The Friends of QMC operates the Peggy Greenfield Art Gallery which is located on D floor, West Block within the QMC.
Normally, the gallery has a new set of artwork displayed every two weeks as well as a number of regular traders offering a range of items.
Due to the ongoing restrictions, the gallery is currently closed. However, that has led to the longest art display in the gallery, ever!
We thought it would be good to discover more about Rookery Creations, the proud holder of this record.
Rookery Creations was formed by Lynda Osborne to explore her passion for art and craft after 35 years as an Occupational Therapist (OT). She moved to Nottingham in 1987 and worked at the QMC on rotation as an OT based on medical wards C52, C53 and D58.
Lynda continued to work for the NHS in Nottingham at the City and Mapperley Hospitals until 1998 when she left to join Nottinghamshire County Council’s social services OT’s where she stayed until 2019. Her last job was back at the QMC assisting with discharges as part of the Reablement service.
As an Occupational Therapist my focus has always been to promote health and wellbeing through creativity. I trained in Exeter, London and America and have always loved making things whether drawing, painting or crafting items from upcycled materials.
Lynda is enjoying a second career where she can combine helping to raise funds for charity with creativity. She has been selling crafts (as Rookery Creations) in the gallery since 2016. Her current art exhibition in the Peggy Greenfield gallery started on the 4th of March 2020.
The Gallery has not been able to raise funds from sales of artwork sold by the usual variety of artists over the last year. However, Lynda says she has had lots of requests for commissions during 2020 and hopes to make the total raised for the Friends of the QMC from the last 4 years up to £1000.
Lynda intends to continue to support the Friends of the QMC, saying it has given her great pleasure creating artwork for patients, visitors and staff as well as giving a focus after retiring as an OT. A recent visitor to the gallery made her realise why the gallery is so important when she sent this message –
"We looked at all your pictures in the hospital, you know they're good when you want to go back and look again. Unfortunately, sadly we lost our friend who was on the end of life care ward yesterday, she was so poorly with dementia a brain tumour and finally pneumonia. She hung on for over a week bless her but at my lowest night I went back to your pictures at 4.30 am! They took my mind away for a while, strangely the gallery makes you feel kind of refreshed after, so thank you, that's why I took my friend to see them and yes - I lost him for a bit too he was amazed"
If you want to see some of Lynda’s work, see her Instagram page here
We’d like to say a massive Thank You to Lynda/Rookery Creations for such amazing support.
We can’t wait to re-open the gallery again as soon as we can and to welcome new artists and visitors
Want to help another way? Why not send us a donation? Small or large. One-off or regular. They all really help.
Thank you