The crayon years
Every wall in the house was in danger. I mostly drew suns with faces and very tall families.
About me
Nice to meet you
I'm Myra. I'm eight, I'm in Year 5 at GEMS Founders School in Dubai, and there is almost always something half-finished on my desk.
Sketchbook in one hand, brush in the other
My story so far
So — my name is Myra, I'm eight years old, and I study at GEMS Founders School in Dubai. I'm in Year 5.
I love to do art. That's the main thing about me. I do a lot of stuff in art: painting, drawing, clay models, and at the moment I'm learning shading, which is the part I'm concentrating on most. It makes drawings look round and real instead of flat, and it takes ages to get right.
I also do gymnastics. It's on a break right now, which is a bit annoying, so art has taken over my week completely — but I'm going back, and my goal is to get right to the top. I'm already flexible enough for the splits, so that's a good start.
In the holidays my family travels. I've been to India, the USA and the UK, and I bring my sketchbook every single time.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is the other half of me. Right now my club is on a break, so I haven't been training — but I'm not stopping. When I go back I want to work my way right to the top.
The thing I'm best at is flexibility. I can do the splits properly, and bridges, and I stretch at home so I don't lose it during the break. Balance is next on my list, and then the scary stuff — the jumps where your feet leave the beam.
The funny thing is that gymnastics and art are the same in one way: you do the boring bit over and over until suddenly it looks easy.
Flexible enough for the splits
How I got here
A quick tour of the last few years, one milestone at a time.
My first real sketchbook
A proper hardback one, as a present. I filled it in about six weeks. Mostly animals.
Starting gymnastics
My first class. I couldn't touch my toes. Now I can do the splits, so something worked.
Clay and colour mixing
Made a whole miniature bakery out of air-dry clay and finally learned how to mix colours properly.
Shading, and a gymnastics break
Gymnastics has paused, so I've gone all-in on art. Shading is the thing I'm practising hardest.
What I'm good at (and getting better at)
I scored these honestly, so a few of them are lower than I'd like. That's the point — the low ones are the ones I get to practise.
My goals this year: get shading right, draw a portrait that actually looks like the person, and get back to gymnastics as soon as the break is over.
Art & paintingVery good
Colour mixingVery good
Gymnastics flexibilityVery good
SketchingGood
Clay & makingGood
ShadingPractising hardest
PortraitsPractising
Holidays & places I've been
Three countries so far. The sketchbook comes with me every time.
India
The colours are unbelievable — the clothes, the markets, everything. Half my favourite paint combinations came from this trip.
The USA
Everything is enormous. The buildings, the roads, and definitely the breakfasts.
The UK
Rainy and green and full of museums. I filled a lot of sketchbook pages on that one.
Eight facts, because I'm eight
Everything you'd probably ask me if we sat next to each other.
My school
GEMS Founders School in Dubai — GFS for short. I'm in Year 5.
My age
Eight. Which is quite young for Year 5, and I don't mind that at all.
My favourite thing
Art, easily. If I get a free afternoon, that's what I'm doing with it.
My sport
Gymnastics. On a break at the moment, but I'm going right back to it.
My best move
The splits. I'm flexible enough now that I can hold them properly.
Where I've been
India, the USA and the UK. Every holiday we go somewhere different.
Favourite colour
Turquoise, with hot pink a very close second. Together they're unbeatable.
Hardest thing
Shading. Then hands. Then doing either of them while somebody watches me.
Right now I'm doing art. And in gymnastics, I want to get all the way to the top. — Myra, age 8
Now come and see the work
All of the things I've been talking about are in my projects, with the story behind each one.
Open my projects 📂