This past weekend brought the first of multiple opportunities for children to create a masterpiece.
Saxifrage Studio hosted what’s known as Masterpiece Sundays, a four-week series for young artists from ages six to 12. In this program, Saxifrage owner Tracey Bryant introduces children to art by way of history, culture and nature, and she encourages them to express themselves creatively and confidently.
“We work in an array of different mediums, from watercolours to mixed media, collage, printmaking, sculpture, recycle projects,” Bryant explained.
She said one thing that kids won’t find in her class is pencils and erasers, because she wants them to work more freely and to embrace their mistakes.
“There could be happy accidents,” she said. “It just sort of inspires confidence, but also just excitement in art. You know, that there’s lots of different ways to make art and express themselves.”
The current series of Masterpiece Sundays at the 47 Street studio is called Brave New Art, a theme that reflects the new year and the change that comes with it. Bryant said she likes to come up with different themes and titles for each series, to keep the kids interested and challenged. Close to 10 young participants showed up for the first session on Sunday.
Experimentation encouraged
For the first session, the young participants created a watercolour media collage with effects to simulate a polar bear and the Northern lights. Bryant said she still tries to teach them the fundamentals of art, such as shape, form and value, but also lets them experiment with the mediums and the tools.
For the next sessions, the kids will be doing a painting of robots, and a recycled art project, where they will create animals from springs, metal parts and old bolts that Bryant salvaged from Yellowknife’s renowned dump.
She said she enjoys teaching art to children because they have a limited understanding of the world, and she can help them expand their horizons and their imagination.
“My approach is to be very encouraging to kids to explore and to free themselves up,” she said. “I guess just by being myself and being passionate about what I do and showing them that art is fun and art is everywhere.”
For adults, she has a program called Art in the Van Gogh, which is based on her Masterpiece Sundays, where adults can try different art styles and projects.
“I think all of us, we have a need to do things with our hands, it’s a natural thing,” she said. “And I guess that’s sort of what I see is that it’s more of the process.”
She said she’s grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the community, and hopes to inspire more people to discover their artistic potential.