Do you want to know more about workshops? Or do you have a suggestion for a workshop you might be interested in? Let us know!
Giant Paper Flower Workshop
Thursday 2 October 1-2:30pm
Tickets here!
The G.R.A.I.N. Store will be celebrating spring with a school holiday
workshop making giant, colourful paper flowers inspired by the work
of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
Not very arty? – no worries! You will be guided through step-by-step
to make your own unique and spectacular artwork that will be
included in a large installation for the upcoming exhibition ‘Shelter’.
Ecology of Community x
Item of Connection
Sun 1 June 2025 11-3pm
Free event!
Item of Connection Exhibition
Powerful photographic portraits tell the personal stories of locals who lived through and volunteered during the 2022 floods
Come and Try Art Stations
Bring the whole family and get involved in our ‘Come and Try’ art activities – designed for all ages! Choose an art station, meet our local artists, make your mark and add your piece to our giant map.
Trashemblage!
Thurs 23 Jan 2025 1-2:20pm
Tickets
Kids aged 8-12 are invited to spend one day of their school holidays with Kristen Retallick turning trash into art.
Kids under 8 must bring a trusted adult.
Artist Books Workshop for
Young Artists
3 October 2024
10-11:30am and 1-2:30pm
Tickets
Kids aged 8-12 are invited to spend one day of their school holidays making an artist book with Kristen Retallick. Kids will be encouraged to experiment with painting, drawing and collaging techniques. Materials provided. Smocks provided.
Lucy Wise
7 September 2024 10:30-12pm
Tickets
Lucy was given a uke for her 4th birthday that was handmade by her luthier dad, Scott Wise, and it remains a favourite go-to instrument for her songwriting.
Lucy will teach a song, taking you through some ukulele techniques that will breathe new life into your playing, and will share insights into using the uke to write your own songs, giving you a couple of exercises to get you going!
Tenzin Choegyal
3 August 2024 1:30-3pm
Tickets
Drawing on 15+ years’ experience with string orchestras, including Camerata, Brisbane’s chamber orchestra, Tenzin introduces some unique aspects of Tibetan music to local ensembles and choirs and shares the stories and inspirations behind some of his original compositions.
This is an opportunity to learn, rehearse and perform one or two of Tenzin’s songs, based on arrangements by Katherine Philp (cellist) and Philip Glass for string ensembles or small orchestras.
Introduction to Fluid Art with Karen Manley
6 July 2024 10-3pm
Tickets: $80
An introductory workshop on the unique method of abstract painting, ‘Fluid Art’. Karen Manley will guide you through two different ways of applying fluid art; open pour and cell activation swipe.
The technique involves mixing acrylic paint with a thinning medium and then pouring that onto a canvas. Flowing paint and colours are then manipulated into designs.
Studio with
Tim Hocking
Creagh Manning
Linden Lancaster
March – May 2024
For aspiring and experienced artists who want to improve their skills, The G.R.A.I.N. Store is offering Studio three Tuesdays a month, 9am – 1pm, with experienced arts educators.
$50 per session, bring your own artwork that you’d like guidance on.
Contact Philippa 0400 037 432 or see Ruby at The G.R.A.I.N. Store for more information.
Semi-Abstract Botanical Collages with Linden Lancaster
24 & 25 Feb 2024 9-2pm
Tickets: $80 per day
A two day class that will result in a cohesive set of small collages that can be framed or attached to boards. This workshop is suitable for artists of all skill levels who would like to delve into abstraction, learn new techniques and have some serious play.
Workshop includes:
– Abstracting visual elements from botanicals.
– Developing visual language through mark making.
– Making a range of collage papers using a variety of materials, papers and techniques.
– Introducing low-tech printing including mono-printing, foam etching, using found objects and the gel plate.
– Gluing papers, composing and cropping.
Materials list on enrolment.
Participants must pay an additional $10 for materials on the day.
Geoff Achison Acoustic Blues Workshop
13 October 2023
Experienced: 1-2pm
Beginners: 3-4pm
Tickets: $25
Geoff will be discussing and demonstrating all aspects of his acoustic guitar style. Get an insight into Geoff’s approach to solo blues playing including finger-style & flat-pick techniques, building a setlist, arranging & songwriting. Learn a few tricks of the trade, crafty chords and lightning riffs!
Participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments.
Amplify Book Making with Robyn Thompson
25 June 2023, 10-3pm
Tickets: $80
This one-day workshop will introduce you to the artist book world, methods of collage & the art movement of pop art. We will look at artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, whose contemporary works on paper emphasise key words/statements & simplified graphic images (often taken from comics and ads c.1960s). We will also utilise second and hard back books, as the title may provide a word or key phrase you wish to extend and express as an artwork. You will receive tutoring in making 1 completed artist book – concertina style. At the beginning, Robyn will give a demonstration of the use of hard back books (often discarded at your local library), to make one of two techniques shown: 1. Art journal or 2: artist book. Once you have chosen which style of book you want to make, in the second half of the workshop, Robyn will be available to assist participants with their works in progress. From the collages, experiments with book art and your chosen subject, these stories can be exhibited in several presentation styles, theme of ‘Amplify’.
Folk Songwriting Workshop with Fred Smith
21 May 2023, 10-11:30am
Tickets: $25
Age: 15+
Looking at the great Australian narrative song writing tradition from Lawson to Kev Carmody to Paul Kelly, this workshop teaches participants how to build songs that tell stories with issues in their own communities. Uniquely Australian, this style of storytelling songwriting is rarely taught and will provide participants with a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from a master of the art form.
Stories in the Sky
A printmaking workshop with Robyn Thompson
13 May 2023, 10-4pm
Tickets: $80
This workshop will interest artists, print makers and storytellers. Please bring an apron, a 2B pencil and a piece of your favourite text, poem, lyrics, artwork or photograph of the sky that inspires you. All other materials provided.
