Shropshire Star

Turning turtle for the Big Draw

Residents in Weston Rhyn, Gobowen and St Martins are being urged to get drawing and get healthy this autumn half-term.

Published
Gobowen resident, Elaine Payne with a drawing

And the theme for the Big Draw event is to draw attention to unwanted plastics.

The Oswestry-based charity Qube is giving local people the opportunity to take part in free workshops as part of national initiative ‘The Big Draw’, the largest drawing festival of its kind in the world, with over 1000 events in 25 countries.

Thanks to a grant from the Three Parishes Big Local, residents from communities in Weston Rhyn, Gobowen and St Martins will have the opportunity to work with Qube arts prize winning artist, Tim Pugh.

Tim will be creating a giant turtle drawing filled with drawings of unwanted objects. He said: “We’re encouraging everyone to bring along an old toy or other unwanted plastic object which they can draw in variety of materials, like charcoal or pastel. Every year millions of

unwanted items end up on our beaches and in the sea so we’re hoping this huge colourful turtle will make us all think more about what we buy and how we deal with the things we no longer need.”

Over the last 20 years the Big Draw has encouraged over four million people back to the drawing board and holds the world record for the world’s longest drawing at one kilometre.

Qube Development Officer, Elaine Reynolds, said Qube was delighted and proud to be part of this year’s Big Draw Festival.

She said: “This year the Festival theme is ‘Drawn to Life’ and people are invited to celebrate and explore the benefits of being actively creative to make positive change and improve wellbeing. It doesn’t matter whether you’re sketching, doodling or mark-making, drawing is an easy and cheap way for people to express their feelings, figure out thoughts or relax. We hope people of all ages will come along to have a go, it’ll be fun and everyone gets a certificate to say they’ve taken part."

Workshops in the Three Parishes Big Local area take place from 10am to 12:30pm on Weston Rhyn Institute on October 30, All Saints Church, Gobowen, October 31, St Martins Centre, November 1. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. For information about other Big Draw events at Qube visit www.qube-oca.org.uk or call 01691 656882. For a list of all Big Draw activities across the UK visit thebigdraw.org