Projects, Commissions and Exhibitions

I am an emerging artist, but a long-term facilitator, creating spaces for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to connect in different settings, organisations and community projects. My faciliation practice has grown out of 29 years of working with people, stories, reflection and community.

Now, painting, illustration and mandala-making have become another way for me to explore the same things I have always cared about: connection, meaning, place and what matters to people.

Sometimes this work becomes a private piece for someone’s home or garden. Sometimes it becomes illustration for a book. Sometimes it becomes public artwork shaped by community workshops, shared memories and the contributions of many people.

Across all of this, I am interested in colour, pattern, symbolism and the way creativity helps us notice, express and share what might otherwise stay hidden.

Participatory Art Projects

Windows Through the Seasons is a participatory public artwork I created for a commission by Chorlton Community Garden, and I was supported by Stories of Our Lives and other local partners.

I began the project with a community creative session where local people shared words, drawings, memories and sensory impressions connected to the seasons. These contributions shaped the four seasonal collage panels I then created on canvas and reproduced onto weatherproof clear acrylic.
The panels are displayed in Chorlton Community Garden next to Chorlton Library, with a new panel revealed as each season turns.

You can read more about the community aspects and planning of this project here
and the results of it here

Book Illustrations

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I have been commissioned to create illustrations for books, bringing colour, image and feeling into written work.

My paintings were included throughout Pain & Aging, a hardback book published by Lifetimes Press, which brings together reflections by Brad Brown with illustrations, photographs and contributions from More To Life students.
You can find out more about Lifetimes Press books here.

I have also illustrated Why Do People Have to Die?, a children’s book by Merryn Myatt. This gentle book explores one of life’s biggest questions with honesty and care, supporting children and adults to talk about death, love and loss.

The book is available to read online and can also be ordered as a print-on-demand.

Bespoke Mandalas

Windows Through the Seasons A participatory artwork by Jolene Sheehan Windows Through the

I have created many bespoke mandalas for people’s homes and gardens, responding to colour, space, feeling and personal meaning.

I have also created community mandalas, including a pocket park project on Oswald Road, made using a bicycle wheel and recycled materials.

These pieces often combine pattern, colour, circular forms and symbolic details. Some are bright and joyful, some are calming and reflective, and some are created to hold a particular intention or story.

OT Creative Space Exhibition

Alongside commissioned artwork, I also take part in exhibitions, creative projects and public events.

My first solo exhibition, Interwoven, was shown at OT Creative Space in February 2025. It brought together a collection of my paintings and marked an important moment in my creative practice, after I began painting regularly in late summer 2024. The exhibition reflected my interest in experimentation, colour, pattern and the joy of beginning something new later in life.
You can read more about Interwoven here.

Chorlton Arts Festival

I have exhibited my paintings as part of Chorlton Arts Festival for two years, at the beautiful Manchester Centre for Buddhist Meditation in Chorlton. My work explores colour, line, pattern, movement and intuitive mark-making, often connecting with themes of wellbeing, memory, story and place.

You can see my Chorlton Arts Festival artist page here.

TimeThreads

I have also been involved in TimeThreads, a creative project exploring memory, ancestry, imagination and connection across time.

You can find out more about TimeThreads, an amazing project conceptulised and led by Danielle Lowy, here.

Community Advent Windows Project

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In partnership with Katie Holmes, I co-led a festive community workshop helping local residents create window displays for a neighbourhood Advent trail.

The session included simple creative activity stations using paper silhouettes, hanging decorations, stained-glass tissue designs, snowflakes and Advent numbers, encouraging people of all ages to explore ideas at their own pace and take decorations home to display as part of a community building trail.

Motherline Project and Exhibition - HOME Manchester

Motherline was a year-long collaborative creative project exploring women’s stories, ancestry, identity and connection through art, stories, music and more.

I co-led the project alongside Alice Robinson, helping to hold a reflective and creative space for women to explore their own motherlines.

For me, Motherline sat at the meeting point between being an artist and a creative facilitator. It involved producing my own artwork and writing, while also creating the conditions for other women’s stories, images, memories and insights to emerge.

The project culminated in a celebration at The Arches at HOME Manchester and you can explore the different aspects of the project here:
https://linktr.ee/motherline25