Marine Management Organisation

I worked with the Marine Management Organisation, an arms-length agency of the UK Government to create some live illustrations exploring different groups interacted with and used Studland Bay. 

There were three sessions over two days at Studland Bay in Dorset. Each session was expertly run by Helene, from Jewell Facilitation, and was open to local residents, businesses and organisations that worked in the area. 

Before the event, I created a bespoke illustration focusing on many of the features of Studland Bay, which would form the background of the live part of the job. I made sure I included landscape features such as Old Harry Rocks, as well as including many of the species of birds, plants and animals that call the Bay home. 

I spent two nights staying in Studland, where I captured the thoughts and stories of the participants. The participants worked in groups, and I moved around them listening and taking notes. It was a brilliant way of working - as each group was annotating a map as they went it meant that rather than having to capture everything as it was said, I could take more time to observe and listen, rather than frantically scribbling. 

At the end of each session, I shared the illustration with the group. After the event, I created a final piece based on the common themes from all sessions and this, along with the individual group illustrations were shared with the attendees. I really enjoyed working on this. Plus, I got to spend a few days in a different part of the coast, had a sea swim and ate chips on a pier.