This column will arrive with the newspaper right in the middle of Spring Break week for the Flin Flon School Division and our mighty NorVA Centre has a fantastic week of art classes planned for our creative kids.
On March 28, there is Marionettes with Mike from 10 am to 12 pm, then Pysanky with Katie Kozak from 2 to 4 pm.
Marionettes are the puppets on strings, like Pinocchio (before he was a boy!) and Pysanky are traditional painted Ukrainian Easter eggs.
On Thursday, March 29, Elaine Angelski will be in the instructor role, with Draw Squad beginning at 10 am, then Clay with Elaine at 2 pm.
Angelski is a master potter with many years of experience, who is guaranteed to bring her love of the art form into the class and to pass that on to the children. Plus, they get to get their hands dirty and touch stuff!
On Friday, March 30 there is a very special opportunity to practise a fantastic Japanese art form, origami, with Yumi Yamaguchi, who is from Nagoya, Japan.
Yamaguchi is in the area as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. She has been practising this art since she was a little girl and she is thrilled to be able to offer something from her culture to her new environment. Classes will be in the morning and afternoon at the same times as previously noted. The morning class is for beginners and the afternoon session is advanced.
If you have never seen these fabulous paper creations, you must try to come. They can be quite spectacular. The cost of each class varies from $25 to $30 and includes all instruction and materials. Participants will be able to bring their work home. You can call NorVA at 204-687-4237 to reserve your child’s spot.
On Thursday, March 29, there will be a special Pysanka Party for adults, again at the NorVA Centre, 177 Green Street.
The instructors, Katie and Phyllis Kozak, will lead a class in traditional Easter egg painting, with instruction on the sacred and folk tales demonstrated on the decorated eggs.
The evening event will follow the format of a paint party, and I have it on good authority that there are always refreshments involved. Consequently, the NorVA Centre would like you to know you will be working without a net throughout this endeavour. The cost is $55 and all materials will be supplied. Call NorVA to reserve a place.
The following weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 7 and 8, Lois Pedersen will be teaching Sculptural Painting at NorVA.
This is the technique of building up aspects of a painting with a sculpting medium make it stand out.
Some may have seen Pedersen’s work with this technique in the Northern Juried Art Show. She will demonstrate how to use the modelling clay and offer information on actually painting on it to achieve realistic images.
Pedersen is a hard-working artist who is always eager to try a new form of expression and to pass on the lessons she has learned. The two days of class time and all materials are included in the $50 cost.
There is a performance to talk about as well, in case you were worried there was not enough to keep us entertained.
Ann Ross and Doug MacGregor have been hosting Local Routes in their home for some years now and have decided it’s time to give a wider audience the opportunity to experience what they have so beautifully nurtured.
Local Routes at Johnny’s Social Club will be on Saturday, April 7, at 7:30 pm. The wide variety of musicians who will be performing have all been practising for a long time and have mastered playing in public in a house concert format. Now they are moving to a professional venue and are raising funds for a great cause, A Port in the Storm, a place for northern and rural adult patients to stay in Winnipeg when receiving medical treatment. Nice work, folks!
