Whilst my role as a teacher allows me to meet some great learners, it also gives me the opportunity to meet some really nice people who support the learners to achieve the best results they can. I have worked with many support workers, but the ones that I have worked with over the last two terms have been some of the best. These have included (in alphabetical order): Amanda, Danielle, Jess, Nathan, Neil, Ronnie and Tom. 
Working closely with learners and their support workers in the classroom give you a real insight into the kindness and patience people have for those that they care for and in time you get to know these people and find out about their families and their interests.
One of the above named support workers, Nathan, was telling me about his family on one occasion: about his wife Tracey, their four-year-old daughter named Annabelle and their young son, named Max. Annabelle is a fan of My Little Pony and also likes unicorns (but then who doesn’t?). He requested me to do an illustration for Annabelle, which he and Tracey would present to her on her fifth birthday this month.
Inline with his daughter’s interests, Nathan requested ponies, flying horses, unicorns – things of a fairytale theme, with the main colours of pink and blue, which are Annabelle’s favourite colours. I made a suggestion of trying to include Annabelle in the illustration and bearing in mind the size of the illustration this was easier said than done, as I was illustrating a face that was so small on paper! I had to use my finest pencils and a magnifying glass to see what I was doing. I took a deep breath and whilst biting my tongue did the drawing, trying not to overdo it. It was white-knuckle time!
I got a message from Nathan to say that the illustration is fantastic and his colleagues have also given me such great feedback about the drawing. I hope the illustration was a highlight of Annabelle’s birthday and that when she is older it will bring back the most special memories of a wonderful birthday and a personalised gift from her loving father and mother.
Quinlyn Nixon Art 