Draw what brings you joy? Our first school art competition

Bring me joy

“School” and “joy” are probably not words many children would use in the same sentence but throw in a competition and some free pens then these words tell a very different story. Read on to learn about our first school art competition and what it meant for those involved.

Why creativity is vital from an early age

Whether you have kids of your own, teach young children like our brand ambassador, Chloe, or simply love children, you’ll know that drawing is a go-to activity for youngsters. Being creative is a wonderful thing to share together – it can absorb kids for hours, relieve boring waits at the dentist, break the cycle when a full-blown tantrum’s brewing, and even help them work through difficult emotions.

When children proudly bring their drawings home from school, they remind us that creativity is a wellspring for personal wellbeing. It feels good; and it all starts when you’re young. 

Art – a great way for children to express their emotions

All of us within the Zebra Pen community know that creativity is the bedrock of wellbeing and a balanced, fulfilling life. At Zebra, we’re committed to designing pens that inspire you to free your imagination – and imagination is a wonderful life skill to pass on to children. Which is why we’re proud to share the success of our pilot initiative – an art competition that promotes the role of art in lifelong wellbeing.

Drawing ‘What brings you joy’

Our first Zebra-sponsored school art competition was organised by the Zebra Pen UK marketing team in collaboration with brand ambassador Chloe, a reception teacher at Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard in Ebbsfleet, Kent. The ‘What brings you joy?’ art competition formed part of the school’s PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) programme, which, among other benefits, fosters positive mental-health habits from an early age. The 208 Key Stage 2 pupils (aged 7 – 11 years) were given the competition theme ‘What brings you joy?’ and challenged to create artwork with fine line sketching and shading techniques – using only a black Zebra Z-Grip ballpoint pen.

Each of the eight winners would receive an 18-piece Zebra Journalling and Lettering Set which includes Mildliner dual-tip marker pens, Mildliner Brush pens and Sarasa Clip gel pens.

As we discovered, when you’re 8-years-old, nothing frees your imagination quicker than the opportunity to win pens!

Why the Z-Grip?

Each child was given a Zebra Z-Grip Celebration ballpoint pen for the task (which they were able to take home afterwards). “The students were very excited to get their own pen,” our brand ambassador Chloe remembers, “and we were blown away with the pieces they created!”

Z-Grips are one of our most popular pens, and a stationery staple for many secondary school students for notetaking and exams. But the Z-Grips are also remarkably versatile and smooth to sketch with – and you can create a whole range of effects with just one pen. And although Leigh Academy pupils used the Celebration pens, there’s a whole ‘designer wardrobe’ of striking barrel wraps to choose from (check out for example, the mermaid or mint daisy at Tesco; blue marble, pink marble or soft touch ombré at Asda; metallics or sweets at Ryman; pastels or animal print at The Range). 

Learning new pen skills

Before the children put pen to paper, Leigh Academy’s Writing Coordinator and Art Subject Lead, Mrs Flo Wheeler gave a presentation demonstrating the different shading techniques they could use to create distinctive patterns, crosshatching and textures. And the pictures we received showed that the children had taken the information onboard and couldn’t wait to experiment with these new techniques.

“They used all their sketching skills to create intricate, detailed pieces of art,” said Chloe. “The children were inspired by the competition, and many have subsequently found a new hobby!”

Our amazing winners!

The sheer enthusiasm with which the children entered into the spirit of the art competition, and their obvious talent took our breath away. Choosing eight winners from over 200 entries was no mean feat, but we were especially happy to see budding ballpoint artists putting the Z-Grips through their paces as they tried out different styles of sketching.

Year 3 winner, Jared, created a space drawing – and his original use of shading to create light and dark areas for his planets was out of this world! Hibba in Year 4 experimented with an incredible range of different techniques to bring her rabbit wonderland to life – demonstrating the precision and patience you need for fine line drawing.

Beau Belle in Year 5 chose an ambitious subject – a horse – and did brilliantly. Horses are tricky subjects to draw at any age and Beau did a super job, using a variety of shading effects for the sky and the ground.

Year 6 winner Aryan’s owl illustration was beautifully detailed and highly realistic, with lots of contrasting penwork. Special mention to Herkus (a drawing of his dad), Uscarus (all his favourite activities), Lara (female portrait) and Maya (guitar) – the other class winners. But in our eyes of course, everyone was a winner. We’d like to thank all of them for taking part, and for inspiring us with their pen prowess, and their wonderfully imaginative drawings.

Fostering our future creative explorers

We hope that our first ever art competition has inspired the next generation and helped them discover that being creative (especially with Zebra pens) really does make you feel good. “The enthusiasm and engagement displayed by our students was truly remarkable,” Mrs Wheeler recalls. “The children expressed their emotions creatively through their artwork and it was a pleasure to award the prizes.”

“This initiative with Zebra Pen UK has not only enriched our school community but has also inspired our students to explore their artistic talents further.”

Leigh Academy’s Writing Coordinator and Art Subject Lead, Mrs Flo Wheeler

What we learnt from them

Draw what brings you joy. It’s a powerfully inspirational theme that rewards in so many ways. It reminds us to reflect on and celebrate the people, places, pets or moments that bless us with happiness, to be grateful for what we have and to use emotions as a creative energy. Drawing what brings you joy is both a challenge, and reward.  

One Z-Grip, one piece of paper, and one quiet moment is all it takes.