CCHS

A Bowl of Flowers 

Joan Gurney (Appleton), 1938-51

​

Jo Edwards’ story about nasturtiums in our last edition (Spring 2025) transported me back to, not 1962, but 19 years earlier, 1943, with another story about a bowl of flowers.
 

I, too, had a delightful art teacher, Miss Lynn.  No first names of staff were even thought about in those strictly formal days!  Miss Lynn was one of a trio of friends on the staff, the other two being the English teacher, Miss R L Phillips (to distinguish her from Miss M E Phillips who taught Maths) and Miss Holmes who taught Gym (never called PE in those days). This trio of teachers were lovable and respected, but also slightly eccentric.

1943 was during the years of World War Two when everybody tried to carry on as usual, tolerating food and clothes rationing, and treating other people with respect, consideration and compassion, and providing each other with help and other comforts which were available at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Lynn told me later that it was a lino-cut in colour made by her. I had never seen a lino cut with colour before, and it inspired me to take up my lino cutting skills again even after 
ignoring warnings in the past to keep my free hand behind the pushing hand holding the cutting implement and ending up with a few bloody fingers as a result!

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​Another uncanny similarity between Jo Edwards’ story and mine was that I too was approaching the year when my end of school examination would take place, in 1948. This was called School Certificate and art was one of my exam subjects. I had always like art and considered myself quite good at it. As part of the examination in this subject, we were given the title of an ‘Imaginative Composition’ which we could plan and work on in advance. The title was ‘Harvest’ and as I was a country girl I planned a very traditional rural scene of horses pulling a wagon laden with sheaves of corn, and men carrying two tine forks making their way to the stack yard for storage and later threshing.

 

I thought that I would do well for my work and receive a Credit mark, but pride comes before a fall, and I was devastated when the results came through that I had only received a Pass mark. I kicked myself that I had painted more of a Constable landscape rather than a modernist work showing the influence of Pablo Picasso whose style was beginning to fill the news. Perhaps I should have slapped the paint around a little more carelessly, added some abstract shapes and unattached dismembered limbs and random eyes.

 

But I have no regrets today. I still love my art, and don’t envy Jo her little bit of inside knowledge of the subject of her art examination in 1962, and doing well in it. I know why we both love prints of nasturtiums, and with the same gesture of friendship and memories of 8 decades ago, I wish you a Happy Christmas everybody!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
​​