Safe, busy and soaking up culture in the holidays

Printmaking: ACG Tauranga's collaborative rotational print work based on artist Reuben Paterson. Photo/Dan Du Bern

ONE of the many options to entertain the kids during the upcoming school holidays is to book them in to an Art Studio for Children at the Tauranga Art Gallery. Children can have fun exploring and experimenting with printmaking as they create their own artwork.

These always popular programmes each focus on an exhibition that's currently on show at the gallery and give children an opportunity to explore their creativity while at the same time learning about art: techniques, effects, textures and materials.

"In week one, the Children's Art Studios will concentrate on rotational stencil prints. It will be an exploration into stencil art which is a form of printmaking," explains Martine Rolls, from TAG.

The studios are held Monday to Friday, with different times for each age group and open to kids aged four to 12. Naturally, classes are especially constructed for each group.

"Younger children will work with black, white and gold. They will be looking at shapes and create a positive rotational stencil. The older children will create a rotational piece in black and white, inspired by ACG Tauranga's mural artwork designed for the recent Time Capsule Mural Project.

"The children will also explore the exhibition Printmaking: Beyond the Frame before creating their own rotational stencil print," Ms Rolls says.

The exhibition shows a range of work by members of the Central Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand (CPCANZ) and three invited guests - Kate McLean, Alexis Neal and Jeff Thomson. The title Printmaking: Beyond the Frame refers to the contemporary perception of print. Traditionally, a print has been thought of as two-dimensional but today, printmaking includes the absorption of a whole range of new technologies.

"In this exhibition, the artists explore technical challenges and have fun with art philosophy," Ms Rolls explains.

A different Art Studios programme is planned for the second week of the school holidays. This week, participants will use decoupage techniques to create a bowl artwork using found print media like magazines and newspapers.

Decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing images cut from paper text on it, and the children will be creating their own illustrations. They will include text and mixed media as well as their own illustrations and size and scale will be explored through photocopying techniques. For dates and times and to enrol your child, visit www.artgallery.org.nz/tag-art-studios.

the details
Bookings: Now open for the September/October school holidays Cost: $20 per child or $35 for any two bookings paid for together. Call the Tauranga Art Gallery on 07 578 7933 for more information or to make a booking. A non-refundable payment at time of booking will secure your child's place.