Jean Phillips
By Rhonda Cooper
TWM
For the past nine years Jean Phillips, Watrous artist has made this community her home. But her journey to this location has been full of wonderful twists and turns with more experiences than most people know in a lifetime.
Jean's roots lie in England. The youngest of two daughters born to an immigration officer and his wife, relocation was a constant part of the family's life. One of Jean's favourite places was Dover. Her memories of that period are as vivid as if they happened yesterday.
Recent pictures of the family's former home were sent to Jean by her sister in England. From the front it does not look very spacious but it was deep. Jean recalled the rooms located on each floor and how the attic was her private space. Not only did it house her bedroom but also her studio.
"There was a wonderful art college (in Dover), said Jean. Her mother wanted her to become a photographer so by day Jean was a photography student and by night she attended art classes. Painting and calligraphy were two of the courses she took.
When the family moved to South Hampton, Jean pursued her passion and trained as a nurse. Nursing not only put her where she most enjoyed to be, around people, but also provided her with an intellectual challenge. To this day Phillips thrives on unravelling the how and why behind things. Nursing allowed her to combine her compassion for people with the callenge of determining what best suited the patient's needs on their road to recovery.
Photography, too, proved to be a profitable career for Phillips. Not one to boast, Jean alluded to a couple of ventures in this field that worked out very well for her. She and a partner established a photography studio in London. "We did art photos, not your typical portraits," she said. When her business partner was called into the service, Phillips ran the studio herself. The onset of war dictated a number of changes for everyone. During the blitz, which coincided with Jean's time in South Hampton and later London, she maintained a full schedule of work and play. "I would work in the studio from 9 to 4; supper would be from 5 to 6; I would go dancing or to the ballet from 6 to 10; from 11 to 3 I would do a nursing shift; go home for a couple of hours sleep and do the same thing all over again the next day. I don't know how I did it, but when you're young, anything is possible," she laughed as she recalled her full days.
Jean's life underwent a significant change when she met a young Canadian soldier, Howard Phillips. The English rose and her Canadian beau were married in 1941 and the first five years of their marriage was spent in England. While Howard served in the armed forces, Jean maintained the pace she had prior to the wedding. The Phillips' marriage was timely. In England, the typical practice was for all young men and women to serve in the forces. Jean was approaching that age when she took her marital vows. Upon signing the marriage certificate, Jean became a Canadian citizen and could not be called to serve by England. In 1946, the English rose was transplanted to the Saskatchewan prairie where the couple established a farm near Semans, Sask. A whole new set of life experiences became part of the rich fabric of Jean's life, experiences she has shared on occasion with interested groups and individuals.
A pair of aerial farmyard photos hang side by each in Jean's dining area. The first is a black and white showing the farm in its earliest stages. The second, a alrger colour one illustrates the many changes the Phillips family made to the yardsite. A developed shelter belt enclosed the yard, outbuildings for grain storage and handling and a larger home were just some of the changes one noticed at a glance.
Establishing a farm and raising a family required a lot of time and effort and there was little time for art. But Phillips recalls the day her husband started her back on the road to reviving her artistic endeavours. "We had been on the farm for about 10 years. It was in the spring, and you know what spring is like on the farm. I was churning when my husband came into the house and handed me this little wild flower and told me he wanted me to draw and paint it. I told him I was too busy and couldn't. He said he wouldn't go back to the fields until I did, so I did. It (art) is what kept me going at times."
With art back in her life even on a small scale, Jean decided it was time to revive another of her interests, dancing. Her husband was not a dancer and did not care to learn but was convinced differently when his feisty wife was determined to find someone to go out dancing. Jean took the time to teach him how and her efforts were rewarded when a trip to Danceland at Manitou Beach reaped more than maybe she wanted. Her husband enjoyed Danceland so much it became a regular part of their lives, so much so they purchased a cottage at the beach.
In 1995, Jean lost her life partner. Not thrilled with the idea of relocating to a city, she decided Watrous would be a good spot for her. "It is close to Semans and my friends and to Saskatoon for my family." In 1996, Phillips moved into her current home, which is decorated with many pieces of her artwork as well as those of other local artists.
Phillips' involvement withe the local art group occurred shortly after moving to Watrous. "We feed off one another," stated Jean. The group not only brought her into contact with like-interested people but also provided her with a support system following the loss of her husband.
"Nature is very important to me," she said. This is evident in the watercolours depicting natural scenes filling the space above the couch in the front room. Each illustrates a special place, like the secret garden she had on the farm, Jean's aunt's garden in Yorkshire and a scene from Scotland. Hanging alongside the watercolours is a wool picture. Similar in principal to those of needlepoint or cross stitch work, the wool was a specialty order from London. Hanging above the entrance into the kitchen/dining area is one of a number of prints her mother had made of a painting Jean had done. It depicts part of the ballroom in one of their English homes. Above the entrance hangs an oil painting done near Punnichy. Another oil painting of a still life featuring a kettle hangs on the west wall. Although watercolours are her dominate theme, she prefers to work with oils but because of their odour does not use them any more. "With oils you can much around a bit and change things. Watercolours you can't."
A small table in the living room holds a framed piece of Jean's poetry. Sitting in front of that composition is a sculpture, one she created at a local class. A second smaller sculpture of a hand sits on a second table in front of the window. Although she enjoyed making the sculpted pieces, arthritis in her hands limits her ability to create in this medium.
Along with her painting, Jean is a history buff and loves to read. Her three favourite authors are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Agatha Christie. She also enjoys Oscar Wilde. Books of all types can be found on the bookshelves in her home. She especially enjoys deciphering the method used by the author to create the piece of work. She is convinced Christie is an author who had her ending worked out first and then went back and created the beginning and the middle to reach the conclusion.
Along with her passion for art and books, family and friends are integral to her life. Photos are on display for all to see and while other may be tucked away, Jean can easily access them for sharing with visitors. Her zest for family, friends, aret and life in general is evident in her facial expressions and tone of voice when speaking about any of them. Not one to wait for life to come to her, Jean is someone who has gone after what she wanted. Her many roles as artist, photographer, nurse, war-bride, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, historian and author are just some of the ways she has embraced life; do not expect that to change for this octogenarian.
The Content on this page was taken from a letter written personally by Mrs. Jean Phillips, and the newspaper article is typed as it is in the November 28th (2005) issue of 'The Watrous Manitou'. We have copyright permission from Nicole @ 'The Watrous Manitou'.
Watrous Manitou (Weekly)
309 Main Street
P.O. Box 100
Watrous, SK S0K 4T0
Phone: 306-946-3343
Fax: 306-946-2026