LABORARTRY

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY

RAGLAN ARTS SCHOOL

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Whether you are a beginner or someone wishing to take your art to another level, you have come to the right place.

You’ll find weekly classes and weekend workshops for kids, teenagers and adults. Small class sizes allow for one-on-one tuition when appropriate.

You will learn a great deal about the process of art making as well as ways to evaluate the results. It is in the process that valuable insights are discovered.

Exploring new techniques, with time for creative play, you can experiment and resolve problems.

It is through exploring the possibilities of your medium, physical and digital – paint, inks, clay, photography, materials, devices – that you will create art that is unique and powerful.

Join one of our classes without delay and unlock your artist potential.

Planning your learning schedule around your time and the options available.

INTRODUCTORY

Our weekend workshops are structured to accommodate those travelling from Auckland and the wider Waikato region. They typically run 5.5 hours on Saturday and 4.5 hours on Sunday. 9:30am–4:30pm on Saturday; 9:30am–3:30pm on Sunday; with 1 hour lunch break each day.

Sessions and Classes are often negotiated between the tutors and the attendees.

INTERMEDIATE

Retreats can be residential or non-residential, depending on the tutor and the location. The 2-week Retreats are typically focussed on art or writing, although craft retreats can also be arranged, based on number of attendees.

Workshops and Sessions can be mixed and matched to allow attendees to explore their talents across mediums.

ADVANCED

Long Retreats are typically arranged with other learning schools, sometimes overseas. The detail will be covered in the prospectus. Terms and conditions will be set by the outside organisation and not by Laborartry.

Full year learning options typically follow New Zealand’s 4 school year terms, with 10 week blocks followed by 2 week breaks.

Weekly 2024

Tuesdays

Adults

Tuesday Adults details

Life Drawing

Ongoing course with Stuart Shepherd and Guests

Weekly

Adults, Tuesdays 6pm–8pm

You can attend on any Tuesday – Pay as you go.

Whether you are a beginner or someone wishing to take your art to another level, you have come to the right place.

You’ll find weekly classes and weekend workshops for kids, teenagers and adults. Small class sizes allow for one-on-one tuition when appropriate.

You will learn a great deal about the process of art making as well as ways to evaluate the results. It is in the process that valuable insights are discovered.

Exploring new techniques, with time for creative play, you can experiment and resolve problems.

It is through exploring the possibilities of your medium, physical and digital – paint, inks, clay, photography, materials, devices – that you will create art that is unique and powerful.

Join one of our classes without delay and unlock your artist potential.

Courses late 2023, July–December

Tuesdays

Adults

Tuesday Adults details

Life Drawing

Ongoing course with Stuart Shepherd and Guests

Weekly

Adults, Tuesdays 6pm–8pm

You can attend on any Tuesday – Pay as you go.

AUGUST 26 2023

Adults – Saturday

Jewellery A details

Jewellery Workshops

Make Silver Earrings with Sarah Steed

Saturday 26 August

3 hour workshops

Adults, 10am–1pm; all tools and materials supplied

Register for Jewellery

LATE 2023 – Weekend immersive

Adults

Sculpey details

Super Sculpey Figurines

Weekend Workshop with Dyana Wells

Book Early to secure your place

Adults, 9:30am–4pm Saturday & Sunday. 8 students maximum

Register for Sculpey

LATE 2023

Parent & Child – Saturday

Jewellery B details

Parent & Child Jewellery Workshop

Make Silver Earrings with Sarah Steed

Limited numbers – book early.

3 hour workshop

Parent & Child, 10am–1pm; all tools and materials supplied

Register for Jewellery

Saturdays

Adults

Saturdays details

Introduction to Character Design

4 week course with Arshad Mirza Baig

dates to come

Adults, Saturdays 10am–1pm
4 weeks. 6 students maximum

Register for Arshad

Plus … Click to the Shop page for GIFT CARDS and TUTORIAL options

Life Drawing with Stuart Shepherd and Guests

Adults, Tuesdays 6pm–8pm
$15 per session (this covers the model fee, hall rental, a cup of tea and an encouraging word)
Raglan Scout Hall, 49 Cliff Street.

Come and have some fun!

