Teaching Photos

Students learn how to place their work in alternate backgrounds, changing scale, perspective, colour and form.

Below are short descriptions of various workshops that I currently teach or have taught, their approximate length and applicable ages. A more detailed description is available upon request.

Currently taught at the Bonsor Centre, in Burnaby, this five half day introduction to simple circuits best suits students 8 - 12 years old. Parents can join the class. Participants draw their fantasy robot and then build it, using a variety of found objects, wires, motors, lights and switches.

Currently taught at the Bonsor Centre, in Burnaby, this five half day introduction to Architecture best suits students 8 - 12 years old. Parents can join the class. Participants learn about some famous architects and buildings, study actual blue prints, draw their own blue print and built a model from their blue print using mat board and mixed media.

This 2 ½ hour adult and child workshop illustrates how sounds can be amplified (without electricity), using the conductivity of telephone wires. Participants build a simple guitar using wood, cardboard and elastic bands. Half of the class is spent "glamming up" the guitars with paint, markers, feathers, sparkles, etc.

This 2 ½ - 3 hour workshop, for ages 12 - senior, teaches participants how to build a working clay Ocarina. This traditional Latin American wind instrument can take the form of animals, birds, fish, people, even Bart Simpson. The current world record (held by a UBC student teacher) for the number of working notes on an Ocarina is 26. A sample of an antique Ocarina is shown. Clay must be fired 3 weeks later.

This minimum 2 half day (separate days) workshop, for ages 12 - senior, teaches participants how to construct a ½ life size clay portrait from photographs. Bone and muscle anatomy, as well as properties, uses and vitrification of clay is discussed. Slides of busts that I have made are shown to encourage participants to continue making busts after the workshop finishes. Clay must be fired 3 weeks later.

NOTE: An optional extra half day can be spent converting the head of the Bust into an Ocarina. "Singing Busts"

This 10 X 3 hour introduction to acrylic and oil painting is currently being taught at the False Creek, Coal Harbour and Moberly centers in Vancouver. Each class combines one on one instruction, for beginners and advanced painters, with slide presentations of artwork from every style and period.

This 3 - 5 half day (separate days) introduction to the fundamental techniques of sculpture construction, for ages 12 - Senior, teaches participants how to build an armature from a concept drawing - using hot glue and shish-kabob skewers. The armature is surfaced with a papier maché like mixture of Westroc 90 and fabric paper (both non-toxic). Finished work is stained with washes of acrylic and sealed with gloss medium or verathane.

This 3 half day (separate days) introduction to digital image manipulation piggy backs any of the above sculpture workshops. Participants import digital photographs of their completed sculptures into Adobe Photoshop (see images at top of page) and learn how to place them into alternate environments. Manipulations include: scale, distortion, colour, light flares, text, cast shadows. This is an excellent presentation tool that will have various applications after the workshop is finished. Ages 14 - senior, some computer knowledge required.

This 3 full day workshop, for 12 - seniors, teaches participants techniques that television commercials use to manipulate the public. Teams of three participants choose a product, write a story board, shoot and edit their own television commercial. Video of previous work available.

This 5 half day introduction to folk art is designed to work best with adult/child participation (children should be 6-8 years old). Subjects that may be covered are: Appalachian Apple people, Indonesian Shadow puppets, Latin American Ocarinas, Rain makers, Pop bottle bird feeders and more...

This 1 - 2 half day adult/child workshop teaches participants how to use mixed media to build a sculptural trellis on which fast growing sweet peas climb.