Cherry Blossom – Handled with Care

This artwork is part of Handled with Care, a collaborative project celebrating community, connection, and shared experiences through art. Each piece reflects personal stories and collective creativity, contributing to a meaningful dialogue within the University Maternity Hospital Limerick.

Bio:
Helena Grace McGarvey holds a Degree in Interactive Multimedia and a Master’s in Creative Media. Though never formally trained as an artist, Helena now works in the field, creating illustrations using mediums such as Prismacolor Pencils, Watercolors, Acrylics, and Pen and ink.

Helena is a member of Visual Artists Ireland when not painting can be found creating items for exhibitions using mixed media to build interactive stories.

Originally a native of Dublin, Helena now resides full-time in Tralee Co Kerry.

The illustration created for the Maternity Hospital is based on a Prismacolor pencil illustration.

One of my happiest memories as a child was having my beloved father gather me in his arms and lift me as high as he could into the Cherry Blossom tree. “Higher, higher Daddy” my tiny voice would squeal until it felt as if I become an inseparable part of the tree. Just me, my big blue eyes, and the beautiful pink flowers of the Blossom.

He had planted it himself when he bought the home I grew up in and it remained there all through my childhood, later on, it became a beacon, no matter where I was, or however long I had been away, once I saw my father’s tree I knew I was home safe and back into his loving embrace. It was cut down when he passed away, I could never understand why, nor does it matter. I don’t need the tree to feel close to him but for some reason, the magical healing qualities of the Cherry Blossom tree remain.

I gift cherry blossom trees to my family. I see it as a way of my father still being around, watching over his children and grandchildren. I now have my own Cherry Blossom. The day I planted it a little Robin came to sit on its bare branches, my dad’s way of saying hello. I know it will protect our home, and the people in it.

None of us when born knows the path before us. We are unaware of the soil in which we have been planted and the struggles life has laid out before us. I believe this tree brings hope, serenity & trust. That all is as it should be in some divine plan.

I hope the spirit of this tree continues to bless all those who see it and to remind us of our perfection, something we tend to forget as we age. We are all perfect it’s our imperfections that make us unique, in a world where no two things are the same.