To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we were very fortunate to have a visit from an esteemed local illustrator – Joe McClaren – who also happens to be an ex parent.

 

Joe presented workshops to five classes, where he talked about his job and the process involved in illustrating a book. The children were fascinated by all the examples of his published work, including illustrations from: Terry Pratchett books; the How to Draw Minecraft books; Doctor Who; Harry Potter and numerous others. The children had the opportunity to ask lots of questions and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were fascinated to hear about Joe’s experiences and and the various routes by which they could get into jobs in the creative arts and illustration. There were quite a few future illustrators planning their career journey at the end of the presentation, although there were some shocked faces when Joe told them that he had got so good at art by not having a TV, nor the internet, when he was growing up, and by spending his time listening to the radio and drawing in his spare time.

 

Thank you Joe for giving up your time and for preparing such an insightful and entertaining presentation for us.  You have certainly inspired a lot of pupils to think about art as a career.