Relax and spend a morning being creative. Try your hand at making your very own pair of earrings in our beautiful artist studio here in Raglan. No previous experience needed.

We’ll start by learning about some jewellers’ tools and metal working techniques, then students can have a go at making in copper and brass before moving on to sterling silver. We’ll be keeping it simple and relaxed for the beginner experience.

Skills covered: earring design, cutting metal, shaping, filing, hammering and surface texture.

Included in the class fee
1x small piece of brass
1x small piece of copper
1x small piece of silver 6grams
2x sterling silver wire to make hooks.
All tools, consumables like solder, sandpaper, polishing and your wonderful tutors knowledge.

Adults, Saturday 26 August, 10am–1pm
$140 includes all of the above.
24 Lily Street, Raglan

Come and have some fun at our special Parent & Child workshop.

Both adults and children are welcome to make their very own pair of earrings in our beautiful artist studio here in Raglan. No previous experience needed.

We’ll start by learning about some jewellers’ tools and metal working techniques, then move on to making in copper and brass before going to sterling silver. We’ll be keeping it simple and relaxed for the beginner experience.

Skills covered: earring design, cutting metal, shaping, filing, hammering and surface texture.

Included in the class fee for each student
1x small piece of brass
1x small piece of copper
1x small piece of silver 6grams
2x sterling silver wire to make hooks.
All tools, consumables like solder, sandpaper, polishing and your wonderful tutors knowledge.

Parents & Child, 10am–1pm
Early registration is advised. Workshop dates will be advised.
Adults $140 or Child $80 includes all of the above.
$195 early bird price for one parent and one child, only until March 9th.
24 Lily Street, Raglan

Papier Mâché Workshops – “Birds of a Feather”

Enter the realm of your imagination and create colourful creatures with papier-mâché. You will be using cardboard and other recycled materials for your armatures, while experiencing the joy of making your own original artwork from materials often discarded and in abundance in our daily environment!

This is the promise: “An empty cardbox will never look the same to you again!!”

Objectives:
learn the basic skills involved with papier-mache art, building armatures (using recycled materials) and applying papier-mache.
painting and experimenting with colourful patterns to enhance your artwork.
finish your work to a professional standard.

These workshops are an opportunity to enjoy some me-time while connecting with other creatives.

You will be amazed by your creations as well as feeling great about the ability to make something special out of, often discarded, recycled materials!

4 sessions on Wednesdays: choose May or June dates, from 10.00am-2.00pm
Advise your preferred date when you register.
Limited to 6 participants
Cost: $200, materials included

Experimental Printmaking with Dyana Wells

8 week course, 6pm–8pm, Tuesdays, from May 2

Printmaking is a rather messy, unpredictable and experimental undertaking. The moments of ‘I have no idea how this will turn out’ are often followed by a ‘Wow, that is beautiful.’

In this course we will be exploring many different ways of making prints, some using a printing press, but mostly by hand using a brayer or the back of a spoon. Printmaking is a way of creating a piece of art that is striking and elegant without needing years of practice.

Gelli-printing is a very easy way of creating stunning mono prints which can then be displayed on their own, or used for further projects. Stencils, found objects such as leaves, leaf skeletons and fabric are used to create stunning impressions. The prints can be layered, and ghosted to create depth and interest. Really the limit to what you can do is your imagination.

We will also be printing from acetate using printing inks, brayers and drawing tools to create further mono-prints. These processes are also easy and full of possibilities to explore in class and at home. We will be exploring both subtractive and additive methods.

Collograph are made by building a textured board from which prints can be taken. Further layers can then be developed to create pictures.

Adults, 2 hours. 8 weeks.
$195 + $30 materials cost
Open Ground Art Studio, 24 Lily Street, Raglan

Design and Optimisation for Creative Websites with Brian Thurogood

4 week course, 6pm–8pm, Thursdays, from May 2

Learn to create a new website using the latest Website Builder options.

Learn how to upgrade/update your existing website to include the latest design tools.

Understand the limitations of the “free” website builders, and why you don’t want to be locked into their platform – and their true costs.

Understand why Search Engine Optimisation is a minefield, and yet easy to action when you use the top 5 tips.

