Hello from the faces behind The Village Art Classes.
We’re the ones that will guide you along your art journey with a gentle lead and a brush in hand, helping you develop your skills with a little practice and a lot of fun along the way.
Lorraine Elliot
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Living in Auckland, Lorraine has had an interest in the arts for as long as she can remember. After graduating as a Registered Nurse with a strong focus on the healing arts, her passion for art continued to develop and in 2020 she took up the challenge to bring together a tutor and a simple set of classes teaching basic art techniques. Lorraine quickly saw first-hand the wonderful benefits and committed herself to introducing basic art skills to people of all abilities and continuing to extend the skills of those who had completed the basic course.
The Village Art Classes were born and classes are now available in Howick and Kohimarama, with two associated independent locations, Mt Eden and Remuera.
Ashleigh Blake
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Ashleigh’s background is in architecture and art. She studied architecture at the University of Auckland before working for a NZ fashion company in NZ, France, and New York.
Ashleigh has travelled and worked around the world; painted murals in retail, residential, and community spaces in NZ, Italy, and Czech Republic, and has sold her paintings through a NZ gallery. Ashleigh also worked with a social cooperative in southern Italy, teaching art and textile workshops for children and adults.
Ashleigh will be our tutor at Mt Eden and Howick. Her talents include having studied and taught piano. For her art she was awarded the NCEA Outstanding Painting Scholarship 2007 and the ARA Lodge Fine Arts Award for Excellence in Fine Arts 2007.
We are fortunate and absolutely delighted to have Ashleigh as one of our Village Art Classes tutors.
Fiona Brown
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Fiona Brown is the manager at Mt Eden branch. She has always loved art - in school, she could often be found in the art room where they were welcome to create. Now, she’s thrilled to be back in the art world.
‘Losing and finding herself’ in art is one of her favourite parts of the process, as well as the moment when you create something you’re excited about and realise you can do it. Fiona is thrilled to be able to share that process and that journey with her students through her art classes in Remuera, Mt Eden and Parnell.
Fiona is very excited to be a part of the Village Art group, where age is no barrier.
Kavita Lamba
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Kavita is an accomplished watercolourist who is the recipient of awards from New Zealand Fellowship of Artists. However, it doesn’t stop there. She has pursued many different art forms and has become expert in alcohol inks.
Kavita has been passing on her knowledge in this beautiful art form for several years now and has taken lessons for The Village Art Classes, in Howick and Mt Eden.
Her method of teaching is clear and gentle. She has taught many people, some of whom have never attempted any art form before. The results after one four-hour lesson are quite astonishing.
If you want to keep updated on future lesson in Alcohol inks, follow our facebook page, or keep an eye on our website.
Kavita’s work can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/art_kavitanz?igsh=Y25xY3hhYnp3MXNw
Reem Taleb
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Reem began her teaching career after graduating from the prestigious Damascus University School of Fine Arts in 1994 with a major in oil painting. Passionate about nurturing creativity and artistic skills in others, she has previously run art courses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She loves creating an atmosphere where students feel motivated to experiment with different techniques and mediums, fostering a deep appreciation for the artistic process and developing their technical expertise.
As an artist, Reem has a special focus on both mixed media and portraiture. She loves bringing her subjects to life, conveying their emotions, personalities, and stories in a captivating manner. She was honoured to have some of her portraiture work chosen for the Sharjah Biennial Fair in 2007 and 2008 alongside some of her still life paintings.
Prior to moving to New Zealand in 2013, Reem and a team of other talented artists designed a stunning model featuring Abu Dhabi in the pre-oil era. The model has since become a source of pride for the Abu Dhabi people, and has won several prizes and appreciation certificates for its exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail. To this day, the model is still displayed in the Grand Hall of Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation.
Clare Green
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Clare is a professional artist and has a lengthy history of providing professional development and coaching for the Plunket organisation. She has always had a passion for art, and has developed extensive skills in mixed media, drawing, acrylics, oil pastels, watercolour and collage. She has exhibited at the Auckland Art Show, the Timaru Plunket Art Show and Green Gables Cottage in Howick. She loves to create both realistic and semi abstract work with her goal being to capture beautiful things, nostalgic moments and sparks of joy.
It is our great pleasure to welcome Clare to our team of tutors at The Village Art Classes. She brings a wealth of knowledge, coupled with a warmth, an understanding and an ability to convey information that will be immediately apparent to our students.
Our Story
Based in Howick, with classes also in Kohimarama, Mt Eden and Remuera, our classes have been operating since 2020. Over the last few years, we’ve had hundreds of aspiring artists through our doors, many of which completed our Beginner course and came back for more.
Our classes are about providing a supportive, nurturing environment where beginners and artists alike can show up to class, develop their skills, and switch off from their daily routines to enjoy some time for themselves.
What our students are saying
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What our students are saying *
“I loved the way the tutor related to everyone in the class, explaining everything so well and encouraging us. All in all, a wonderful experience.”
“The class was really well organized.
I loved the course material and the ability to use the techniques we learned in our final piece.”
“The art classes were very enjoyable, I really loved our tutor. I learned heaps, and it also makes me want to keep learning more!”
Simply take your seat, take a breath, and pick up the brush.
Whether you want to explore sketching, painting, watercolours, acrylics or oil pastels, we have the class for you. We’ll provide all the equipment, so you can come along, sit back, and create.
