A gifted young artist, from Richmond School and Sixth Form College, has won Bedale Community Library’s inaugural art competition to create a picture of a woodland friend for a secret garden mural in the children’s area of the library. Roxie Ventham, a Year 7 student, was made aware of the competition by her Grandma, Sharon Neale, a regular user of the library. She entered a beautiful hand-drawn picture of a fox and was over the moon to discover that hers was the winning design.
Eleven-year-old Roxie said: “I was overjoyed and couldn’t believe I had won! Whilst working with Wendi I felt like I wasn’t under any pressure to work quickly and took on board the tips she has told me such as how to make paint look fluffy. It was a very good and exciting opportunity.”
Roxie’s prize was to spend time at the Library working with Wendi New, an award-winning muralist, who judged the competition. Wendy has been commissioned to produce a mural for the children’s area of the Library titled ‘The Secret Garden’, inspired by the classic children’s book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Roxie’s fox is a key focus of the mural and Wendi helped Roxie recreate her design, helping her with her brush strokes to achieve the right effect for the fur of her fox. The mural is painted on a door inside the library and Roxie was able to sign her name against the fox as a permanent reminder of her winning artwork.
Elizabeth Bostock, Library Trustee, commented: “This is the first art competition organised by Bedale Community Library. The competition is part of a series of events to encourage children and young people to come to the Library and get creative. The Library is in its third year as a community-run organisation and both trustees and the many volunteers are committed to making the library a place where all generations are welcome and, in particular, a place where there are events and activities throughout the year”.
Karen Barber, Roxie’s Art Teacher said: “In the short time that Roxie has been at Richmond School she has shown a great flare and enthusiasm for Art. I am so pleased to see that Roxie is taking part in competitions in the community and this has resulted in a fantastic piece of work that can be enjoyed by everyone who visits Bedale Community Library. What a wonderful achievement.”
The art competition is part of a series of events at Bedale Community Library using a grant from the National Lottery to engage young minds and encourage an exploration of creativity through art and reading. A series of ‘Paint, Pens & Pixels’ workshops are being run by Wendi New and Pete Gough, digital artist, on Saturday mornings until June this year. The workshops are offered to children ages 7-18 years, £2.50 per session, with further details available from the library or email library@bedalecommunitylibrary.org.uk.
Wendi New, Muralist and judge of the Library’s competition, concluded: “Roxie worked well with me and she mastered some new painting techniques before she painted the fox. Her fox stood out as an entry as it was delicately drawn and had character. Roxie transferred this well to the mural and worked well with the paints and techniques.
She finished in good time and was a pleasure to work with. She is clearly very much interested in nature and loves art. Roxie is also attending our Saturday sessions in Bedale Community Library that have animation games design and art all rolled into one. Roxie is enjoying these as she is having the chance to draw and see her designs in a game we are designing.”