Learn about:

design for the user, not for a design award
best practices for navigation and user flow
using your brand design to best effect
creating for desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile (yes, they are all different)
sales funnels
Google (and human) credibility

Adults, 2 hours. 4 weeks.
$180
Open Ground Art Studio, 24 Lily Street, Raglan

Super Sculpey Figurines with Dyana Wells

Weekend workshop late 2023
Dates to be advised but book now to secure your place.
9:30am–4pm Saturday and Sunday

In this workshop you will first learn how to build an armature for your figurine using wire, tin foil and masking tape. You will then develop the character of your piece by exaggerating one or more elements. We then use Super Sculpey to cover your tin foil/masking tape figure. Here the detail and character is developed and refined The figurine can be baked in an ordinary oven and painted.

Suitable for beginners and those wishing to add another skill to their toolkit. If time permits you can make more than one figurine. Moulding the Super Sculpey is quite a meditative process. The medium can be reworked for as long as necessary to achieve the result you want, which makes it particularly suitable for beginners. Even after baking additions can be made to the shape.

$140 + $30 materials cost
24 Lily Street, Raglan

Painting – Finding Your Voice with Dyana Wells

3 Day Immersive, May 6-7-8, 9:30am–4pm

This is a painting course suitable for beginners and more experienced artists who may feel stuck and looking for new inspiration and ideas.

It is an exploratory course, with different exercises each day to develop an understanding of colour, tone, line, form and texture.

In this course you will develop confidence in your own mark making and decision making processes. You will move towards authentic art making. You will be exploring the principles underlying art making, so you can trouble shoot and fix problematic areas. However most significantly you will start to find your own voice and the joy this brings to painting. You are welcome to explore both abstract and representational ideas

This course is a journey about navigating chaos and structure, intuition and thinking, bold and gentle etc – complementary orientations as applicable to your own life as to your painting life.

In this course you are welcome to use whatever medium you like, eg watercolour, acrylic, oil pastels, soft pastels, coloured pencils, ink etc. You may wish to experiment with several.

All materials will be supplied.

Adults, 6 students maximum
$195 + $30 materials cost
Open Ground Art Studio, 24 Lily Street, Raglan

Introduction to Character Design with Arshad Mirza Baig

4 week program, Saturdays 10am–1pm, Early 2023

This series of lectures will focus on the fundamentals of character design. Core drawing elements such as simplified anatomy, structure and basic shape construction will be explained before moving on to understanding how to implement exaggeration and appeal into a drawing.

The importance of Personality, characterisation and stylistic choices will also be explained as well as understanding how to adapt human expressions into animal and inanimate objects.

Basic material requirements: sketchbook, no smaller than A4 – A3 preferred.

Basic drawing equipment: pencils, pens and erasers can be expanded upon with markers and coloured pencils etc. All equipment must be brought to the lectures.

Adults $200, 7 students max
45 Bow Street, Raglan Community House Meeting Room

Visual Storytelling with Stuart Shepherd

Over the 4 week period students will be given exercises aimed at helping develop their particular skills in visual story-telling.

Workshops will be held where hands-on skills will be developed and where Individual projects will be assigned and reviewed. Workshops will deal with drawing and composition and digital photography in contemporary contexts.

During the final week each student will have the opportunity to put together a presentation portfolio as a takeaway showcase of their work .

$75
October 19 to November 9
21–23 Wallis Street, Raglan

Practical Talk with Marten Ten Broek

1. The Role of Art in Societal Transformation – October 19

From the first, art has been catalytic in how we evolve as a species. It simultaneously affirms our beliefs and kicks them down. It galvanises us in action … it forces us to look at ourselves. But it also possesses the ability to convey ideas and information in ways more attached to our passions and emotions, and has been used in as many ways to control as it has to liberate. This talk will explore ideas about the role of art in societal transformation in the context of history, the present, and about how the future could look, if we are able and wish it.

2. Remix! – October 26

History is littered with examples of trends, fads, crazes, styles. There are piles of masterpieces, and still more piles of derivatives. We are in continual cycles of revisiting ideas in art, rummaging through the attics and annals, and re-representing them with new contexts and purposes. Engaging in this process, whether negative or positive, is part of art. But where are we crossing lines? When does homage give way to sycophancy? At what point does art lose its power through dilution? Do we kill off our heroes and heroines by continually sampling them … or do we keep them alive?