Biography: Robyn Thompson is a Drawing & Print Teacher, focusing on artist books and storytelling with local Aboriginal Artists in particular, during the last 13 years in Northern Victoria. She values the role Visual arts plays in community renewal, working as a Community Cultural Development Practitioner. Qualifications include: 2007 Masters Community Cultural Development Practice, 2001 Bachelor Fine Arts, Honours Printmaking, Victorian College of Arts – University of Melbourne and undergraduate
training 2000 Bachelor of Fine Arts – Printmaking, Centre for the Arts, UTAS, Hobart.
Songwriting with Simon Marks
Join a group of collaborators to write a song inspired by POND: Portrait of District Nathalia, the current exhibition showing at The G.R.A.I.N. Store, with the guidance of professional musician and songwriter, Simon Marks. POND is a photography exhibition that showcases the work of 20 different photographers, and displays 650 photos with over 1000 faces.
“There will be familiar and not-so-familiar faces. Some familiar faces will be seen in unfamiliar settings.”
John Donegan, lead photographer
Read the full curatorial notes here.
The first songwriting session will be 16 October, 1:30-3:30pm at The G.R.A.I.N. Store (entry via Petticoat Lane).
Free entry! Please book here.
Zoe McNair Celebrates Spring
Join Zoe on a collaborative bower project to celebrate spring.
Participants will create posies with the option to take them home or leave them to be displayed at The G.R.A.I.N. Store.
BYO a bucketful of a mixture of stiff and flexible foliage, including whatever flowers you can find.
Film Making With
River Loizou
River Loizou will be running a film-making course in term 3 and term 4, with the main purpose of participants building some basic technical film-making and editing skills.
The first session of each course will have each participant spell out their current film-making skills/interest and what they hope to get from the other 4 sessions. River will go through what he does and what he is offering to do with us.
Each course will have a maximum of 10 participants and you will be encouraged to work closely and cooperatively with others in the group.
The time and day will be fortnightly Wednesdays 10.30-12.30 @ The G.R.A.I.N. Store.
$20 for a session
Creative Nature Journalling
with Linden Lancaster
Linden Lancaster is a local textile and mixed media artist who uses a journal as an important part of her creative process. Using nature as the inspiration, she will take you through all the basics of journalling but with a creative twist. These three workshops over three months will be sequential, so it is strongly advised to sign up to all of them. You do not need any drawing or ‘artistic’ skills to do this course. You will be given homework to do after each session (but not overly taxing). Materials list will be given upon booking.
Saturday 2 July:
Observational drawing, soluble/permanent pens and pencils, pocket cameos
Saturday 6 Aug:
Watercolour ‘play’, frottage, stamp making
Saturday 3 Sep:
Compositional layouts, text and photos, altering the journal, geli printing with feathers.
Collage Portraits with Ruby Wyatt-Carter
Ruby Wyatt-Carter is a local artist who experiments with many different mediums but her technique for paper collage stands out as particularly unique. In this workshop, Ruby will take you through step by step how to turn a photo of a beloved person or animal into a beautiful collage.
Minimal artistic experience required.
Materials list will be given upon booking.
Broken Creek:
Small Town Anthropologies
Saturday April 9 10am-12pm (workshop)
Saturday April 9 7pm-8:30pm (performance)
To celebrate the release of their debut album ‘Small Town Anthropologies’, Chamber folk duo Broken Creek (Erin Lancaster and Lachlan Heycox) are giving a special performance at The G.R.A.I.N. Store to launch their album which will feature a ‘pop up choir’ formed from the workshop
participants to be known as The Broken Creek Chorale. Locals are invited to join in the performance with a ‘Pop Up Choir’ workshop. No musical skill or experience is necessary, just a willingness to give it a go and learn some beautiful folk music.
Monthly Drawing Classes at The G.R.A.I.N. Store
A four session course to improve your drawing with local artists Amanda Hocking and Tim Hocking. No experience or skills necessary, just a willingness to learn and have fun with a group of other drawing students! All materials included, bring your lunch along.
Saturday 6th March: Drawing Basics, 10am – 4pm, $60
Saturday 10th April: Intermediate Drawing, 10am – 4pm, $60
Saturday 1st May: Life Drawing, 10am – 4pm, $60
Saturday 5th June: Still Life Drawing, 10am – 4pm, $60
Book single sessions or the
whole course for $240
Making Space on Mondays – special shadow puppetry workshop
Come and join The G.R.A.I.N. Store team at our regular Making Space on Mondays creative catch up to construct some local nocturnal creatures to contribute to a shadow puppetry display. This is a free event and a light lunch will be provided.
Book by clicking the link below:
Monday 15th March, 10am – 2pm
After working so beautifully with students from Nathalia Primary School and some adult members of our community via Zoom in 2020, Jens has woven the ideas and creatures already made into an exhibition to be launched in the front gallery in February. We would love for more of the community of all ages and abilities to get involved with the development of this magical tinker space that will be inhabited by kinetic sculptures.
Wunderkammer will be a chamber of wonders, tripling as installation, mechanical performance and improbable storyteller. It allures the visitors to participate in an interactive exhibition experience full of playful contraptions that are part of unusual stage performances by Jens Altheimer. Their design is a mix between old mechanisms, and transformed everyday objects. With a hint of tongue-in-cheek digital technology thrown into the mix. The exhibition is an immersive, playful and multi- sensory experience for audiences of all ages in the intersection of art, technology, communication and tinkering.
PAST WORKSHOPS
For adults and primary school kids.
Online sharing workshop for kids.
thegrainstore.org 