On an overcast Saturday in Great Yarmouth, a group of young people had come to attend the National Saturday Art & Design Club.

Molly Watts, 14, was one such young person, and today was a special day as she was receiving her Bronze Arts Awardcertificate. She kindly took some time to talk me through her portfolio.

All the young people who attend the Saturday Art & Design Club are given an artists sketchbook, which serves as their portfolio for Bronze Arts Award - that every child gets the opportunity to complete.

For her part A, Molly submitted her self-portrait, that she drew during a masterclass. Explaining the process to me, Molly said that they first took a picture and traced around it, before completing the shading. It was the shading that she felt had improved the most, as she had more time to spend on it.

Molly showing off her self portrait workHer part B documented her trip to London with the club, where they visited Central Saint Martins and the Tate Modern. The visit to CSM was particularly enlightening, as the group learned more about what National Saturday Club is, what it does, and what different groups across the country get up to.

For her art inspiration, Molly focused on the work of Rachel Whiteread, an artist whose work primarily takes the form of cast sculptures, and was the first female winner of the Turner Prize in 1993. The prize winning piece was titled House, and was a full concrete cast of the interior of a Victorian house due for demolition. With a wry smile, Molly informed me that the prize winning house was also eventually knocked down.

Molly's research on Rachel WhitereadMolly’s part D (skill sharing) took place at the Big Draw in Great Yarmouth - part of the world’s largest drawing festival.

Speaking about her experience, Molly said, “We basically had this massive table with this massive roll of paper and people just came over and I shared my skills with ink. I enjoyed doing that.” She also commented on how windy it was that day - perhaps not ideal when drawing outside!

When asked what advice she would give to anyone who was thinking about starting a Bronze Arts Award, Molly replied without hesitation:

“Just go for it, it takes a long time but it pays off in the end.”

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