3. Death and Art – November 2

Death, the inevitable. The inescapable. There is something about art that we trust ourselves in when we are searching for our own feelings, or seeking recognition that others have felf the same thing as we, or so differently that our divergence of thought from theirs, proves to us that such thoughts and feelings must be by right, most individual. This must also be true whether by making it on a personal level, or by viewing it. Something as sure as death is relateable for us all, and this makes it a widely-visited subject for the perusal of art. In this talk, we will regard some examples of death in art, both historical and current.

4. The Art of Fire – November 9

One of the most instantly recognisable examples of japanese culture must surely be the japanese sword configuration known as the katana. It has been elevated to mythical status through the oft repeated ideas that popular culture has instilled in us. This talk will give a historical context to its development, a practical and factual account of what goes into the production of a japanese sword, and how the view of one as an item of high art saved the tradition of swordmaking in Japan from being discontinued. It will also touch on themes such as fetishisation, nationalism, propaganda, cowboy movies and jedi mind tricks.

5. How to Find Your Sound – building guitars in dirt-floor sheds – November 16

Every musician is beholden to the need for an instrument. There are racks of them filling stores. But what do you do if you cannot find something you can feel right with, or you cannot afford to lay your hands on what you crave? There is a brazilian expression that says, “if you don’t have a dog to hunt with, hunt with a cat”. In that spirit, I started making stringed instruments. Please join me, and a pile of instruments that are answers to questions I had to ask myself along the way to finding my sound. The idea is to elicit questions in you about why it is you play what you do, what you would play if it didn’t already exist, and perhaps inspire you to find your very own sound. Nothing is as it seems. Everything is as you wish, if you are game to try.

5 week Talk series. Wednesdays 6:30pm–8pm. $10 per session.
45 Bow Street, Raglan Community House Meeting Room

Hands-On Practical Workshops with Marten Ten Broek

Saturdays, 9am–1pm, 4 week program, from November 5

Hammerforging a cutting tool – November 5

The aim is for the learner to feel the satisfaction of making a tool from scratch, the old way. Due to the nature of the processes, this is suitable for individuals only. Introduction to hot metalwork and hammerforging processes, sharpening and polishing processes, handle making and fitting, and sheathing/scabbarding.

Making charcoal for drawing – November 12

Charcoal is a highly cost effective way to engage in drawing and mark making, and variation in wood species leave a lot of room to experiment. In a world pulsating with colour and slickness, great peace can come with simple black and grey and the scratching, squeaking, tinkling sound of something that never feels cold to the touch. The huge variation in wood ensures varying effects on how it draws, and it is a wonderful way to use bits and offcuts, or garden prunings, or perhaps broken but sentimental wooden items to add to your story.

Creation of art materials and tools – November 19

Visual art is as simple as leaving marks that can be seen by others, since we lived in caves. There is a particular joy that can be got from adding a second layer of creativity in your art making process. That is, making materials and tools to apply them in your own work.
These may include simplicities such as charcoal, ink, or paint making. The essence of the mark. Or it could be canvas stretching, easel making, palette knife forging, or through to slightly more complex things such as wood carving gouges or hatchets.

Find a lump and ride it like the wind – November 26

Since our species first ripped the trucks off roller-skates and stuck them in parallel, it has been skateboard mayhem. I have ridden skateboards for 44 years now, with the odd pause, and there is still no greater fun than to find a lump and ride it like the wind.

The rules are:

You are allowed commercially available trucks, wheels and bearings.
The board you mount them to must not contain skateboard decks.
The board cannot be made of brand new wood, unless it is from wood with bark on it still, otherwise it must have been some plank else in a former life.
You must take no more than a day to make your lump. Let’s face it, it’s drilling a few holes, sticking on some griptape, making some art on it to suit your taste, and tightening a few nuts.
You ride lump dress up. Doesn’t matter what you dress up as, so long as you dress up. Then, we go test them. Flatland, asphalt, maybe some pumptrack, and go bomb some hills.
Safety first. Helmets and pads are always cool. Make sure your plank is strong enough to take it. There are copious lumps at Xtreme, if you can’t find an old plank kicking around home that you can claim.

