Anyone who saw Susanne Giessen-Prinz’s ‘Totallyfantabulous-Magicmountain’ creation at the recent Easter Exhibition at the Old School Arts Centre will know she is indeed capable of magic, and of making big exciting things out of an assortment of small things.
Good news for Raglan kids is that Susanne is offering a 7 week after school class in clay, where the children will be making their own totem poles, building and glazing shapes and figures which are then stacked on top of each other.
Susanne herself has been fascinated by clay since she started to work in the medium 3 years ago. She says she has learned a lot from local potters, both informally and through workshops, especially Susan Flight’s Mountain Dreaming studio. She loves working with children, and started out assisting Sarah Steed with an afternoon class before taking on a class of her own. Her background as a florist and an interest in carving and sculpture explain her imaginative use of unusual shapes, textures and colours, but it is her determination to have fun and explore all kinds of ideas that give her work a unique charm — little figures that morph into flowers, cheerful little animals, lovely plump chooks — and of course multi-coloured totem poles. She encourages the children to do likewise, using their imagination, and making things that interest them, experimenting with shapes and textures as she loves to do herself, then adding the transforming magic of colour and glaze.
Children 5-12 years are welcome to the class, and parents can accompany the younger ones, having some fun themselves. Classes start on Monday 17 May and continue till 28 June. Bookings through the Old School Arts Centre, 825 0023 or info@raglanartscentre.co.nz.
Judith Collins
