An excerpt from a tribute given at her memorial service.
Chrissie played an integral part in York Printmakers since the beginning. York Printmakers was born in a pub on Gillygate in 2015, when a group of us met up to talk about printmaking in York. We had a great time and realised that this was a gap in our lives, so we decided to carry on meeting monthly. The group grew from 9 to 40 over the subsequent years.
Chrissie was there right from the beginning and only missed meetings when she was in New Zealand visiting family. Even then she was enthusiastically networking with printmakers in New Zealand, attending print summer schools and other courses. We all looked forward to her return when she would report back on printmaking down under, and bring back examples of paper and prints to share with us.
She really had a foot in two camps, and was particularly thrilled to be included in a special publication about New Zealand printmakers.
So many of us in York Printmakers appreciated Chrissie’s support and encouragement, especially as she made a point of welcoming and talking to new members, and finding out more about each individual.
Chrissie took on the role of Treasurer for York Printmakers and managed our finances for many years with care and precision, navigating the complexities of transferring physical banking to an online system. We were all grateful and impressed that Chrissie had insisted on carrying on as Treasurer for as long as she could.
In addition to this she was a wonderful host, and was always up for a party; she generously offered her house as a venue, along with plenty of cake, until York Printmakers got too large for her kitchen and dining room.
Our annual Print fair held here at York Cemetery was one of Chrissie’s favourite events. She took genuine pleasure in being part of this dynamic occasion, enjoying showing her own work and taking pleasure in seeing the work of her fellow printmakers.
A few years ago she took on the role of overseeing the management and setting up of the Print Fair. Despite her apparent misgivings about her ability to do this she turned up at the meeting armed with a phenomenal ‘to do’ list and sorted us all out with ease!
In September 2023, despite increasing ill health, Chrissie was determined to take part in the Annual Print Fair, ably assisted by Jonathan. She managed to attend for a few hours and was still able to chat to visitors about her work. It was a pleasure to see her delight as people were enjoying her prints.
Sally [Clarke] commented; “I still have my York Printmakers name badge from the first print fair. Chrissie made every exhibitor one. I have worn it to every print fair since. Her determination was incredible. A prime example being her insistence to walk around the last print fair when she was so ill.”
We were so pleased to see her there. Chrissie had a great and strong spirit, and her no nonsense, straightforward approach, her contribution and support, her infectious enthusiasm and love of York Printmakers will be missed by all of us.
