Past workshops

Offered by Clarence Arts and Events in the October 2022 school holidays - October is their month of the dog.

Young people had the opportunity to learn about cut-out animation and visual storytelling techniques, through creating their own dog-themed animation . The workshop combined use of traditional art materials, and freely available apps.

Two 3-hour workshops were offered over consecutive days. Participants can sign up for a single day, or choose to engage in both workshops to create an extended story.

A 2 day workshop offered by Clarence Arts and Events in the July 2021 school holidays.

Artist Leonie Oakes and designer Beale Gurney are collaborating on this 2 day workshop in which participants are guided in the creation of a folded pop-up book. Kids will get to explore a range of 2D and 3D papercraft techniques, and design their original pop-up works. These pieces will then form the content of a unique handmade book.

Through the journey, kids will gain skills in safe cutting, folding, and construction that will give them the option to explore further paper-based art in the future. Creation of their work is an experience in celebrating storytelling and the power of visual language.

4 hours split over 2 afternoons

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) offered this workshop as an option within their October 2020 Spring Holiday program. Packed into just two short afternoons, the kids zoomed through a few quick getting-started activities and straight into the making. In this short time the kids managed to make a number of detailed characters and sets, and come out with a short animated story. The intention is to show these works within an upcoming exhibition.

TMAG provided the iPads, which cut down on setup time and made this shorter format possible. Technical setup is always something to factor in when participants need to install the free app on their own devices.

6 hours split over 2 mornings

The May 2020 school holidays were looking a bit bleak! I ran this workshop for Clarence Arts and Events to give kids aged 8-12 a chance for some interactive creativity from home. Communication was through video calls and a sequence of activity videos created especially for the workshop, delivered through an easy-to-use sharing app. Kids completed the animation activities with materials from around the home, and a free app on their own device.

Co-running with a second facilitator enabled safely moderated sharing and feedback throughout the workshop - kids were able to show each other work, and share tips from their own loungerooms. We could give immediate feedback and support. The intergenerational creativity was an unexpected bonus - everyone in the family got to join in!

Each kid's final animation was published in a compilation video shared with the whole group following the experience.

2 full days: 9-5(!)

Offered by Clarence Arts and Events, 'Tooncamp' was two packed days of structured animation activities for kids 8-12. Through a series of mini-projects using a mix of craft materials and free apps on their own devices, Kids learned about the process of animation. The activities gave kids a taste of writing scripts, storyboarding, designing and making characters, building sets and props, creating sound effects, and of course animating their own story.

Delivered before social distancing was a thing, this workshop culminated in a screening of the kids' final movies - a big gathering including parents and family members, with plenty of popcorn to watch the show.

In response to the popularity of the first 'Tooncamp' a second round was offered. In this second workshop I added the use of a sharing app to make it possible for the kids to share animations with each other.