The Art Workshop NZ

Volcanic Wonderland – Sulphur Lake

2015-07-18T23:27:00.001+12:00

Volcanic Wonderland – Sulphur Lake

What interesting scenes I have found at Waiotapo (near Rotorua New Zealand).

Sulphur Lake - It looks like some alien landscape and felt quite eerie. I was completely on my own when taking these photos. Some birds chirping and the smell….

2015-07-18T23:17:00.001+12:00

Volcanic Wonderland – Mud Pools

I have been fascinated by the movement and the patterns at the volcanic mud pools at Waiotapo (near Rotorua New Zealand).

The mud is boiling hot and randomly blobs up. I tried to catch the essence of the movement and the subsequent pattern with a series of photos. The photos below are in no particular order. Taken with a Panasonic DMC-TZ7 Lumix.

Journal Page Experiments

2015-07-15T11:15:00.000+12:00

Journal Page Experiments

As an artist I sometimes find that “one” thing is not always enough. Enough, to express what I think, feel and want to say.

One thing could be writing some thoughts in a diary. Another one thing could be to draw or paint a picture. But if you combine these “one” things, you are bound to end up with the right thing. It is still debatable if the right thing should be called journaling. It intrigues me and I have now started a process to find out.

I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

All artwork made by myself. Paper, acrylic paint and Indian Ink.

IMAGINE: Everyone can draw

2014-11-30T09:28:00.002+13:00

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." -Pablo Picasso

IMAGINE: Everyone can draw. Everyone is an artist.

Drawings below by my then 10 year old son.

FREE Art Group Bucklands Beach (Auckland - New Zealand)

2014-09-21T18:16:00.001+12:00

I would like to start an art group on either a Tuesday or Thursday evening from 7 - 9pm.

Depending on interest it will be an adults only group or could include children 12 and older.

Bring your own project you need help with (or inspiration for), or a blank canvas and we will work on new ideas.

You can paint or draw.

Cost: FREE.

Venue: Bucklands Beach Auckland.

e-mail me if you are interested at info@theartworkshop.co.nz

or txt 021 581 422

Writing Poems

2014-07-23T16:39:00.001+12:00

Creative Poem Writing
It was a rainy old day in Auckland and my very talented and artistic 11 year old son said "what can we do mum?"

Not long before this, I read an article on the Susannah Conway blog that gave inspiration for writing poems by cutting random words from magazines.

Not really being in the mood for painting or drawing, we decided this will be a good challenge and started cutting out random words from magazines at hand. We could not find nice full page pictures to use as background for the poems.

I remembered that I made some paintings with leftover paint a while ago (to be used as background for another collage painting or doodles). They ended up being the perfect background.

The creativity started in all earnest.

Below you will find a collection of the poems we wrote.

Written by Sane-Mari

Written by Alexander

Art & Creativity Classes FREE Workshop!

2014-02-04T21:46:00.002+13:00

8 February 2014 at 2 - 4pm.

Give it a go!

Children age 10 - 12 (or year 6 - year 8)

Call or e-mail me today - Limited Space!

021 581 422 or info@theartworkshop.co.nz

Workshop will take place at 2/87 Clovelly Road, Bucklands Beach, Auckland, New Zealand.

My name is Sane-Mari and I am a graduate of The Learning Connexion, New Zealand's biggest Art School, where I obtained a Diploma in Art & Creativity (Honours). Since 2008 I have participated in various group exhibitions in Tauranga, Wellington and Auckland, a solo exhibition in St Heliers Community Library in 2010 and a solo exhibition at The Depot - Devonport,in 2012. I have delivered Art Workshops to groups of children to explore some of "The Masters" as well as individual art lessons to develop creativity.

It's been proven that early exposure to visual art, music, or drama promotes activity in the brain.

·Art nurtures inventiveness as it engages children in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation.

·Participating in art activities helps children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience, adapting to and respecting others' ways of working and thinking, developing creative problem-solving skills, and communicating thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways.

On 8 Feb 2014 I will hold a FREE Workshop from 2 - 4pm.

Give it a go!

Children Age 10 - 12 (or year 6 - year 8).

Call or e-mail me today as there is limited space.

On 15 February Term 1 Art & Creativity lesson start at 2pm until 4pm.

Drawing: $25 per lesson

Painting: $25 per lesson plus $50 for material per term.

If you enrol and pay ($225) in advance for Term 1, you will receive:

a FREE art pack worth $50, which includes a drawing book, pencils, a canvas, paint and brushes.
a custom made book, recording your child's journey of creative discovery
Exhibition of students work at the end of the term.

