Creating lion helped me through cancer, Tewkesbury artist says

One of the artists behind a pride of colourful lions designed to raise money for cancer care has spoken out about her own diagnosis.

Sam Morris, a Tewkesbury-based artist known for her work depicting cows, is one of 32 artists chosen to decorate their own lion sculpture as part of an exhibition which will see the creatures line the streets of Cheltenham and Gloucester.

But on the same week it was confirmed she had been commissioned for the project, which aims to raise money for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity, Ms Morris was told she had breast cancer.

“I fell in love with the process of making him because it felt so much more important,” Ms Morris said.

Ms Morris designed her artwork based on the Japanese art of kintsugi, in which broken pottery is repaired with lacquer dusted with gold or other precious metals.

After being repaired, Ms Morris said, the pottery is “considered more beautiful, more resilient, than ever” – drawing a parallel between the art form and people’s cancer journeys.

But at the time of creating of her design she had no idea that her work would take on an incredibly profound role in her own life.

“I didn’t know it was going to help me with my treatment,” she said.

“What it did was distract me from what takes over your life – the appointments you have to go to, the fear that you’re facing.

“What this lion did was allow me to return to the same space and anchor myself in the job at hand, and layer by layer he started to literally become himself.”

As for what she would like people to take from the work as it sits on a city street, she told the BBC: “I would like them just to consider the cracks in their own lives… and how we join them together with family, friends, and [our] support network, but also our own attitude to life and how we decide to repair ourselves and get back on track and find life interesting again.”

As well as the 32 sculptures, the Lions at Large trail will also feature 54 cubs created by local schools and community groups.

The trail will be in place around the city streets from Friday 11 July to Sunday 14 September, before a farewell weekend from 3-5 October at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The large lions will then be auctioned to raise money towards a £17.5m appeal to help build a proposed new cancer care facilities in Cheltenham – the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity’s biggest appeal to date.

Richard Smith, associate director of the charity, said: “Time and time again you see Gloucestershire being brilliant and coming together and I think that’s the story of this one.

“Whether it’s schools or community groups, whether it’s companies who’ve got involved and sponsored, we’ve all come together to make this happen and it’s a family friendly, free activity that anybody can take part in.”