Ying Yang Voyage: A Visual Narrative of Fear, Faith, Love and Letting Go
Original Artwork by Lillian Heyward
n June 14th, 2001, George and Lillian Heyward set sail on their 32’ Westsail “Lally”, for what they thought would be a one year voyage around the Atlantic. The artist Lillian Heyward tells the story in mixed media paintings which portray the physical, psychological and spiritual challenges they encountered on this voyage. The paintings are done in an innocent almost childlike manner, telling the story as in fable with bright vibrant primary colors. Her influences are Gauguin, Edvard Munch and Barnard D’Andrea.
In the words of the artist, “I wanted to portray this journey in all its fear and isolation. 
For me, it became an act of faith and certainly an example of answered prayers. There were moments I felt I would not survive, that my marriage would not survive and ultimately that my husband George may not survive. In each moment there was the keyhole of light, the green star, redemption, the still small voice urging me to let go and trust God. I would like to say that I conquered my fear, but I did not. I was never able to surrender the fear of death. I did finally give up my illusions that I could be what I was not. I learned if you can face your fear and confront the truth about yourself, and let go of your attachment to outcomes, to material possessions and to your belief of what “should” be, it is in that moment that your greatest achievements and realizations may come to pass.”
Lally was struck by a rogue wave in the early morning hours of August 11th, 2001, 50 miles from the St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands south of Newfoundland. George Heyward and his crew were picked up by the container ship Shamrock and taken to Halifax Nova Scotia where he and his wife Lillian were reunited.
Heyward began her study of art at the High Museum School in Atlanta. As an undergraduate, she studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, majoring in illustration. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in graphic design from the Portland School of Art in Portland, Maine. She has worked on more than a dozen major motion pictures including “Forest Gump,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” Forces of Nature,” and most recently, “The Notebook.”
In 2002, she received her master’s degree in illustration from Syracuse University. Earlier this summer she was the guest curator for the Bernard D’ Andrea Exhibit at the Telfair Museum in Savannah.Currently she is working on several children’s books, a calendar of the animals of the May River and a line of greeting cards depicting scenes around Old Town Bluffton.
