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50 Phonebox Magazine | April 2025Cowper%u2019s counterpane, cousins and creative colourBack open for the new season, it%u2019s been a busy time at the Cowper & Newton Museum in Olney...The Gift Of Stitch and Cowper%u2019s CounterpaneAn exhibition of new work from talented local fabric and fi bre craft groups took place in March, featuring embroidery, needlework, fabric painting and sculpture %u2013 this was inspired by the restoration project of William Cowper%u2019s counterpane, which has recently been returned to the museum.Following a 12-month state-of-the-art restoration and conservation process, William Cowper%u2019s gift of a counterpane from a devoted fan in 1790 is now back on display in Cowper%u2019s Bedroom. An accompanying video tells the story in full %u2013 fresher, brighter and at last saved for years to come.Cousins reunitedThe Museum came up trumps for two local families when they discovered they were related through famous wartime sisters, Elsie and Doris Waters (stage names Gert and Daisy, sisters of Dixon of Dock Green %u2013 Jack Warner aka Horace John Waters).Paula Noble, House Manager of the Cowper & Newton Museum and Sally Christie owner of One Fat Hen Catering, had no idea they were related to each other until David Pibworth sent out a plea for entertainers to be %u2018Gert and Daisy%u2019 for an act at the Museum%u2019s WW1 commemorations in 2015.David had already lined up acts Laurel & Hardy, Wilson Kepple & Betty, Stanley Holloway and more, but Paula really wanted a Gert and Daisy act because she knew she was related to them.Through the power of Facebook, Sally and her sister Caroline answered the call as they were keen to play two sisters playing %u2018two sisters%u2019 and they also knew that they were related to Gert and Daisy as well.During their audition, David told Sally and Caroline that the lady at the museum was related to Gert and Daisy, too. This was such a surprise for them as neither of the families were aware of each other, but both grew up learning about their ancestral story. The family were fi nally reunited on the evening of the %u2018Old Time Music Hall Extravaganza%u2019 at the Carlton House Club on 25th April 2015. They felt the family bond immediately and haven%u2019t looked back.They said, %u201cWe are so grateful to our great, great grandmother, Esther Waters, for meeting the famous entertaining Waters family in London in 1881. The entertaining gene lives on.%u201d.The two families are now fi rm friends, fi nding out that they have got so much in common. Sally and Paula are the same age, with daughters the same age. Folks say they are so similar in character, loving a good natter and giggle. Sally and Paula now work together on summer events at the Cowper & Newton Museum. Do pop in to meet them this summer!Local Artist Jessica WardJessica%u2019s solo exhibition, entitled %u2018Freedom within Precision%u2019, explores the interplay and interrelationship between these two opposing extremes, and is showing at the Three Hares Gallery at the museum from the 4th26th April.Jessica%u2019s inspiration comes from the shapes, objects and patterns that she sees within nature and the built, manmade environment. The play of light and shadows cast across a wall from a window or door frame, or tree branches as they crisscross the sky, prompt Jessica to recreate such imagery and visual sensations within her art.Though Jessica largely describes herself as a mixed media artist, her work often crosses over into small-scale sculpture and reliefs. Her current work sees small pieces suspended by fi ne threads or hanging from small hooks that react to light and cast multiple shadows, creating fantastic depth and layers of imagery. Light and shadow, and how her artwork reacts to both, are essential elements within her practice; for Jessica light and shadow are materials to use and create with. Jessica%u2019s decision to restrict her colour palette to the tonal scale of black to white, is very deliberate as it enables her to further explore her interest in light and shado %u201cThe range of shades and tones from black to white, the subtle shifts and nuances of change between them, present a myriad of possibilities which for me, at the moment, are boundless.%u201dJessica%u2019s current work is predominantly based around a single shape, the square: %u201cFor me, a square or a system of squares, operates as a zone or a creative space, where I can explore, play and push the possibilities of my chosen technique or material. I fi nd squares incredibly harmonious forms; they are balanced, safe structures that evoke a sensation of protection, of being safely contained or defi ned. For me, the space both within and outside the perimeters of a square, radiates a form of energy which is very exciting to me. This sensation of a felt energy is very important to me, and it is a feeling I wish my viewers to experience when they look at my work.%u201d%u201cMy work is a physical and intellectual experience. I want to make the viewer inquisitive and consider how something has been made. I want my works to be explored, to be visually unpicked and decoded, and for the viewer to move past, and come to understand that what may initially appear as a simple image is surprisingly complex and can be felt as well as seen.%u201dThe museum is open Tuesdays to Saturdays 11am to 4.30pm in The Market Place, Olney MK46 4AJ. Normal admission charges apply.Find out more at www.cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk.William Cowper%u2019s counterpane before and during restoration Paula Noble, Museum ManagerSally and her sister Caroline (above) answered the call to play two sisters playing %u2018two sisters%u2019 Gert and Daisy Jessica Ward (left)