Last year saw lots of islanders take up arts and crafts, with plenty of time to learn new skills or get better at things like painting or drawing. One young Grouville school girl took her love of art and her love of animals and set about raising much needed funds for Durrell – in case you missed it, this is Nelly… the girl drew for Durrell!
Nelly’s arty escapade was no easy feat, she committed to drawing 100 pictures of animals with an aim to raise £500 for our famous local zoo. Kick starting her effort with £10 of her own money and armed with paper, colours, paints and oodles of optimism… This cool little bean made a whopping £3495! (Which is funny, when you see her quote from last year as she began the task!)
“Durrell could have shut down and I wanted to help it, so people could sponsor me and the money that they sponsored would go to Durrell for it to stay open for another three-thousand-five hundred and fifty eight more years.”
All one hundred of Nelly’s pieces were showcased and exhibited at The Art Centre’s Berni Gallery. A virtual tour can still be found on YouTube, if you want to check them out… I’m feeling very lucky indeed as Nelly kindly gave me ‘The Lion Roars Loudly’, which is taking pride of place on my hallway wall! Every single one of Nelly’s pictures depicts an animal with a cute and catchy title, like ‘Daddy and daughter waiting in the Water’ and ‘Daniel the Pied Tamarin in the Jungly Jungle’, each piece has been made with love and a great deal of thought.
Nelly is one of those kids who beams, she’s a bright spark with the perfect dash of sass. With her proud parents behind her, Nelly can undoubtedly achieve anything she sets her mind too but at the moment, she is undecided on her next adventure. Being only 9 years old, with a huge heart and a wonderful spirit, we want to give a shout out to Nelly and a round of applause for being such a COOL BEAN!
