The late artist Fiona Cribben would have celebrated her forty third birthday subsequent Tuesday however her 13-year-old son, Johnny, and her household have a really particular ‘gratitude’ scarf to put on. – one she collaborated on in her ultimate months.
“One factor I might like to do earlier than I head off onto my subsequent finest life can be to alter the best way we take a look at most cancers,” Fiona wrote to Digital Sheep designers, Helen Delany and Brenda Aherne, in 2018, a 12 months earlier than her loss of life from metastatic breast most cancers.
“I assume I type of wish to do one thing stunning earlier than I go away this earth and I need this to be a kind of issues.
“I might love if we might work collectively on the design.
I’ve the phrases that I need, Belief and Love, a prayer blanket virtually,” she wrote.
When the designers met Fiona at her Rathfarnham house, they found “a superwoman, an exquisite power of nature who had not solely embraced this new tough a part of her life however was attempting to alter the face and perspective of the entire most cancers phrase and world,” stated Brenda.
“We blended and mashed up every thing that was Fiona – her arm tattoo, the Sugar Loaf mountain which was her favorite place, her religious objects, her phrases Forgive, Love, Belief and Thank You, all bordered by our Digital Sheep flowers,” stated Helen.
The detailed illustrative triangular knit scarf in 100pc merino yarn goes on sale immediately in two colors, priced at €154, accessible from Electronicsheep.com and choose nationwide stockists
And simply as Fiona expressly wished, proceeds from gross sales go to fund making the movie Girls vs. Warlords: Malalai Joya, calling for an finish to gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
“Fiona’s positivity, gratitude, weight-reduction plan, artwork and love elevated her predicted life expectancy by many treasured years.
“Digital Sheep wished to assist share her gratitude, creativity and love,” stated Brenda.
“We drew the headband and fitted it collectively like a jigsaw, placing Fiona within the centre of the ultimate drawing on prime of one among her ‘life wreaths’ and all her extraordinary belongings round her.
Fiona turned the central determine and her solely request was that her head was changed with a white tiger to symbolise her as a warrior.”
Just like the designers, Fiona was additionally a graduate of NCAD.
She labored for Calvin Klein and DKNY in New York and as a trend forecaster, artwork director, costume designer in Iceland, lecturer and artist
Earlier than her loss of life in November 2019, Fiona stated: “I feel the strongest feeling one can have is gratitude.
“When I’m grateful there’s nothing else that may enter into my orbit, no struggling in any respect.
“And so for people who find themselves going via a disaster, and even for individuals who wish to give a present of gratitude in order that we keep in mind to really feel this manner, I feel it’s very poignant.
“The wearer is wrapped in gratitude.
“It’s virtually just like the wearer is thanking themselves which might be the most important love we can provide ourselves too.
We by no means thank ourselves.”
Fiona’s work might be seen on fionacribben.com
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