An Exploration in the Transformative Power of Art

– with Van James

Come and explore the origins of drawing and colour.  Work with reference to how our abilities to paint and draw have developed over history, and how civilisations have unfolded them.  We will explore the visual arts of form drawing, mandala work, landscape painting, figure drawing, and portraiture. We will tap the creative source that informs our own inner life revealing something of the mystery between our self and the outer world.

Mandala: Day 1 follows the origins of drawing and how forms, symbols and images express intelligent design. We will explore the sacred circle and create our own personal mandala.

Landscape: Day 2 explores landscape painting (with pastels) through impressionistic and expressionistic styles, using both realistic and imaginative approaches.

Portrait: Day 3 examines the human countenance, the history of the portrait and self-portraiture through the art of drawing. Bring a photograph of yourself as part of this experience.

Three, one-and-a-half-hour sessions make up each day’s workshop. The three days make up the whole, but it is possible to come to each day individually.

April 4-6, 2019

Van James was one of the founding teachers of Tobias School of Art in England and has taught at the Honolulu Waldorf School as a class teacher and high school art instructor for the past 35 years. He is an international advocate for the arts and regular guest tutor at teacher training colleges and Steiner-Waldorf schools, is chair of the Anthroposophical Society in Hawai’i and council member of the Visual Art’s Section of North America, as well as editor of Pacifica Journal. He is an artist, graphic designer, and award-winning author of books on culture and the arts, including Drawing with Hand, Head and Heart: A Natural Approach to Learning the Art of Drawing. His guidebooks on sacred, cultural sites in the Hawaiian Islands have won three Ka Palapala Po’o Kela awards.

Cost: $195 per day or $550 for 3 days, includes lunch and refreshments

Note – if you would like to register for only one or two days, then please contact us at info@taruna.ac.nz to arrange payment, as registering via the website will charge you for the full three day course cost

Course Registration

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