Arts group offers free lessons at MCC
Proud parents of children and adolescents showing aptitude in art may want to consider an offer by the Portage Arts Group to further hone the talents of their young potential Rembrandts.
“The Portage Arts Group is a collective of professional artists and art educators who share a love of artmaking as a therapeutic exercise,” said the group’s executive director, James Tughan. “We see visual language in art as extensions of individual personalities, and teach art as a means of empathy and encouragement of the person, more than merely a technical exercise. We also see art as being essential to community, as a shared language.”
Tughan’s group will be offering free art instruction and demonstrations in the lobby of the Meridian Community Centre on December 3, from 10 AM until 3 PM.
“We are offering the invitation to young people to work on their drawing, as well as clay modelling skills, and discuss their work, if they want to share that with us,” said Tughan. “We are also specialists in guiding young people who are contemplating careers in the many fields of art, building portfolios, and preparing for post-secondary education. Artists can make a very good living, and we can help parents understand how it all comes together, and suggest the best art schools for talented young people. We would love to answer whatever questions they have.”
Tughan said that Portage artists have been meeting monthly as a group for the last four years, both in person and throughout the pandemic via Zoom, sharing ideas on creativity, artistry, and education.
“We love painting, drawing, and sculpture,” he said. “But even more, we love working with young artists, helping them discover and express how they perceive the world. We are hikers, canoeists, and kayakers, and the Northern wilderness has seeped into our imagery in various ways. The Northern landscape itself has also nurtured us and seen us through many difficult circumstances in various parts of the world, for we are all trauma survivors in varying ways.”
Tughan said that here are some very good pieces of artwork currently on display in the lower foyer at the MCC, created by Portage Arts Group members.
“A young lady who was a student of mine paints on wooden paddles. It’s pretty incredible.”
When working with young people, Tughan said that the members provide exercises which help to identify their individual style.
For online information on the Portage Arts Group, see www.portagesemaphore.ca
