Back in Spring 2006 we invited the children of St John's Primary School, Blackpool for an afternoon in the the studio.

Below is a copy of the letter we received from Fiona Cone the Art Co-ordinator at the school along with photos from the afternoon.

Dear Joyce,

I write to thank everyone at Orb Art for a wonderful afternoon spent at your studio. The children were very excited to have been chosen to work with ‘real’ artists and found the experience of being in a working studio as much fun as creating their own piece of artwork. It was with much pride that their final piece was shown to the rest of the school.

From an educational point of view, it was such a valuable experience for the children to be able to work with professional artists and gain insight as to how artists work and to see pieces of artwork in their varying stages of completion. I am sure it inspired our children to spend time with their artwork both during the afternoon and in school too.

From a social point of view how lovely it was to walk a few minutes from the school and work with people in our local community who were willing to spend time with our children, helping them to develop skills learnt in school in a professional setting.

As places were limited due to the size of the studio, it was our Gifted and Talented children that were able to take advantage of an afternoon at Orb Art.

However, if the opportunity arose to continue the link with the studio it would be a fantastic opportunity for any of the pupils to have this experience.

With many thanks,
Fiona Coyne
Art Co-Ordinator

Photos (click to enlarge)

Suzanne is involved with local charity Tiggers, the sports and social club for children and young adults on the autistic spectrum, organising art workshops over the school holidays.

Enid has been involved with illustrating a poetry book by Fylde Community Arts Projects sold in aid of a local charity for children with terminal cancer.

She has also collaborated with the publishing of a Haiku poetry book written by local school children partly illustrating the book and making posters.

In 2007 she helped run the three-day arts festival at Marsh Mill, running the exhibition and raising the funds for it.