Lions Field Sketch, Botswana by Alison Nicholls © 2013

Sometimes you come across a pile of lions like these, relaxing on the brow of a small hill, and you wonder where to even begin your sketch. There are so many wonderful poses but they are constantly changing as the lions lift their heads, roll over or crash on their sides. So where do I begin? Normally with an animal who is asleep and less likely to move - that would be the lioness in the middle, lying on her side. Then I add the others. The lioness and 2 youngsters on the left were added quickly because they were awake and might move at any time. Then I sketched the lioness sleeping at the front. And finally, the most difficult, the lioness on the right. She kept turning her head! There were more lions on the ridge that day but they didn't all make it into my sketch. That is where artistic license comes into play - you don't have to sketch everything exactly as you saw it, you start with 1 animal and sketch that, then look for the next and add them into the composition. Soon you end up with a nice pile of lions!

Recently I was asked to join the Creative Advisory Board of an exciting organization called Pencils For Africa (PFA) founded in 2013 by Karim Ajania. The point of Pencils for Africa is to connect middle school children in America to their peer group in Africa,  building a community, exchanging ideas, and allowing US students to develop a deeper understanding of the African continent. This is to be achieved by several means, including the delivery of used pencils (a powerful communication tool and often a scarce resource) to children in places like Nangida Village, Kenya, with whom PFA have links.

The PFA Editorial Team consists of 5th - 8th graders from California, including Gloria, an 8th grader who is Editor-in-Chief (see the link below to watch Gloria's video presentation on behalf of the Editorial Team to the Board of Directors). The Editorial Team are interviewing all members of the Creative Advisory Board and I will be interviewed by Chelsea so you will see that interview in a future newsletter. During the past year interviews have also been conducted with educators, environmentalists, humanitarian workers and artists who either are based on the African continent or who work with pencils in either an artistic or an educational capacity. One such interview was conducted with Human Rights Watch researcher and human rights lawyer, Olivier Bercault, about his work with children in war and conflict zones. Mr Bercault gave pencils & paper to children who were survivors of the genocide in Sudan and they drew graphic depictions of their experiences. The PFA Editorial Team learned how powerful and effective simple pencil drawings can be and as a result, Mr. Bercault's work has become a major impetus for the PFA program.

Although PFA has only been in existence for 1 year, they have exciting plans for the future. I look forward to working with them and hope that my experience as an artist in Africa will be of help in the advancement of their worthwhile and challenging goals.

Learn more about Pencils For Africa
Gloria's Presentation to the Board of Directors
Interviews with PFA Creative Advisory Board 
Interview with Olivier Bercault