South Shields illustrator Sheila Graber begins work on care home mural

Sheila Graber, the animator behind the BBC children’s television series Paddington, has started work on a mural at Haven Court care home, on McAnany Aveune in South Shields.

Staff at the home approached Sheila to see if she would be interested in creating a mural on the fence of the garden area.

Now Sheila has mapped out and started work on the mural with the help of her friend’s 12-year-old grandson, Henry Macdonald.

The mural is set to feature landmarks from across South Tyneside and the wider North East.

Sheila has spoken about her plan for the mural and where she found her inspiration from to create it.

She said: “The atmosphere and all staff at Haven Court are so welcoming and are making the job easy with constant supply of coffee and biscuits.

“My plan is to cover key landmarks with a view to raising interest in folks there to hopefully bring back happy memories and provide a talking point for them with visitors.

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“I have started with The Groyne at sunrise travelling through the whole day to Marsden Rock at Sunset.

“I got this idea from Stonehenge, where evidently the Druids arranged a special ‘Walk from Dawn to Dusk’ for the person who had passed, symbolising the passage of our life on this planet - it seemed very appropriate.”

Sheila is hoping to have the full mural at Haven Court completed in the coming weeks.