Jaele Rollins
Royal Victoria Hospital, Level 3 Theatres, A Block/Staff Nurse
Titles of Work:
Breathing Dreams Like Air
Be At Rest, My Heart
Making Friends with the Sea
Medium: Embroidery
I qualified as a nurse in February 2020 and began my new post in theatres in April in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a strange – and stressful! – time to start a career in nursing, but I was keen to get stuck in. I worked in my post for 5 months before I was asked to help out in the Nightingale Hospital in Covid ICU. I was there for 6 weeks, then was back in the Royal, then went back to ICU for another 6 weeks before returning (and remaining) in the Royal. During that time, I relied on my hobbies (mainly embroidery and open water swimming) to help with my mental health and de-stress. And with 3 small children at home, I wanted to find ways to help keep them engaged too whilst homeschooling. My son loves to embroider along with me now and shares an interest in first aid and prehospital care, and my daughter often joins me for a swim in the sea (sometimes my boys come too). These pieces represent the ‘blossoming’ of a new and strange time in my life, at times sending my heart racing, but also at times some of the most wonderful moments, like seeing my daughter find joy in the water like I have, and finding new hope in dreams.
I have loved working alongside my dedicated co-workers this year and I have learned so much. I wanted to submit these pieces in the hope of sharing some of my creations and potentially finding some like-minded artistic people in my place of work. I take my inspiration from the things around me, such as advances in medicine, the amazing job our bodies do in keeping us alive (and creating life), and nature (like the sea, the sky, animals, etc.).
Jaele Rollins
