Art program about preparing patterns

A FREE art workshop is being offered to young people in Dereel and surrounds by Golden Plains Shire.

Known as the Dereel Youth Art Program, it consists of six classes taking place weekly from Saturday, 15 October at the Dereel Community Hall.

Artist, Glynis Bryden, will deliver the program, and will teach participants the basics of Zentangle art which she said will benefit them in more ways than one.

“Zentangle’s a fun and dynamic way to create images using repetitive patterns but it’s also about mindfulness and focus and relaxation,” she said.

“It’s all those sorts of other things that should come from creating and being artistic. It’s about making the children aware of how they feel when they do it and the enjoyment of it.

“So, there’ll be a part of the Zentangle philosophy in there, and it’s just a nice way to learn because they can get immediate results.”

This will be the second youth art program offered by the municipality this year after previously delivering one at Smythesdale with artist Barry Wemyss.

Each class will run from 10am to 12pm and will be capped at 15 people who are expected to attend all six sessions.

Bryden said she hopes students will leave the class with a greater confidence in their artistic capabilities.

“There are no mistakes in Zentangle, there’s no rights or wrongs, ups or downs or representation so they don’t have to worry about it looking like an apple or a cat,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity for them to learn basic skills that will help them through any art projects they want to do in the future.”

To register, visit the municipality’s website.