John Byrne Boosts Teapot Trust Charity Submitted By: Teapot Trust Monday, 24 November 2014

John Byrne boosts Teapot Trust charity Submitted by: Teapot Trust Monday, 24 November 2014

Fine artist John Byrne met up with Teapot Trust (http://www.teapot-trust.org/) representatives Laura Young and Katherine Shaw at Bourne Fine Art, Edinburgh (http://www.bournefineart.com/) to view ‘Dark Victory’, one of John's paintings used for the cover of Gerry Rafferty's last album ‘Another World’. The East Lothian-based Teapot Trust charity was founded in 2010 by Laura and her husband John after they saw the gaps in the care of their daughter Verity, who passed away following a struggle with Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE) and also cancer. The charity provides art therapy to children with chronic illnesses in medical environments across Scotland, and recently started working with Great Ormond Street Hospital (http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/) in London. Chatting about the Teapot Trust, John Byrne said, "You do incredibly important work; in these days of entertaining children with technology, home-made entertainment is long gone. “The place to go for safety, wonder and magic is your own imagination, available any time for free - there you can roam to your heart’s content. “All you need is a pencil and paper - the battery never runs out and the screen never freezes.” Paisley-born Byrne is a great fan of Elvis and the Teapot Trust ladies enjoyed sharing a joke about ‘TCB’, the letters on a badge that John was wearing. "These are the letters painted onto Elvis' guitar: Taking Care of Business," John informed them. "The Teapot Trust is certainly ‘TCB’ in terms of reducing anxiety for children who visit hospital regularly through the medium of art and with professional art therapists. Never leave the house without a pencil in your pocket!” John Byrne concluded. ENDS About John Byrne Paisley-born John Byrne trained at Glasgow School of Art, finishing in 1963. He rose to prominence through writing plays and television dramas, such as The Slab Boys (1978), Tutti Frutti (1986) and Your Cheatin' Heart (1990). Through his writing he was able to work with Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and Tilda Swindon. He continued to paint throughout this period and is now central to the Scottish art world. His works are exhibited in, amongst others, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.

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