Elsie Blundell, Year 6 at Seal Primary, won the Design A Harvest Window contest; artist Paul Spiers has painted her picture onto Coldbreath Butchers in Seal.
A Year 6 pupil’s drawing of a harvest scene is now on show on Seal High Street, painted across the front window of Coldbreath Family Butchers.
Elsie Blundell, who is at Seal C of E Primary School, won the village’s “Design A Harvest Window” competition. Local independent artist Paul Spiers then turned her design into the finished window.
The competition was a joint effort between the butchers, the school, its PTFA and the artist, according to the PTFA.
From a sheet of paper to the shop front
Seal PTFA wrote to us on behalf of what it called “the Seal community”. It said:
“We wanted to share the story of our winning young designer and her harvest window design which has been brought to life by Paul and showcases some lovely seasonal creativity on Seal High Street for all to see on the shop front of the Butchers.”
Elsie’s design, drawn in coloured pencil, has rolling hills and pine trees, hay bales, a scarecrow under an autumn tree, a hedgehog on a tree stump, a crate of apples, pumpkins and a harvest basket. The painted window follows it closely, down to the jar of jam and the bunch of grapes at the bottom of the picture.
Robert Martin, who owns Coldbreath Butchers, and Paul Spiers both joined Elsie for a photograph in front of the finished window.
Mr Spiers said: “It was a pleasure painting Elsie’s design on to the window and I was very impressed with her artwork, particularly all the intricate little details on the vegetables and animals that she drew.”
Why the butchers asked the children
Mr Martin said Mr Spiers paints a new design on the shop front through the year, and the children often walk up from the school to see them. He said:
“Paul regularly paints brilliant seasonal designs throughout the year on our shop front and we know how much the children love to come up from the school and see them so this time we thought it would be a nice idea to include them on designing what we had next for Harvest time! The Butchers has been an integral part of Seal village life since the mid 1800’s and we strive to keep the sense of community and local very much at the heart of what we do so running this competition with Seal Primary and Paul has been great.”
Why the PTFA wanted it in the paper
The PTFA asked for the window to be shared as a community piece, “making it extra special for the design winner but also just as something lovely for the local community to read about.”
It thanked readers “for supporting our local community”. The PTFA says it has parental permission for Elsie to be named and pictured, and that Mr Martin and Mr Spiers were happy to appear too.
What it means for you
The window is on the front of Coldbreath Family Butchers on Seal High Street, so anyone passing through the village can see it from the pavement. The shop is online at hwcoldbreath.co.uk and on Instagram as @hwcoldbreathbutchers. More of Mr Spiers’s work is on Instagram at @paulspiersart. For more on the village’s shops, pubs and cafes, see our guide to local businesses in Seal.
Next from Seal PTFA: a laser show on 13 November
The PTFA is holding its first laser show at the school on Friday 13 November. Gates open at 5pm, with two shows, at 5.30pm and 6.30pm, both included in the ticket. Coldbreath Butchers is supplying a barbecue, and there will be a bar and stalls. The poster also lists a strongman competition, sweet and teddy tombolas and toasting marshmallows.
Standard tickets are £10 a person. No dogs are allowed, and all proceeds go to the school and its children, the PTFA says.
Have a school, club or community story from Seal or anywhere else in the district? Email hello@sevenoaksonline.co.uk.
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