Earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting Milbourne Lodge Prep School in Surrey.
Mrs Bawden, Head of Art invited me to come and talk with the children about the botanical illustration I created for Silent Pool Gin a few years ago, and also about life as an illustrator.
Now, you may be wondering why I was discussing gin with primary school children, so do read on to find out…
All term, the Year 6 classes had been working on a project called ‘Money Can’t Buy’ within their Art and Music lessons- looking at encouraging the pupils to reuse, recycle and be resourceful and creative.
Silent Pool Distillers, who are local to the school had kindly donated lots of empty bottles for them to reuse & work with. The children had been exploring the legend of the actual Silent Pool in Surrey- the 13th Century tale of a young maiden who fell into the lake, scared by the evil King John, riding on horseback.
In Art, they made paintings and got creative with the pattern I illustrated for the Silent Pool Gin bottle. In Music, they used the empty bottles, glasses, household objects and even an old piano to make wonderfully inventive and decorated instruments! They then composed a piece of music to capture the Silent Pool legend.
During my talk the pupils were such a wonderful and bright audience, and it was so rewarding to talk to such engaging young minds.
Due to the success of the project, the children then performed their musical composition beside the scenic Silent Pool in Surrey.
It was an absolute joy to hear them perform their beautiful piece of music! Here are a few shots from the distillery- it’s always an honour to see my illustrations in the wild.
School visit photos by Mrs Tiggy Bawden & Mrs Rachel Bowen-Perkins.
Thank you to Milbourne Lodge School for having me.
If you are an educator and would like me to come and speak at your school, college or university just get in touch.