Little creative inklings in Childhood

Looking back at what came naturally to you as a kid.

Feb 14, 2024

Shy, embarrassed but also slightly proud.

I won a competition in 1993 (I was 11 years old) whereby, to enter, I had to answer an environmental quiz (of which I don’t remember) and also draw an environmentally friendly cartoon.

Vividly I recall being told about this competition in my English, (or was it Geography?) class and I started to draw right away. No pressure, no effort, I just drew a cartoon strip about an environmentally friendly earthworm in black and white. (I wish I had a photo of it, but this was pre (even) digital cameras!)

“Steven receives his prize from Jean Saunders” Article scan.

Article text:

Steve's a real winner

LOCAL pupil Steven Light of St. John's School Savernake building was the winner of a national cartoon quiz organised by Friends of the Earth. The year 7 pupil's winning entry was picked from over 2,000. Steven was very pleased to have won the quiz and his headteacher said it was a great boost for the school. He received his prize of a library of 50 "green books" worth over £250 last Friday when it was

presented to him by Jean Saunders of Friends of the Earth. His school also received a prize of a £150 Oxford stationery voucher. The "Earthworm Cartoon Quiz" involved identifying the names of endangered animals featured in specially drawn cartoons by eight illustrators such as Raymond Briggs and Cary Larson.

Another 1993 article:

Cartoon surprise

A LOVE of drawing has helped an 11-year-old Marlborough boy win a national cartoon quiz organised by Friends of the Earth — plus a £150 prize for his school.

Steven Light, of North View Place, Marlborough, has been named one of 10 winners in an Earthworm Cartoon Quiz organised for schoolchildren. He will receive a library of 50 "green" books and a stationery pack, and a 050 stationery voucher will go to St John's School, Savernake, where he is a pupil.

"A wonderful surprise, I will have to go and congratulate Steven", said the school's deputy head, Melvyn Lillywhite when the Marlborough Times broke the news to him of the school prize. \

Steven's mother was pleased with her son's success but not surprised. "He has always had a love of drawing and has a great interest in cartoons", she said. "I hope it is a talent which can be fostered and he can make good use of it when he gets older."

The competition was organised by Friends of the Earth to promote and reward environmental awareness in literature for children of all ages.

Eight prominent cartoonists and illustrators drew a cartoon about a threatened or endangered animal - and children were invited to answer a set of questions about the drawings and to draw their own cartoon.

I’d love to find out who the other prominent cartoonists were! If you know or want to research for me, please comment on your findings!

A third article - I know, quite the press coverage for a small-town boy!

Article text:

Success for worm with jolly smile

ELEVEN-year-old Steven Light's cartoon of a worm has turned up trumps for himself and for his school. The cartoon drawn by Steven from Northview Place, Marlborough, has won him a library of 50 green books and £150 worth of stationery for his school. The school, St John's in Marlborough, entered the worm cartoon in a national cartoon quiz organised by Friends of the Earth. Yesterday Steven said drawing and playing computer games were his main passtimes. His mother Wendy said: "He has always loved drawing and is very interested in cartoons.”

It was such a pleasure finding these article clippings. If you have read my previous posts, you’ll know that I was clearing my attic and found them in an envelope.

They brought back fond memories, my mum and dad were very proud of my achievement. My late brother Gary made the 1.3 mile uphill walk to greet me with a smile. I had a huge back of recycled notepads that I won, he effortlessly picked them up and slung them over his shoulder. “Well done mate” He said, “Let’s go home”.

To be totally honest, I was a bit confused as to why I won all of these ‘lined’ recycled notepads, I’d never get through them. In 1993 recycled paper was a dull grey colour, a bit like John Major’s face. Nevertheless, I tried to be grateful. Ah yes, I forgot, I won a load of library books for the school too, which was also cool, but at first I thought they were for me. Even though I wouldn't say I liked reading at the time, I was so painfully shy, I couldn’t even read out loud to my parents.

This creative inkling, I think we all have something like this, you might say “I’m not creative” but we all are, creative has been a bit bastardised to mean to work in creative industries like graphic design, illustration, art etc… but you can be creative in anything you do. I remember I hated science classes, mainly because I didn’t get them. (Somehow I got moved to the top set so I must’ve got something!) In one session we were asked to create a diagram of a cell. I went home, filled up a balloon with water, put it in a bit Tupperware tub full of jelly and some other bits and proudly took it to school a week later. The teacher praised me for thinking outside of the box.

Adding to the evidence for my art inkling was a couple of school art reports that I found. The first one I was about 7/8 the second one, I was 13.

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” – Mary Lou Cook

The quote doesn’t say anything about drawing, painting or making music, it’s a societal belief that creativity has to involve certain industries and professions.

To end this post on a cute note, I’d like to share some of my drawings when I was about 4 years old. They bring back happy memories. Enjoy!