Local mum drawing 100 cleft portraits in aid of global children’s cleft charity

Katie Manning, an art textiles teacher who now runs a creative business in person and online, aims to complete all the portraits by the end of next year.

This week she released her first 15 in aid of Smile Train UK, an international children’s cleft charity, to celebrate their 15th birthday.

Mrs Manning was inspired to embark on the project following her family’s own experiences of cleft - a condition which occurs when a baby’s lip and/or palate do not fuse together properly during foetal development.

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In 2007, Mrs Manning’s eldest daughter was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate – where a cleft develops on both sides of the lip.

Unusually, this condition runs in her daughter’s father’s family, as her husband Will was born with a unilateral cleft – as was his father, and his grandfather before him.

Mrs Manning’s daughter required a series of surgeries, orthodontic work and speech therapy.

While supporting her daughter through this process, Mrs Manning noticed that, despite 1 in 700 children being born with a cleft globally each year, there is still stigma and misunderstandings surrounding cleft, which can make things difficult for those affected by it and their families.

She said: “Having a baby is such an all-consuming experience but having a baby you know is going to need care immediately after birth, can make things even more daunting.

“At first, Will and I were told our daughter didn’t have a cleft, and then some weeks later we were told that she did. It was certainly a surprise, but at least we had time to digest the news and prepare for our daughter’s care before she was born. I know there are many mothers out there who don’t have this foresight, which I imagine must be quite a shock.

“From just a few months old, our daughter had to undergo a series of medical appointments and surgeries. It was a lot to deal with at first – especially as at the time we lived in Singapore, 6,000 miles away from our family and friends.”

Today Mrs Manning is on a mission to support and connect with other mums and families experiencing the same challenges that she did.

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She said: “As a ‘cleft mum’ I’ve always found the cleft community to be really mutually supportive and empowering. I wanted to give back in some way, and so I started thinking about how I could use my creativity and passion for art to touch the lives of other cleft mums and cleft-affected families.

“Creativity is our universal language so it makes sense for me to use my skill set to create a community where we can get expressive and have fun together. 

“I’ve always believed that creativity and art have the power to universally connect everyone, so in 2019 I decided to step away from my career as a teacher and start my own creative business.

“I decided to build a creative community for cleft-affected families and mums, where I will run monthly creative experiences online, enabling those who join to meet other cleft mums and children whose life experiences are shared."

She added: “ I woke up one morning and was instinctively inspired to draw the cleft-affected community and so I began drafting several portraits. I was moved by the artistic momentum in creating these powerful images. The portraits seemed to combine my personal experience of cleft as a mum and my love of the creative process."

Mrs Manning approached Smile Train UK -  a children’s cleft charity, which provides free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children all over the world, which allowed her to use some of their imagery.

The portraits range in size from A1 to A4 and are in a variety of media, from pencil to acrylic, pastel and stitch.

Mrs Manning said: “My work gives voices to the experience and journey of cleft, and I hope that it will start conversations about all things cleft-related. Cleft is not something that just gets fixed. In fact, depending on where you live in the world, it may not even get that.

“I want to help educate, inform and raise money to support our global cleft community. Art and creative expression are fantastic when it comes to learning, growing and exploring.

“My personal ambition is to create 100 portraits and launch an exhibition to celebrate the beauty in our diverse cleft community and break down stigmas and lack of understanding about cleft.”

Mrs Manning has also set up a Just Giving page to raise money for Smile Train: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-manning3

See more at www.instagram.com/artbykatiemanning