9-Year-Old Who Got Scolded For Doodling In Class Gets Hired To Decorate Restaurant
If you were the kid who was constantly getting in trouble at school for doodling all over your notebooks, then this story is for you. 9-year-old Joe Whale from Shrewsbury, England is winning for all of us classroom artists since he didn't let his teacher's complaints stop him from doodling his way to a job as a restaurant decorator.
"Number 4," a local restaurant in Shrewsbury, invited Joe to come and decorate the dining room of their fine establishment. He goes after school, of course — he's got to warm up by getting the creative juices flowing during his math-class drawings.
His Parents Wanted Him To Grow His Talent Despite The Teacher
We all know what it's like to feel the hard stare of our angry teacher when they figure out we're not really taking notes in class. Most of us stop and make a promise to ourselves that we won't keep adding to the lasers that are coming out of the giant robot's eyes, but Joe's parents took a different approach.
Instead of shutting down his behavior and giving him a lecture, the Whales decided to foster Joe's creative growth instead. So they enrolled him in an after-school art program. It looks like that robot's getting ultra-beam-hyper-magnum lasers after all.
His Impressed Art Teacher Posted Joe's Work To Instagram
At the art class, Joe was really able to let his creativity flourish. Like any artist who's given the right environment and creative nurturing, Joe began to create some really cool stuff. And it didn't go unnoticed.
Since an Instagram post is basically the new "art on the fridge," Joe's art teacher, who was so impressed with his detailed and funky work, decided to post an image of his drawing on their own page. Hopefully, they tagged him in it.
Number 4 Quickly Took Notice
If you've been in any cool restaurant recently, you may have noticed a trend—the decoration is always original and super detailed. A huge part of a restaurant's draw is its atmosphere, so smart business owners invest time and money into making it look good enough to take a photo in. The food is important too, probably.
After Joe's art teacher posted a photo of his work, Number 4 restaurant in Shrewsbury quickly took notice and invited Joe to come after school to decorate their dining room with his art. Joe was more than happy to agree.
His Dad Drives Him There After School
Like any good parent invested in their kid's first job (normally it's newspaper delivery though), Joe Whale's dad drives him to Number 4, where he spends a couple of hours every night there decorating the main dining area.
I don't know about you, but seeing a doodlescape of an epic battle taking place between the residents of "Doodle City" and a giant skyscraper-toppling robot take place makes all of my food taste even better.
He's On The Artistic Path Now
After only a week of going to Number 4 in his spare time after school, Joe completed the project and made the dining room look incredible. He can check off his first gig as an established artist at only age 9—something not a lot of people can say!
Since completing the wall, Joe has done a couple of commissioned art pieces and the Whales have started a website that sells his work (which has completely sold out by the way). It's safe to say the future holds big things for this creative kid and we can't wait to see what other projects he does.