Planning your portfolio

2013-09-10T15:09:00.000+12:00

When starting out to make your Art Portfolio, you might find that you don’t know where to start and what to do first. The best way to get around this “block” is to plan your Art Portfolio as a project.

Below is a way that I use to get around this artist block. This is also the first step in designing your project.

It is easy to let your thoughts go and make a mindmap. As you go along the process you will find amazing ideas/images appear in your mind that you can translate into artwork.

Try this and let me know if it works for you.

This is my mindmap that I created when I wanted to do landscape themed artwork.

Read more about this method in my e-book about Creating a Winning Art Portfolio that will be available for download later this year.

Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.

Creating a Winning Art Portfolio (e-book)

2013-04-27T21:34:00.001+12:00

Hello everyone, my name is Sane-Mari Botha and I am the founder of THE ART WORKSHOP. I have started on the journey of writing an e-book about Creating a Winning Art Portfolio. I am enjoying the process and have a lot to share with you. At this stage I have decided to do all the writing first and then start with the art work that will serve as examples and instructions. Being an artist, I can't wait to start creating. Below you can read an extract from the first page.

" I am a graduate of The Learning Connexion, New Zealand’s biggest Art School, where I obtained a Diploma in Art & Creativity (Honours) in 2011.

I have participated in various group exhibitions in Tauranga, Wellington and Auckland. I have had two solo exhibitions, most recent at The Depot in Devonport. I have delivered Art Workshops to groups of children to explore some of “The Masters” as well as private art lessons to develop creativity.

I believe that inherently everyone is creative. This creativity is unfortunately taken away from us by the development of inhibitions at around 8 years old and when we start to question whether our art is “good” enough. I have a passion for rekindling this creativity in children and adults alike, as I am fortunate enough to have rediscovered my creativity. I love sharing this amazing experience through workshops, art classes and my blog.

When creating my own work, (mostly painting), I take inspiration and ideas from naturally occurring shapes and phenomena in nature. I believe there is more to everything than just the exterior and that compels me to move away from painting popular or regular subjects, but rather my interpretation of line, colour, texture, space and form.

When I enrolled at The Learning Connexion (TLC) I had to supply a portfolio to accompany my application. At that stage I had a collection of work to present, but I had to really think and work hard to put this all together into a portfolio that made sense and that would be good enough to get accepted for the course.

My aim with this e-book is to show that it is easy to create a fantastic winning art portfolio if you are willing to think creatively and work hard. The e-book series will give you guidelines, information and examples, whether you want to make a portfolio for application at an art school or just as a personal record of your art.

All artwork used in this e-book have been created whilst writing and will be published as my personal art portfolio."

“Being an artist is a way of being. It’s not just what you produce”

FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER

How to make an Art Portfolio

2013-02-23T09:48:00.003+13:00

How to make an Art Portfolio

e-book series

I am taking time out in 2013 to write a series of e-books, starting with, "How to make an Art Portfolio".

My aim is to show that it is easy to create a fantastic portfolio if you are willing to think creatively and work hard. The e-book series will give you guidelines, information and examples, whether you want to make a portfolio for application at an art school or just as a personal record of your art.

I will be blogging about the progress, so keep an eye out for new posts.

As a result of this new venture, there will be no art classes until further notice.

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
― Edgar Degas

Turpan Pendi - the lowest place on earth. Acrylic on canvas - from a satellite image by Sane-Mari 2011.

Drawing Lessons

2012-10-19T13:37:00.000+13:00

Drawings lessons

for children

7 - 12 years

Drawings lessons will resume on 17 November 2012.

The next lesson will be on 17 November from 14h00 to 16h00,

at the St Heliers Community Centre, St Heliers Bay Road, Auckland.

E-mail me at info@theartworkshop.co.nz to make a booking.
The morning lesson, in Bucklands Beach, Auckland will resume next year with the start of school term 1. More details to follow.

Remember the FIRST lesson is FREE! Give it a go!

Drawing Victorian Houses

2012-10-10T21:41:00.002+13:00

Drawing Victorian Houses

This lesson proved to be great fun for all the students (aged 7 -11) attending the class. We learned that Architecture is the designing and building of structures. We discussed Victorian Architecture in brief,e.g where did the name come from. Some students knew the answer - England's Queen Victoria off course. We learned that Victorian Mansions were different from other houses because they were impressive and symbolized hospitality. They had unique features and distinctive color schemes. We looked at several pictures of Victorian Houses (from library books and the internet).

On the black display board wall I built (as a basic construction) a Victorian House from basic shapes cutouts. This served as an example to remind the students that essentially you can construct a Victorian house using squares, rectangles, half circles columns and triangles.

