Bite Sized Art Learning in a Social Atmosphere
An inclusive art education space offering a range low cost creative workshops that are accessible for anyone in our community. Different levels of experience are catered for from beginner to advanced.
Bite sized opportunities are delivered for the public to not only follow their dreams and passion for various art forms but increase well-being and connectedness without cost or time restraints being a barrier.
Upcoming Workshops
Discover The Joys of Geli-printing
Weekend Workshop
Join Shona for an massive two-day workshop to explore the addictive process of printing from a soft gel plate. Suitable for complete beginners through to artists wishing to discover new techniques. Over the weekend you’ll learn how to make, care for, and use your own gel plates. Explore a wide variety of techniques such as printing with botanicals, creating texture with found objects, making, and using stencils, mask and brayer use, image and sketch transfers and creating more painterly mark making.
Take home a wide range of rich textured and layered prints. Some will be frame ready, to use as cards, gift wrap, or make prints perfect for collage work. Participants will gain confidence build on their knowledge and further explore the joys of Geli-printing.
Tutor: Shona Mackenzie
Dates: 11th and 12th December 2021
Time 9.30am – 4pm
Cost $230
Some basic materials supplied including your first gel plate and tools for the weekend.
Please bring: 3 tubes of golden OPEN paints. Masking tape, 1 black chino-graph pencil, 1 craft knife or scalpel, 1 or 2 thin flat sheets of A4 plastic such as acetate. A collection of a variety of papers to print on and interesting textured items. Shona will contact you with other items you can choose to bring to get the most from this experimental weekend.
Learn Upholstery Workshop
One Day Workshops
This one-day workshop is for beginners or people who want to refresh their Upholstery skill's. Students will learn some fundamental techniques of upholstery. This will give you enough confidence to kick start a new upholstery hobby or continue small projects at home with the confidence to build on these basic skills. Starting with a footstool frame you will build in the comfort layers and then upholster like a pro with your choice of fabric.
Learn Upholstery in the beautiful Historic Village. Bring a friend or organise a group outing. Only 8 spaces per workshop so BE QUICK to lock in a space.
Tutor: Paula Jones
Date: 27th November, or 4th December 2021
Time: 10 - 4.30pm
Cost: $175 - $80 deposit.
Tea, Coffee supplied. You will be given your own kit all you will need is a 1 metre square Upholstery grade fabric and a button. Fabric is available for those busy people ( at $10).
Paula has been teaching beginners upholstery workshops for over 5 years now and continues to up skill and share her knowledge to the community. Contact Paula to confirm what you will need to bring. Email: chairup.upholstery@gmail.com
Fundamentals of Painting - November
Five Week Course
This course will be based on traditional painting techniques with some contemporary approaches. There is a focus on developing a solid understanding of colour theory, tonal relationships, proportion, and composition.
The ideas covered can be applied to many painting media including oil and acrylic. Progressing to use these ideas to develop believable 3d forms on a 2d surface.
This is an inspiring and productive course for all levels of experience. Learn new techniques every week to build your skills in a chilled and creative environment.
Tutor: Damien Kurth
Tuesdays Afternoons over 5 weeks
Starts: 9th November to 7th December 2021.
Time: 1pm to 3.30pm
Cost: $260
Basic starting materials are supplied, with advice on additional painting products as you go. You can bring your own paints and brushes. Tea and coffee are supplied.
Damien is a professional tutor and artist of renown. He holds a Master of Fine Arts, Elam School of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Fine Arts, Otago Polytechnic.
Simple Sewing - Learning the Basics
Five Week Course
Is your relationship with your sewing machine in its infancy, or have your skills become a little rusty? Gain confidence with easy cures for common sewing machine troubles. This is an introductory course to the basics of sewing on a domestic sewing machine including up-cycling fabric with a creative flair.
Students will learn how to set up a machine, use different stitches and sewing techniques, including troubleshooting. Participants will learn how to cut fabric and sew without a pattern to produce their own original creations. Learn about taking measurements and explore recycling fabric to help save the planet.
Once the basics are mastered, the students will get the opportunity to try out different seam types and simple construction to make basic projects (such as a cushion or tote bag). Then move onto a second project which could be a small girls skirt or a short kaftan to wear.
Tutor: Orna Amir
Five Week Course
Dates: Thursdays 4th November - 2nd December
Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Cost: $110.00
All Materials Supplied. Students will need to bring their own machines and machine needles.
If they have a treasured fabric to use, bring that as well.
Orna Amir is a well-regarded and popular garment designer. She is a resident artist and owner of the retail shop - Vamped situated at The Incubator Creative Hub in the Tauranga Historic Village. You can find her face book page and Instagram account under Vamped.
