collecting her nectar like bees

Illustration rough for the Winter issue of Juno magazine - this one will be fun!

Quote (from upcoming Juno article "The Venerable Years" by Ruth Meyers):

"I worked with one play leader in the seventies before playgroups came under the homogenising umbrella of education, who sat in the one place all session to the most wonderful effect. I saw her as a solid and benevolent presence for the children. The place she usually chose to sit was the dough table. I never saw her scribble one note or observation, neither did she dole out progress reports to parents. She was always surrounded by small groups of children, they came and went, collecting her nectar like bees. The children glowed and animated with such sweet juice of the gods! She was always covered in flour because she loved to play with the dough as she chatted to the children. I find it hard to imagine such an easy, cosy and child-friendly scene in a playgroup or nursery today."