Sandy Elliott obituary

Other lives: Inspiring art teacher and formidable fencing coach who was a canon emeritus of Hereford Cathedral

As a teacher of art in Herefordshire schools, my friend and colleague Sandy Elliott, who has died aged 71, encouraged her pupils to become more than they felt they could be and many owe the development of their careers to this early encouragement.

However, her talent for inspiring the young was not confined to the classroom. She was also a formidable fencing coach as well as an excellent fencer herself, and led teams from school at national and international level.

Born in Braintree, Essex, Sandy was the elder daughter of an Italian mother, Angela (nee Orciuolo), a dressmaker, and an English father, Lionel Elliott, a factory worker at Crittall Windows, and she rejoiced in both cultures. After leaving Alec Hunter secondary school, Braintree, at the age of 19 she moved to Hereford to train as a teacher of art. She fell in love with the county and never left, becoming assistant teacher and then head of department in three consecutive schools, Kingstone high school, Belmont Abbey and Aylestone school.

An artist in her own right, Sandy painted a mural for Our Lady’s church, Hereford, and designed an imaginative mosaic at the west end of Hereford Cathedral, based on the carol Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree (installed when the Cathedral Close was refurbished in 2011). Both of these works are mentioned in Nikolaus Pevsner’s Herefordshire.

Illustration by Sandy Elliott for the 2012 book Saints and Sinners of the Marches, for which she produced 366 illustrations. This one depicts Herbert Hensley Henson, said to be the first bishop of Hereford (1917-20) to drive around his diocese in a motor car, which frequently broke down
Illustration by Sandy Elliott for the 2012 book Saints and Sinners of the Marches, for which she produced 366 illustrations. This one depicts Herbert Hensley Henson, said to be the first bishop of Hereford (1917-20) to drive around his diocese in a motor car, which frequently broke down Photograph: Sandy Elliott

She painted a mural in a beauty salon, and drew numerous humorous cartoons. She was a skilled book illustrator, her work most notably seen in Saints and Sinners of the Marches, which I wrote in 2012 and for which she delighted in producing 366 illustrations – one for each day of the year. In addition, she was involved in the design and construction of stage sets for schools and local groups. The sets were frequently given a round of applause of their own.

Sandy enthralled many audiences with her illustrated talks both on her own work and the art world at large, and led a highly successful visit to the art galleries of Paris for the Friends of Hereford Cathedral.

On her retirement from teaching, Sandy was especially pleased to be asked in 2008 to join the chapter of Hereford Cathedral, where she had worshipped ever since coming to the city. As a lay canon she made an invaluable contribution to cathedral life and was honoured with the title canon emeritus when she retired in 2017. She loved life and lived it enthusiastically with a ready smile and plenty of laughter.

Sandy is survived by her sister, Anita.

Michael Tavinor

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Conrad Atkinson obituary
Other lives: Artist who highlighted contentious sociopolitical issues in his work

Helen Gørrill

18, Dec, 2022 @5:23 PM

Article image
Geoff Roberts obituary
Other lives: English teacher who nurtured his talents for writing and illustration after early retirement

Jill Adam

16, Feb, 2022 @10:45 AM

Article image
Harry Seager obituary
Other Lives: Highly original sculptor of glass and steel constructions

Keith Cummings

10, Feb, 2021 @11:42 AM

Article image
Mary Banham obituary
Other lives: Artist, teacher and curator

Debby Banham

04, Mar, 2019 @3:00 PM

Article image
John Spencer obituary
Other lives: Art teacher and teacher trainer whose passion was his painting

Roz Spencer

04, Jul, 2021 @10:10 AM

Article image
Anna Teasdale obituary
Other lives: Landscape artist who ran away from home as a teenager, enduring poverty and homelessness before enrolling at St Martin’s School of Art in London

Hester Westley

13, Mar, 2020 @3:07 PM

Article image
Carry Franklin obituary
Other lives: Artist and teacher, and the founder of Little Free Libraries in Leeds

Dave Bache

04, Aug, 2019 @3:25 PM

Article image
Elizabeth Varughese obituary
Other lives: Fine art and English teacher whose love of painting and drawing pervaded all parts of her life

Rohini Pahl

02, Feb, 2022 @11:33 AM

Article image
Maggie Angus Berkowitz obituary
Other lives: Ceramic artist who was held in particularly high regard in Japan

Joe Simpson

28, Jan, 2019 @4:48 PM

Article image
Peter Elliott obituary
Other lives: Head of Wakefield Adult and Community Education Service

Brian Wraight

25, Mar, 2018 @4:52 PM