A Coleg Gwent art student has used her creative skills to help produce resources for play and youth providers across Caerphilly.
Crosskeys Campus fine art student, Kim Thomas, 19 from Newport, was invited to illustrate three ‘toolkits’ for the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO) Play Team in Caerphilly. The toolkits provide advice and guidance for those working with children and young people on good practice, training and equality.
To meet the organisation’s brief, Kim used bright and appealing illustrations to depict children playing and having fun, for example; climbing trees, dressing up and camping. The project provided an exciting opportunity for the Extended Diploma in Fine Art student to work creatively to a real brief, and to consider the connection between design and content.
Kim, who will be going on to study illustration at Swansea Metropolitan University in September, produced 11 pencil and watercolour illustrations for the toolkits. She said: “One of the main challenges was to make sure I reflected different ages within the drawings, but once I’d settled on the overall style this became easier to achieve.
“The project was a great opportunity to gain real experience and I’m proud that my work will now be used to help those who work with children and young people across Caerphilly.”
GAVO Holiday Scheme Coordinator Catherine Davies, said: “Kim has done a fantastic job and really took on board what GAVO wanted from the brief.
“The illustrations add an important eye-catching element to the overall design of our toolkits, as well as very clearly communicating the content.”