Southern River College students get creative with their literary heroes

SOUTHERN River College students had the chance to flex their creativity in front of two big Australian literary names recently.

The Australian Children’s Charity event saw author Phil Kettle and illustrator Marc McBride visit students last week, giving them tips and encouragement to write and draw their own books.

Southern River College head of arts Dusty Ward said the students “had a blast” with the visit, which came about because of the school’s success in the Young Australian Art and Writers’ Awards in the last two years.

“The session started with Marc using an air-brush to draw a dragon and then guiding the students to create a dragon of their own,” she said.

“As an extension of this activity the students were asked to create a short story with their dragon as the main character.

“What was really lovely was that the students had the freedom to focus on their area of strength, whether writing, illustrating or both.

“The opportunity to meet professionals like Phil and Marc inspires students to follow their passions and also see that it is possible to make a career in an industry centred on creativity and the arts.”