When I'm not travelling around the world with my artwork (most of it is done from my studio in Devon with the help of Google and not actually on location sadly!), I'm chilling out at home or going on adventures with the Girl Guides.
I trained to become a Girl Guide leader over the last 2 years as I wanted to volunteer and I felt that giving girls the chance to have adventures, have fun and learn new things in a safe environment would be a good use of my time. I am now part of a team of 3 women who lead a Girl Guide unit in Devon and I don't know who has more fun, the girls or us! I've learnt so many things and now have a Food Catering and First Aid qualification under my belt, which I guess the latter is useful if the former goes awry!
Recently I was asked to create the artwork for our unit Backpack and working in collaboration with the girls, we came up with a design that celebrates the 5 themes that run through the Guiding Progamme: Be Well, Express Myself, Have Adventures, Know Myself, Skills for My Future and Take Action. The artwork has space for the girls to write their name and last week the girls personalised their bags with badges and drawings of things that were important to them.
As the bags were made by the eco-ethical manufacturing company I used to run (Bag It Don't Bin It), we also talked about the importance of a green and clean supply chain and how to become a conscientious consumer.
This week, we had a visit from a local female politician, Alex Sadiq, who talked to the girls about her work on the Exmouth Town Council and her passion for a greener Exmouth.
Being a Girl Guide Leader has been such fun and I don't know how I could better use a Monday night :-)