Isabelle Jane Foulkes - Wikipedia
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Isabelle Jane Foulkes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 |
| Died | 31 October 2001 Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Wales |
| Education | Bretton Hall Art College |
| Alma mater | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Occupation(s) | artist, textile designer and disability campaigner |
Isabelle "Issi" Jane Foulkes (née Craven, 1970–31 October 2001) was an Anglo-Welsh artist, textile designer and disability campaigner. She designed the Welsh fingerspelling alphabet and worked with charities including Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, and the Conwy Deaf Society.[1]
Foulkes was born in 1970 in Worcester to Welsh parents. She was born with cystic fibrosis and became deaf as a result of medication administered for a chest infection. As a child she learnt British Sign Language (BSL).[2]
Foulkes was educated at Bretton Hall Art College, affiliated to Leeds University, before studying a BA (Hons) degree in Art and Design and a Masters (MA) in Textiles at Manchester Metropolitan University.[2]
She designed the Welsh fingerspelling alphabet and a colourful poster that was distributed to all schools across the six counties of north Wales.[2] She worked with charities including Hearing Dogs for Deaf People,[1] and the Conwy Deaf Society, and created designs for the British Deaf Association (BDA) and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) which helped raise awareness of deaf culture. Her artwork and textiles were exhibited in Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester.[2]
Foulkes had a double lung transplant in 1999 but her body rejected the organs.[1] She died on 31 October 2001 in Colwyn Bay, Conwy.[2]
- ^ a b c Powell, David (9 November 2001). "Campaigner for deaf dies at 31 after lung transplant". Daily Post Liverpool.
- ^ a b c d e Hutchinson, Siân (3 July 2024). "FOULKES, ISABELLE JANE ('Issi') (1970 - 2001), deaf artist, designer and campaigner". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 31 January 2025.