A GALLERY is set to celebrate its first birthday by launching a community art competition.

The Wonky Wheel gallery in Finchingfield Essex opened in October last year and is dedicated to promoting local art from across the east of England.

The gallery is also a gift shop allowing residents to buy local art and is due to celebrate its first year in business on October 4.

To mark the occasion, the gallery has launched a 'Community Creative Competition' to raise funds for Freshwell Health Centre's CREAMER Fund.

The Wonky Wheel is calling on budding artists of all ages to help create a community colouring book.

The colouring book will showcase designs submitted by members of the community and will be available to buy from the gallery and its website from December 5.

Profits from the colouring book will be donated to the Freshwell Health Centre CREAMER Fund.

Owner Mary Turley said: "I’m so excited about the community colouring book competition and I’m looking forward to reviewing the entries from the community."

The gallery say entry to the competition is free and entrants should create their design, drawn in black and white, on a special competition entry form.

The forms are available now from the Wonky Wheel gallery or on wonky-wheel.co.uk.

They also say designs should include anything that the owner of the colouring book will be able to colour in such as animals, plants, landscapes and vehicles.

The best individual designs will be included in the book.

The closing date for the competition is the 15th November 2020.

The winners will be split in to three age groups - three to ten, eleven to 17 and over 18s.

The Wonky Wheel also continues to run creative workshops onsite.

Mary Turley added: “I wasn’t sure what to expect in my first year, but I wouldn’t change it.

"We had a great programme of workshops prelockdown and it was so rewarding to see people arrive all stressed and flushed from their busy lives to then learn a new skill in a relaxing environment and walk away from the workshops all de-stressed.

"That gives me great joy.”