Starting up our own business has been exciting but also scary at the same time. At the start of the whole process, we both felt we needed an identity, so we had something to relate to when we were discussing ideas, devising plans and talking about the way we wanted to work in the future.
These characters were created for us by an amazingly talented illustrator called Ursula Hurst. I first came across Ursula’s work while working in primary schools in Lancashire. I noticed artwork – murals and willow sculptures in schools that I visited and Headteachers told me that Ursula had been into their school to complete art projects with their children. Her work is brilliant and having been a teacher herself, she understands how to get the best out of the children she works with. Ursula also writes and illustrates children’s books. She has written ‘Drawing Hope’ which was inspired by a community art project she led in Rishton, Lancashire.
Ursula has the most creative and imaginative mind and sees characters around that others will not necessarily know are there. I follow Ursula on Instagram and her posts are delightful and actually make me laugh out loud. She makes the world a brighter place quite literally with her artwork putting colour into landscapes or adding humorous characters into scenes.
@ursulahurst
https://www.instagram.com/ursulahurstart/?hl=en
When talking to Ursula about the characters we wanted to create, we talked about the work we do and the support we provide to children and staff in mainstream primary schools. Our aim is to help children so they can achieve their full potential. Children need to learn how to behave in a socially acceptable way and we want them to be kind, thoughtful and caring but we also want them to keep their ‘spark’, be creative, be imaginative and learn to love learning. We all have something that we love, that gives us the motivation and drive to do better but we have to find what that is. Many children (not all) that are referred to us are switched off learning and find it difficult to be creative, particularly when asked to write. Art in all its varied forms is one way many children find they can express themselves and explore their feelings and emotions in a non-threatening way.
In ‘Drawing Hope’, Ursula shows how art projects can bring people together, so they start to communicate and support each other. In the story, those who are experiencing anxiety, self-doubt and loneliness are brought together through the artwork and friendships begin to form while confidence in individuals grows.
We want the children that we work with to reach their full potential – we want them to REACH for the stars, so Ursula has drawn Alfie and Lilly reaching for the stars or reaching out for help.
We called the characters Alfie and Lilly, and they are going to be used on all our paperwork and on our website. We love them – hope you do too.
Reach Behaviour 