I gave the students free choice to use stencils, cut out shapes and rulers to construct their Victorian House. After "Building" the houses they used colored pencils or markers to decorate their houses. Below are photos of some of the students work.

I got the idea for this lesson from the Deep Space Sparkle blog.

Drawing with Basic Shapes

2012-10-02T22:24:00.001+13:00

Silhouette drawn with fine pens on a watercolour background.

Often, at first glance, things will appear to be complicated and most beginning artists will not attempt to make a drawing of what they see.

If you start looking closely you will notice that almost everything is made up of basic shapes, such as circles, dots and lines.

Drawing becomes much easier if you are able to recognise the shapes in simple as well as complex pictures.

The secret is to build onto the basic shapes in a step by step process.

Why is it easier to draw something when you first draw the shapes?

Because we can all draw basic shapes. See below for examples.

There are many more shapes in geometry as well as nature. Take an old magazine, choose a picture and see how many shapes you can identify. Deconstruct every picture and you will notice how easy it will be to draw that picture. Be aware that the basic shapes might be hidden. Also remember that you might need to change the basic shape slightly to draw the hidden shape, e.g a lopsided oval or triangle.

Be creative and explore basic shapes!

Draw like a child

2012-09-25T20:21:00.005+12:00

Follow this link and see some of the work one of my students have done since May 2012.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexanders-Artwork/202912303130464?ref=hl

He would love to hear what you think of his work. He is 10 years old.

Freehand abstract design using basic shapes

Texture

2012-09-23T12:38:00.002+12:00

Lesson on texture.

What is texture?

Texture indicates whether an object is course, smooth, rough, crinkled etc.

Rough

Crinkled

Smooth

Why do we need to draw texture?

to highlight certain areas of the drawing
avoid visual monotony
create a greater degree of realism

Texture marks

Texture marks could include Hatching, Cross hatching and Double cross Hatching

Another very effective way to make objects in drawings "come alive", (e.g. furniture) is is the technique called Frottage.

Frottage is a specialist technique and is not restricted to pencil and paper.
The term comes from the French verb "frotter" which means "to rub".
This is how you do it:

Place a piece of paper over a textured surface or an incised pattern. Thin paper works best.
Then rub a soft pencil over the paper.

Why would you use frottage:

To create areas of patterns or textured drawing, e.g. patterns of woodgrain on a piece of timber in your drawing could make it look realistic. Effects will vary according to the types of paper and pencil you use.
Preserve an engraving on an object, e.g. a brass bell or gravestone.
Some textures will work well when drawing clothes on people or sofas.

Did you find this useful? Write a comment on this blog

or e-mail me at info@theartworkshop.co.nz

Tone and Shade

2012-09-15T22:52:00.002+12:00

Following on from the getting started lesson, the next step will be to draw a tone wheel.

Remember it is not necessary to use a different pencil every time you want a slightly different tone. Just increase or decrease the pressure of the pencil on the paper.

It is a good idea to draw a tone wheel for all the pencils you will use for drawing, but possibly not the H or 2H as they will not yield the same effect. The drawing below was made with a 2B pencil.

White appears to be coming forward in the picture and the dark (black) appears to recede.

A slight grey tone around the edges softens the image and it gives a rounded look.

A light grey tone or soft grey (in pencil drawing) is used for anything from the sky to skin tone. It is a very versatile tone.

Dark grey tones are used for dark shadows and possibly thunder clouds and often used in stead of black.

Black tone is very intense and not often used. Remember it is very difficult to erase black.

Artists use shading (tone) for various reasons:

It softens the appearance of an image
it makes an image look solid
it adds variety

Can you see the difference?

Both the left and right image started off being the same sized circles. The circle on the left was shaded in the same tone and remained a circle or dot. The circle on the right was shaded using different tones in such a way that considers the direction of light, e.g shining from the right hand side. This action created an object that looks like a ball or sphere.

I found this link to be useful in learning more about tone. Click to follow.

Did you find this useful? Write a comment on this blog

or e-mail me at info@theartworkshop.co.nz

Beyond the Fridge: Saving Your Kids Artwork

2012-09-15T21:41:00.006+12:00

A frequent problem for parents is what to do with all the artwork their kids produce.

We all love it, but let's face it: There just isn't enough room on the refrigerator.

Here are some suggestions.