That’s it. Make them, and ride them like the wind. No contest, no kick tail, just some skateplanking.

Adults $140, 7 students max
21–23 Wallis Street, Raglan

Introduction to Table Top Sculpture with Stuart Shepherd

Saturdays, 10am–1pm, 4 week program, from November 26

Introducing students to working with the traditional materials of clay and wax, and the less traditional material of synthetic clay.

Students will be guided through an exploration of hand building with both natural and synthetic clay (sculpey). The principles of 3d design, composition, structure and movement will be discussed in an informal workshop environment.

If time allows the class will be introduced to the process of casting.

Students can expect to take away work to be completed in their own time. Note this is a hands-on “making” workshop. Support and advice for students will be available to follow through with firing and casting of finished pieces.

$145 + $65 materials cost
21–23 Wallis Street, Raglan

ABOUT US

Our team includes tutors and mentors holding academic recognition in fine art, cinema and literature [M Fine Arts RMIT; B Media Arts (Hons); Dip Teaching; M Creative Writing (Hons); Dip in Art & Creativity]. Collectively we posses more than 100 years of experience in the creative arts fields.

Stuart Shepherd

Stuart worked as an art director and sculptural model-maker for the commercial T.V. industry in N.Y.

He also worked on Peter Jacksons “LOTR” and helped develop curriculum at Massey University, Bay of Plenty Polytech and Hungry Creek art school in Auckland.

Stuart

Dyana Wells

What I am noticing with my current experimenting is I am remembering my childhood, the feeling of cutting and glueing and shaping, and the concentrated delight and absorption in my tasks. The pleasure of competence and just being amongst the textures of my materials. Parts of me that had been forgotten are being reclaimed and re-membered.

Dyana

Sarah Steed

Sarah is an artist who draws her inspiration from Raglan’s beauty and her connection to the ocean – deep teals, azure blues, silvery schiller and turquoise hues.

She graduated form the Norwich School of Art and Design in BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture, but her love for stone, shape and metals soon turned her attention to jewellery design.

Sarah

Loesje de Bree

Loesje is a multi-disciplinary artist and art-therapist, living in Raglan:

I am a member of Raglan-art, take part in local exhibitions and some of my work is represented by the Wharf gallery.

I am fascinated and inspired by other people’s enthusiasm and courage to create personal and original artworks!

Loesje

Brian Thurogood

No matter whether a designer, creative director or systems manager, my roles have tracked alongside the inspired changes to the publishing industry over the past 40 years — the Apple years!

Now graphic design and web design and ‘traditional’ art often meld into multi-medium projects and installations of great complexity or, just as surprising, minimalist works that retain great depth. What a time to be a creative!

Brian

Arshad Mirza Baig

Whilst enjoying a 20 year career as an artist serving the animation industry in roles diversifying from Animation Director to Lead Story Board Artist and Character Designer, AMB has committed himself to the preservation and advancement of the art of Hand Drawn Animation – also known as Traditional Animation or Classical Animation.

Arshad

Wanda Barker

I am a mixed media artist and writer from Raglan Whaingaroa NZ.

I work with acrylic/oil paint, oil stix, crayons and fabric on canvas or paper, and make sculptures from building foam, cardboard, dolls, lace, beads and whatever I can get my hands on.

Wanda

Why Laborartry?

Drawing on rich traditions of contemporary arts, experimental art and modern multimedia technologies and practices, Laborartry tutors show and inform in a variety of courses and workshops.

From weekly courses where you can develop at your own pace, through to immersive 3 day workshops, you’ll have every opportunity to explore and develop your own creative visions.

Why Raglan?

Since at least the 1970s, Raglan Whaingaroa has included a melting pot of creatives of all descriptions – artists, musicians, photographers, potters, weavers, sculptors, jewellers – to name a few.

Formerly a seaside town of sunny beaches and cheaper rents, Raglan is now a thriving community of all ages and lifestyles and, yes, the rents have gone up a bit!

But we’re here and would love you to join us.