My sister Sarah Lewis, who has died of cancer aged 58, was a talented and creative community arts and crafts professional. She worked in a range of roles that reflected her commitment to widening access to cultural resources.
As assistant curator at Chertsey Museum in Surrey (1998-2001) she helped promote the Olive Matthews collection of around 4,000 items of clothing and textiles dating from 1700 to the present.
After a stint in the learning and culture directorate of Oxfordshire county council, in 2005 she joined MLA (the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council) South East as cultural entitlements adviser, developing ways for museums and archives to support the national education policy’s “cultural offer”. As education and learning manager at the Crafts Council (2007-08), her role was to oversee partnerships and demonstrate the benefits of contemporary craft study within the national curriculum.
Sarah was born in Glasgow, one of the four children of Vera (nee Wrathall), a nurse, and Owen Lewis, an academic and linguist. Our family moved to the West Country in 1967 when our father was appointed to the staff of Bath University. After attending Hayesfield school in Bath, Sarah went to Cambridge College of Arts and Technology for a BA in European thought and literature, before completing a master’s in the history of textiles and dress at Winchester School of Art. From there she joined Chertsey Museum, and developed a lifelong interest in community education and museum outreach.
Moving back to the family home in Bath in 2011, Sarah decided to scale down her work. The decision was primarily motivated by the desire to support our mother and our sister, Jenny, who lives with Down’s. This was an act of selflessness that was characteristic of her approach to life.
Sarah was a private person, quiet but firm in her likes and dislikes. She had a meticulousness and attention to detail that was entirely in keeping with the careful craft work she enjoyed. Those who knew her appreciated the very high standards she held, whether upholstering a piece of furniture, designing and making accessories for family and friends, or maintaining quality of life for those in her care.
Sarah’s generosity was extraordinary, whether through her imaginative and delightful choices of birthday and Christmas gifts, or sharing her creative skills with the people around her – in a hand-made shoulder bag, a block-printed fabric, or an embroidered rug.
She handled her diagnosis in July of terminal pancreatic cancer with dignity and grace, just as concerned about the implications of her death for those around her as she was about her own increasing pain and discomfort.
Sarah is survived by her mother, and by her siblings, Jenny, Rachel and me.
