Talented amateur artist Edith Drummond-Hay – affectionately known as ‘Aunt Tuck’ – left a fascinating collection of pictorial diaries, including an album of her experiences as a volunteer with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) during World War 1. VAD was a voluntary unit providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire.
The album contains water-colour illustrations produced by Edith Drummond Hay depicting everyday scenes and views which chronicle her service during wartime. The illustrations often include caricatures of herself and her colleagues, including Lady Kinnoull and A C [Alice Charlotte] Drummond Hay, and are annotated to give the speech of characters and explanations to the scene.
Artist’s Response
I received the story about Edith Drummond-Hay and her time in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) during the war. She produced a series of beautiful watercolour illustrations depicting different activities the VAD undertook, including a Christmas party, which I took inspiration from. She captured the way in which herself and other volunteers brightened the spirits of people in the hospitals with dancing, singing and food. I wanted to encapsulate this within my print, showing the happiness the VAD created during such a difficult time.
I screen-printed the image using the facilities in DJCAD and enjoyed the process of creating separations by hand, mixing inks and printing the edition. I kept the colours limited, emphasising the women’s uniforms as they appeared very prominent in photographs and her paintings and I’m sure would have created a sense of reassurance amongst the people in these hospitals. I produced a composition, bringing together different elements of her illustrations and combining them with my own style, in order to create a larger image depicting my own interpretation of what a Christmas party with the VAD during the war may have looked like.
Cara Rooney
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Instagram: @cararoooney
Website: www.cararooney.co.uk
Cara is an illustration student currently in third year of DJCAD in Dundee. Cara likes to make work associated with nature and its place within our environment, often in the form of children’s books or wearables. She really enjoyed the project with Lateral North and experimenting with traditional print processes. It’s also great being able to take a story, transform it into a new piece of artwork and show it in a new light for people to enjoy again.