Laminate art at a copy or print shop to use as place mats or bookmarks.
Buy a blank craft calendar and add a piece of artwork each month to make a unique Christmas gift for a relative.
Store the favorites in a portfolio your child makes using a pizza box that you let them decorate (your local pizza parlor may donate a new one to you).
Scan your child's work into your computer to print out your own note cards. Don't forget to put the artist's name and title on the back of the card.
Devise a rotating art gallery. Each relative interested in participating gets to have a piece of art for a month, then it rotates to the next recipient.
Make a scrapbook page around the artwork.

Be creative!

The most important thing is to let your child know you look forward to seeing them express themselves through art.

Drawing - Getting started

2012-09-07T09:35:00.002+12:00

Make sure you have all the equipment you need:

Pencils, sharpener, Erasers, lots of paper, sketchbooks, visual diaries, ruler, stencil shapes like circle, triangle, coloured pencils, crayons, markers.
Set yourself up in a comfortable position, e.g. at a table or desk with sufficient light.
Take a deep breath or two and be inspired to create.
Ready and start.

It is important to know what your equipment can do and how you can use it to draw.

A good starting point is to look at the different types of pencils.

The hardest pencil makes the lightest lines and the softest pencil makes the darkest lines
The darkest pencils draw the smoothest, but they smudge like crazy and is almost impossible to erase
The lightest pencils draw without any give and are so hard that they make lines in the paper
Pencil grade represents the darkness of the lead (graphite) and how soft it is
B and HB is excellent for drawing and sketching
HB is the most popular sketching pencil and widely used in schools as the only pencil

Below is a basic example of the spectrum of different pencils.

Try this exercise to see the effect for yourself.

Fill each block with a different pencil, starting with 2H at the top and ending with 6B or 8B at the bottom.
Apply medium pressure with your pencil to the paper.
Now erase the blocks in the right hand column starting with the top block (2H pencil) and end with the 6B or 8B block.
Make sure you erase in a horizontal way ensuring you erase one block at a time. This way you will get maximum effect out of the exercise.
Make a note of which block erases the easiest and which looks the messiest. Remember this and use different pencils for different parts of your drawings.

Basic Spectrum of pencils on the left and what happens if you try to erase drawing

Information Sheet

2012-09-06T18:24:00.005+12:00

Teaching children about art is a good idea

It's been proven that early exposure to visual art, music, or drama promotes activity in the brain.

· Art helps children understand other subjects much more clearly—from math and science, to language arts and geography.

· Art nurtures inventiveness as it engages children in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation.

· Participating in art activities helps children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience, adapting to and respecting others' ways of working and thinking, developing creative problem-solving skills, and communicating thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways.

· Teaching children about art is not just about showing them how to recognize a van Gogh or Picasso; it's about preparing young minds for a future of invaluable experiences, art related or otherwise. In our quest to gain knowledge on a subject we often buy books and hope that it will bring something magical to our experience. Books can make a difference, and create miracles, but only if you are committed to doing the work.

· Art is a starting point that may take you into any field. Creativity knows no bounds.

Why The Art Workshop?

I am a graduate of The Learning Connexion, New Zealand’s biggest Art School, where I obtained a Diploma in Art & Creativity (Honours). Since 2008 I have participated in various group exhibitions in Tauranga, Wellington and Auckland as well as solo exhibitions in St Heliers Community Library in 2010 and The Depot Gallery Devonport in 2012. I was invited to exhibit at the NZ Art Show in Wellington in August 2012. I have delivered Art Workshops to groups of children to explore some of “The Masters” as well as individual art lessons to develop creativity and Drawing Classes for children age 7 -12.

I believe that inherently everyone is creative. This creativity is unfortunately taken away from us by the development of inhibitions when we get to around 8 years old. At this age children start to question whether what they create artistically is “good enough”. I have a passion for nurturing and rekindling this creativity in children. My interest lies in creating something original (mostly painting) out of naturally occurring shapes and phenomena in nature. There is more to everything than just the exterior and that compels me to move away from painting popular or regular subjects.

I am fortunate enough to have rediscovered my creativity and I want to share this amazing experience with you and your child.

We start by making Connections through Drawing

Drawing is one of the most important activities students can do. Drawing not only provides the basis for other creative activities - like painting, sculpture and printmaking - but it also provides a direct link with reading, writing and especially mathematics. The connection between drawing and geometric shapes and measurements simply cannot be denied. And do you know what else? Drawing is the single most accessible form of art available. All you need is a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Drawing Classes every Saturday 2-4 pm

No materials needed, just bring your child

$30 per lesson, but remember first Lesson is FREE

(give it a go!)

2012-09-04T11:25:00.000+12:00

The Art Workshop had a makeover, with a new logo and website.

