Vera Mary Heggs Bellingham Barlow, 96, of Port Charlotte, Florida, formerly of Hamilton, Ontario Canada, died peacefully at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte on Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

Born December 26, 1913 in Burlington, Ontario Canada, she spent a productive and creative life as a potter and teacher. Vera established her own ceramics studio in Hamilton, Canada where she also taught for 10 years. She then studied pottery at Alfred University New York, in North Hatley Quebec, and at the Copenhagen School of Crafts, Denmark. She taught pottery at Mohawk Community College in Hamilton until 1970. For several years, she also studied oil painting and sculpture with respected Canadian artists. In 1971, Vera moved to Florida’s Charlotte County, where she continued to exhibit her pottery, sculpture birds, and paintings (acrylic) in galleries at Sanibel Island, Marco Island, Venice, Sarasota, Naples, and Fort Myers.

She received prizes for her art at several Art Shows throughout Florida, including those in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, SW Florida Guild of Crafts, Naples, and Punta Gorda (International Art Show, Punta Gorda). Vera was the sole remaining active artist of 25 artisans who together founded the not-for-profit Sea Grape Artists Gallery which opened its doors in downtown Punta Gorda in 1988, where she exhibited successfully for many years her pottery, paintings and delightful porcelain and stoneware birds for which she was well known.

She had an enormous passion for art, which she combined with great energy and enthusiasm for life, all of which she passed along to her two children, Bruce and Sylvia. Her encouragement and support for her children allowed them to pursue their dreams and become creative successful people in their own right. She extended this positive attitude to her grandchildren, Michael Bellingham, and Heather and Kyle McLeod.

She is survived by her daughter, Sylvia McLeod; grandsons Michael and Kyle, and granddaughter Heather. Vera was preceded in death by her son Bruce in January of this year.