Dora Baker, with the first birthday cake, and Lynne Walker, with the Art Over East members.
One year ago, Lynne Walker started Art Over East with her friend Dora Baker. “We wanted to have a space ‘over east’ because there are lots of art groups over the other side of the river,” she said.
“We thought it would be a good idea to have one here.
We wanted to have a group that was social and friendly, which would attract people from those who had never picked up a paintbrush to people who were very experienced.
“We’ve got a very diverse range. We started off with just Dora and myself. Christine Tamatea was the first member to join, two more artists came, and then in February this year, Dora ran two ‘Painting with Pencil’ classes which attracted 12 participants.
“From those classes, we gained another four members. We have increased to 15 members now in just one year.
“Our goal was to keep the attendance cost low, starting at $10 per session. We have been able to reduce the cost to $5 per session due to our numbers. We’re a success story because we started very small and have grown to a nice number,” she said. The group is supportive of one another and have fun while creating art.
