we have been just a small part of a beautiful ‘Social Tapestry’ that will be seen for many years to come. So much so, I have printed a picture of the artwork, which will be displayed in Richard’s room as a constant reminder and recognition.