William Gilmour [WG]: Why did you decide to move to the Sidhaland?
Claire Winteringham [CW]: I used to visit on courses, and after one of these a group of us living in Birmingham spontaneously decided to move up.
WG: What do you enjoy most about living here?
CW: I love the community of supportive friends. I love group programme in the Dome. All of Maharishi’s knowledge is so easily available. The Maharishi School is so good for our kids. CCP [Creating Coherence Programme] is always available if one has the time – Richard enjoys a week of CCP every few months, when things are quiet. I’m busy with the kids, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple of days rounding on the New Year course. Also, I love that all the movement celebrations for Guru Purnima, 12 January, Maha Lakshmi and so on take place here.
WG: What is your main activity right now?
CW: My main responsibility is our children. My partner (Richard) and I have seven kids between us. Four of them are still at the School, and the other three are Sidhas. I love helping them grow in Maharishi’s knowledge and supporting them in their education and ambitions.
WG: Do you have any particular resolutions and ambitions for the New Year?
CW: Personally, I’d like to focus more on the inward stroke and maybe do a bit more rounding if at all possible. I’d like to do some lovely pictures. I’d also like to design a Maharishi Sthapatya Veda house, and live in a proper vastu community development.
WG: What new development in the Sidhaland would you most appreciate?
CW: I’d like to see the new Maharishi School built. I’ve recently got involved in the School Council to help make it happen.
WG: What do you expect to be doing in ten years from now and where?
CW: Same thing more or less, and I expect to be living here because of the children and the school.
WG: OK, let’s talk about your art now. Your flower paintings look so fresh!
CW: Thank you. I always paint from life, never from photos. I do watercolour painting, mostly flowers, still life, contemporary, and quite large scale.
WG: I enjoy your focus on flower paintings. It’s like I walk into the gallery feeling “if I’ve seen one lily I’ve seen them all”, only to have my sleeve tugged, “Look, aren’t they beautiful!” Have you always painted mainly flowers?
CW: When I began painting, I mainly did landscapes. I’ve always like to paint real things from nature, so it was fun to be outside in the fresh air painting the landscape. Then, one day when it was raining, I had to stay inside and so I painted some flowers that were there. I like to paint flowers because they are beautiful, part of nature. There are some lovely little yellow blossoms at the end of our garden path. The fragrance is lovely to enjoy when I pass.
WG: Your images look clean, the colours, the clear water in the vase.
CW: I clean my brushes all the time. I’m always cleaning my palette, changing the brush water. I never use black.
WG: The large scale and white space gives a feeling of unboundedness, uncramped. Also, looking at your pictures, I don’t feel the artist as a limited individual is there, my perception is unobstructed, just me and the flowers.
CW: Quite often while I am painting, I transcend. My awareness settles down, and the flowers take over.
WG: I know you also design cards, including the Christmas cards for Maharishi School
CW: As part of my business I design cards for a card publishing company - Xmas cards, notelets, an Advent calendar. This has meant I’ve been able to design Christmas cards for the Maharishi School for many years now. The Christmas cards make about £700 profit each year, which covers the cost of the annual school newsletter, which is quite expensive.
WG: Thank you, Claire.
CW: Thank you.
View more of Claire's watercolour paintings and designs at http://www.clairewinteringham.com
To v iew a profile of Claire's daughter Sarah, click here.
Also, an exhibition of recent paintings for sale by Claire is currently [March 2005] on show in the Dome Dining Room. Prices range from £35-£750. Claire is donating a generous 50% of profits to Maharishi School. |
