Hello, I was recently clearing out my loft and I found this old lightbox my father made for me. It is around 40 years old and actually still works. But it is what it represents, that means so much to me.

My father was an amazing artist and unfortunately, never succeeded as much as he had hoped to in his life. To me he was a brilliant draftsman. He could draw your likeness in just a few minutes. Or spend hours creating a painting that, to me, was really beautiful. But there were much less opportunities to earn money from art in his time. And if you had creativity and artistic skill like him, you had to be commercial too.

So even though he had many other successes in his life, his artistic career never materialised. But I do remember as a child, he was always trying to inspire me. And when I was around six he actually built me this lightbox. I absolutely loved it and absolutely loved that he had built it for me. I would spend hours and hours tracing and copying my comics and magazines and even copying drawings my father sketched for me. All along, not realising I was actually learning loads and loads.

If you look closely at the lightbox, you can see the glass is actually broken. I broke the glass by leaning on it too heavily when I was twelve. My father died the same year and the lightbox went to the loft.

I went on to study and study and mysteriously ended up becoming a graphic designer. And now I am a very successful graphic designer with my own family.

I often think back to my own father and how he might not have had the artistic success that he desired. But in a way he really did. It is just a shame that he did not live long enough to see his success realised through me. But his inspiration, patience and enthusiasm really set me up to be a stronger, happier and more successful person in my own life.

Being creative, and making things, is not just a wonderful hobby. I truly believe it gives you so many more life skills than just that. I hope to continue inspire my own children in everything they do, and if you have children, maybe you will consider the same too. It's not what you make, it's how you make it. With fun, happiness, smiles and excitement.

Thanks Dad
Brian