An artist in Bridport who has given hope to hundreds of people is holding an exhibition in May to showcase the work she created in lockdown and during the conflict in Ukraine.
Thinking of the rose as a verb, Judith Gait has encapsulated the struggles in conflict through her mixed media drawings, including the Conflict Rose and the Morning, Mourning Rose.

Judith will be holding the Art Through Difficult Times exhibition at The Paperback Gallery in Bridport.
“During lockdown and now with the conflict in Ukraine I have been drawing roses. The exhibition will be of mixed media drawings. Quite a difficult time for everyone! My response during this time has been to draw roses…and to try to think of ‘rose’ as a verb and not just a flower,” said Judith.

“Art is a very good way to help us all through difficult times in our lives. I’m retired now, but I have spent many years using art to help improve health outcomes for persons with addictions and other chronic health conditions.”
Scripture was just one of many inspirations for Judith’s series of drawings, but one poignant message is the text from 2 Corinthians 5:15 ‘And He died for all, that they should not live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again’.

Judith explained: “Another translation of ‘unto ourselves’ is that because the love of Christ overwhelms us and in thinking about this passage the word ‘rose’ stood out for me.
“There is probably much more others could say about this passage of scripture, and of course there are other references to this, not least in realising how so many people’s lives have been so positively changed through them.
“To answer why the rose is so significant to me would require a lifetime!”
n The exhibition will be held from May 15-18 and May 22-25 from 10am-3pm at The Paperback Gallery, 2 Gundry Lane, Bridport.