Click on this link to see what it is all about.

www.theartworkshop.co.nz

Tell us what you think!

2012-05-22T21:33:00.004+12:00

Drawing Lessons - Every Saturday afternoon 2 - 4 pm

Word Cloud

2012-04-24T03:48:00.001+12:00

I made this word cloud from words used in my profile. Interesting effect and inspirational.

What I like is that creativity, art and children stand out. My passion lies in developing these!

To do the same check out this website: http://www.wordle.net/create

Natural Cycles Exhibition

2012-03-27T10:13:00.002+13:00

24 March 2012 - Opening preview day

Since returning from my Summer Holiday, I was focused on finishing all the paintings for the Natural Cycles exhibition as well as getting everything ready for the big day.

A solo exhibition is almost like a confession. It does not have the same dynamic as a group exhibition where weaker artists can hide behind stronger artists. If you go it alone you have to bear whatever the public view brings to you.

I am happy that the feedback I received was generally excellent. I achieved my goal of having this exhibition and putting my creative work out there. The pictures below are of the art work on display at The Depot Artspace gallery at 28 Clarence Street, Devonport, Auckland.

I will accept commissioned work to create similar works, but I could never reproduce any physical canvas. Contact me at: info@theartworkshop.co.nz. If you want to see more of my work click here: http://www.wix.com/sanemaribotha/theartworkshop#!

Natural Cycles

Blissfully Unaware

It seems Ok?

Progress?

Progress? (2)

Roasting

Consuming

Where have all the flowers gone?

From the other side

From dust to dust...

The tail end

Natural Cycles Exhibition

2012-03-04T12:39:00.001+13:00

I have been waiting for this moment a long time - probably as long as I can remember….

A solo exhibition in a public gallery!

Natural cycles has been a journey of many steps. Developing the idea, making the initial drawings, painting the initial drawings, repainting them and finally the finished product. Throughout this process the series developed into something that (I believe) will be amazing to look at.

After the opening preview I will post photos of the series and I would love to know what you think.

Paint like a child....

2011-11-18T21:34:00.001+13:00

Paint like a child....

Monday past, I spend a very productive day at The Learning Connexion (TLC) in Lower Hutt, Wellington. It was interesting to spend time in a classroom environment with my tutor (Gary Freemantle) and other on site students. Feedback and interaction is freely used in the class and have sparked a few ideas that will hopefully serve as inspiration for future works of art.

I started the day off with strong colours and large paint brushes trying to paint without thinking about what I am doing - just doing shapes, lines, patterns. Like a child would, without any inhibitions.

This proved to be more difficult than what I thought. It is amazing how a trained mind want to force you to behave in a certain way, i.e. I like to be in control of my paintbrush/paint. Painting like a child is not like that. Eventually I let go and at the end of the day I liked the outcome. I poured, splattered and rubbed the paint with my fingers. I definitely want to develop painting faces (abstract and otherwise) with dripping and running paint.

Below here are the work I did on this classroom day. It is in no particular order.

The Art Workshop NZ

Volcanic Wonderland – Sulphur Lake

Journal Page Experiments

IMAGINE: Everyone can draw

FREE Art Group Bucklands Beach (Auckland - New Zealand)

Writing Poems

Creative Poem Writing

Art & Creativity Classes FREE Workshop!

Planning your portfolio

Creating a Winning Art Portfolio (e-book)

All artwork used in this e-book have been created whilst writing and will be published as my personal art portfolio."

“Being an artist is a way of being. It’s not just what you produce”

FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER

How to make an Art Portfolio

How to make an Art Portfolio

e-book series

I am taking time out in 2013 to write a series of e-books, starting with, "How to make an Art Portfolio".

I will be blogging about the progress, so keep an eye out for new posts.

As a result of this new venture, there will be no art classes until further notice.

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ― Edgar Degas

Drawing Lessons

Drawings lessons

for children

7 - 12 years﻿

Drawings lessons will resume on 17 November 2012.

Drawing Victorian Houses

Drawing Victorian Houses

Drawing with Basic Shapes

Silhouette drawn with fine pens on a watercolour background.

Draw like a child

Texture

Lesson on texture.

What is texture?

Rough

Crinkled

Smooth

Why do we need to draw texture?

Texture marks

Tone and Shade

Beyond the Fridge: Saving Your Kids Artwork

Drawing - Getting started

Information Sheet

Drawing Lessons - Every Saturday afternoon 2 - 4 pm

Word Cloud

Natural Cycles Exhibition

24 March 2012 - Opening preview day

Natural Cycles Exhibition

Paint like a child....

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
― Edgar Degas

7 - 12 years