Artist given her own exhibition in care home to celebrate her work

Staff member Moses Barnabas with Joy[Missing Credit]

These conversations led the management to decide to hold the exhibition, and Sara said the change in her mother had been remarkable. “Mum has come to life, helping me choose which pictures to show and where to display each treasured sculpture. She is talking to other residents and seems to have found herself again. She can’t believe the interest.”

Joy said: “I painted my first picture when I was about 11 or 12. My mother was an artist and a teacher, and I inherited my love of art from her – it’s in the genes!

“When my care home found out about my passion for art, they suggested the exhibition, and the residents have taken a real interest in my work too. TLC Carlton Court has brought my life into focus, and I feel well looked after and cared for.”

One of Joy Feld's sculptures[Missing Credit]

Belfast-born Joy completed an art foundation course before becoming a designer with the renowned textile and carpet manufacturer Cyril Lord.

In her early twenties, she moved to London, and following the birth of four children and the deterioration of her 30-year marriage, she took up watercolour painting and drawing at Barnet College.

She joined the Finchley Art Society and the Barnet Guild of Artists and later moved into sculpture under acclaimed sculptor John Brown, all while working as a secretary for a paediatrician.

Her bronze resin sculptures predominantly focus on indigenous African tribes. “Her sculpting became her passion in these last years,” said Sara. “Each face shows raw emotion and the relationship between mothers and their children, which always fascinated her.”

A sculpture by Joy Feld[Missing Credit]

Joy’s pieces have been shown at the Catto Gallery in Hampstead, the Lucy Kemp-Welch Gallery in Bushey and the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, alongside those of fellow sculptor and close friend Richard Chapman, with whom she shared a studio.

Sara said: “She sculpted until 95, when it became impossible due to sight loss and hand neuropathy and arthritis. Many tears were shed by Mum at the loss of her sight and the ability to paint and sculpt. She declined rapidly in herself at this point.”

Following the death of her sister, who had cared for her, and an accident, which left her cognitively impaired, Joy had no choice but to move into residential care “and resented leaving her home that she had worked so hard to pay for”, said Sara.

Sara Hassell, Joy's daughter, giving a speech at the opening of the exhibition[Missing Credit]

But, she added, the care home “has shown it can be the beginning of another chapter for her. I thought this last stage to her life would be miserable, [but] she is alive again.”

Sue Astill, managing director of TLC Care, said: “Joy’s story is a wonderful reminder that a person’s passions, talents and sense of identity continue throughout their lives. It has been incredibly special to see her family bring her artwork to our home and to see the joy and enthusiasm that the exhibition has created for Joy.

Some of Joy's artwork[Missing Credit]

“At TLC Care, we want our homes to be places where residents can continue to celebrate the things that matter most to them. We are delighted to be able to showcase Joy’s remarkable artistic journey with our residents, families and the wider community.”

​Joy Feld – a Lifetime of Art is open to visitors from 9am to 6pm at TLC Carlton Court in Barnet, until October 25