March break registration opens at the St. Marys Station Gallery

Duncan MacDonald, curator and director at the St. Marys Station Gallery.

By Alex Hunt

St. Marys Station Gallery curator/director Duncan MacDonald is encouraging residents to register sooner rather than later before spots fill up for the gallery’s March Break programming.

Children and youth workshops will run from March 16-21. Programs for children aged seven to 11 will run from 9 a.m. to noon, while youth programming for ages 12 and up will run from 1 to 4 p.m.

“These programs are based on ones we ran last summer. I found that the drawing and watercolour classes were especially popular,” said MacDonald. “Drawing and watercolour are really the foundation of other kinds of art making. There’s an old saying, ‘If you can’t draw it, you can’t paint it.’ ”

Children and youth workshops will teach watercolour from Monday to Wednesday and drawing from Thursday to Saturday.

Due to smaller group sizes, MacDonald said he’s able to provide a more individualized teaching experience for his students. He added learning and practicing art is a great way to keep the brain active, providing a sense of fulfillment.

“I love to see where people start and end up on a creative level. Just go for it and have fun,” said MacDonald. “It’s an affordable thing for a kid to do for three days, while not taking up their whole March break.”

MacDonald said kids are fearless when it comes to creating art because they’re not holding themselves back once they start drawing.

“Adults tend to overthink it, but kids just jump in and do it. Not everything in art is about technical skill; it’s also about being open-minded, thinking creatively and solving problems. Some of the pieces both the adults and kids have made are really interesting and very independent.”

Parents can sign up their child for a workshop by emailing stmarysstationgallery@gmail.com.

Fees are $10 an hour per child with materials included.