Artwork Donation to the RNIB Pears Centre

The RNIB Pears Centre got in touch with me through Insight Magazine, after reading my article on Daily Mail Online and seeing my interview with Granada Reports, asking for me to donate a piece of work to their specialist learning centre in Coventry.

I thought I would donate my GCSE carousel composition from 2005, which has previously been displayed in my high school for a number of years as well as in Sale Town Hall, so it can be displayed once again.

It needed a bit of restoring though after being displayed quite a lot throughout the years! When I received it back from my high school a year and a half ago, the metal decorations and sequins were hanging off or weren't there at all, the paintwork was chipped, the glitter was dull, and so on - so I've spent the past week returning it to the condition it originally in.

It's now completely restored and packaged up to be collected by a courier tomorrow, to then be sent to the centre in Coventry. It will be displayed in a frame alongside a small biography of me as well as some information about the piece which I was asked to write. You can read them both below:

Biography

Kimberley Burrows was born with congenital cataracts and has been severely visually impaired all of her life, now with only 10% vision in one eye. Kimberley visited Great Ormond Street Hospital in London throughout her childhood, and would draw with the colouring pencils or crayons that were on display in the waiting rooms, or use the various paints and crafts in the playroom before having her operations. Her favourite subject was always art during primary school and high school, and she took it for her GCSE's - receiving an A*.

Kimberley began illustrating in 2011, and produced some drawings of Paddington Bear which she shared online with a fan page. This eventually led to her meeting the creator, Michael Bond OBE, at his home in London in 2012 and gifted him some of her Paddington drawings, which he now displays in his study.

She is now the RNIB's Young Illustrator of the Year for 2014, and will be producing a piece of artwork for each monthly issue. Kimberley recently received press attention for winning the award, and featured in her local newspapers - the Salford Advertiser and the Manchester Evening News, on the Daily Mail Online website, as well as appearing on ITV News and Granada Reports.

Henshaws Society for Blind People have asked Kimberley to produce a composition to be displayed in John Lewis at the Trafford Centre, to celebrate their 150th birthday in 2014, which she is now working on.

The Project

This composition was one of four that Kimberley produced for her GCSE coursework, from 2004 - 2005, at Flixton Girls' High School in Urmston, Manchester. It is based on a traveller art theme and features painted flowers seen on narrowboats, along with a carousel from a traveling circus and details all of its intricacies.

The composition uses a variety of mediums including watercolours, acrylic paints, coloured pencils, stained glass paints and pastels. After the piece was completed, it was displayed in Sale Town Hall before being displayed in her high school for many years. Kimberley has now donated it to the RNIB Pears centre to be displayed once again. Kimberley was awarded an A* in her GCSE's.

I've asked for a photo to be taken of the displayed artwork when it's framed alongside my biography, so I'll be able to share it here when it's up.

Edit: You can now see a photo of my artwork displayed at the RNIB Pears Centre here!