Linda Manning won an award for her painting at the Dannevirke Art Society's 60th exhibition in 2020 and is an example of what people can achieve. Photo / NZME
Linda Manning won an award for her painting at the Dannevirke Art Society's 60th exhibition in 2020 and is an example of what people can achieve. Photo / NZME
Dannevirke Art Society is encouraging people to discover their creativity with a three-day expo.
The 'Have a Go Expo', running from August 25 to 27 on the corner of High St and Barraud St, was for people to watch artists working and perhaps have a go at some art themselves.
Society committee member Linda Manning said the artists who would be at the expo weren't necessarily top artists producing something fantastic, but just ordinary people giving it a go themselves.
She said the expo was a different way for the society to raise its profile within the community.
"Our club rooms are tucked a little bit out of the way. We don't have a high profile."
Dannevirke Art Society members Joan Alding, Diane Clayton and Judy Giddens with artworks from last year's mini-exhibition. This year they hope to encourage others to take up art. Photo / Leanne Warr
Last year the society ran a successful mini-exhibition from the same premises, thanks to the help of Craig Boyden from For Homes and other businesses in the community, and was able to use the same building for the expo.
"It's such a good environment," Manning said. "It's got good light."
Being on High St meant more people would be likely to pop in and find out what it was all about.
Members would be responsible for setting up their own table and selling their own works.
They could also be working on paintings which members of the public could come in and watch, or if they felt like it, there would be supplies on hand for them to have a go at creating something themselves.
Manning said it was about encouraging others in art "because we find it so therapeutic ourselves."
"It's not about necessarily feeling, 'oh, I'm really, really good at art.' It's just about enjoying creating something."
Part of it was also that there was a lot of anxiety out there, she said.
"It's a really good way for people to take their mind off the negative things. Focus on making something.
"There's something very satisfying about creating something from scratch."
Manning said there were a lot of people who would feel that art was something they just couldn't do.
"A lot of people will say 'I couldn't draw to save myself' or they 'couldn't even draw a straight line'."
She said she felt everybody was creative but they often just didn't have the opportunity to explore that creativity.
"Sometimes we've grown up with some not-so-good experiences - we've been told our drawing is no good, or our painting was terrible.
"It can be quite hard for people to get over that."
It didn't matter if no one else liked it, Manning said, as that wasn't what it was about.
Painting didn't have to be perfect.
"If you want perfect, you would go and buy off the shelf, something that's manufactured.
"Something that's always handmade, it's always imperfect. It's real. It's made with human mind and human thought and human heart and human hands, put together with love and enthusiasm."
She said there was always something special about hand-created work.
The society was also looking for new members, as it had experienced a bit of a drop in membership in the past couple of years.
The society had been going for more than 60 years and members felt a "huge amount of respect for those people who went before us," Manning said.
"So to honour them we really want to do our best to keep the club flourishing."
That meant making changes in the way they approached things, she said.
"You can't necessarily do things the same old way."
For those who visit the expo, they were also welcome to talk to the members about their artwork or ask questions.
"We're more than happy to help," Manning said.
The three-day expo will be open from 10am to 3pm each day from August 25 to 27.
