Mary Fletcher

I painted this picture to show that current statistics show that there are in fact a lot of childless people which many are unaware of as it is a little discussed subject.

We can’t tell from these statistics how many wanted children.

I spent many years longing to have a child and because as an artist my life gets into my art I have done work on this topic.

On my MA in contemporary visual art at Falmouth University in 2006 I made an installation of a calendar made of quartz stones and red felt which was ‘a calendar of misconceptions ’- twenty years of hoping to conceive. I made a video ‘women and clocks’ about my experiences including not being accepted to adopt. More paintings followed.

Since the menopause it feels a bit more possible to be free of this but of course a sadness remains.