Hi I'm Jacquelyn, my fiancé Mark had a quadruple heart bypass at Southampton General hospital, after a long period of feeling very unwell. I was lucky enough to stay at "Heartbeat House" for the duration, I just can’t imagine what the week would have been like had I been in a hotel room with no one to relate to.
The therapeutic value of having others going through the same challenges was a real blessing. The location was ideal, it really offers a sense of home from home and the staff are patient, compassionate and go above and beyond to help the guests.
I started painting in June 2022 and find it such a meditative pastime, I took my watercolours to keep me occupied whilst Mark went through his procedure, there were a few complications and it was a very long and frightening week for him.
During the time there I saw lots of artworks left to the Heartbeat House from past guests that have stayed and wanted to offer their gratitude.
It occurred to me that it would be nice to do something to give back and as I’d had the opportunity to be part of the Guernsey Arts Open Exhibition last year and enjoyed being part of a creative collective the idea of a charity exhibition arrived.
I'm happy to say that Marks recovery has been remarkable considering what he's been through, he is now six weeks post op and getting better every day.
I have been totally overwhelmed by the response from our generous local artist's and have loved reading their testimonies whether that be a connection with Heartbeat House or just having the good will to help a very worthwhile cause.
I hope you enjoy the artwork included in this email and would be grateful if you could spread the word to your teams and hopefully together we can make this “HeARTbeat Exhibition” a success and as an island show our gratitude to a charity that helps so many of us during challenging and emotional times.
All the pieces are for sale the exhibition is free and 100% of the profits from the artists donations will go directly to the charity.
Please come along and help us make this happen.
Warmest regards
Jacquelyn Erskine
Contact details for sales please email Jaki.erskine@gmail.com