Since 2009, I have been offering private instruction to students in grades 6-8 who would like help preparing their art portfolios requirements for their applications to the Art Program at Canterbury High School. Note - interested students should contact me as early as possible to allow time to optimally complete this process (i.e., ideally up to two years ahead of the application deadline).
I also coach High School students who are preparing their art portfolios for college and university. Please feel free to contact me at ness@vcoplan.ca.
I have created a variety of studio and seminar-style classes for artists of various levels; from beginners to more advanced and experienced students. I offer private art lessons for individuals & groups that are tailored to their particular area of interest (e.g. improving drawing skills, working with colour, abstract painting techniques).
This service is geared toward “creative types” who have a project in mind, but may be feeling somewhat lost as to how to start, sustain, or finish it. Whether the project is a gift for someone, or a deadline for an exhibition, working on a single art work, or a series of creative endeavours, I will provide individualized exercises and critiques that will take you through your work from inception to the end result.
These coaching services are also offered to artists who are struggling to devote themselves to an artistic practice; daily, weekly etc. I will give you a program that is manageable and that keeps you on track to achieve your artistic goals!
In preparation for the I, Canada Exhibition at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte Ontario in 2017, I sought the help of young talented student artists from the visual art department at Canterbury High School. For the exhibition I proposed 17 hand sewn patch work blankets; 17 blankets to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday in the year 2017. I quickly realised what a monumental feat this was for a single artist- me. The song and soul of the project was geared towards inclusion and community participation so I opened up the heart of it and solicited the help of these very talented and enthousiastic participants at Canterbury. My “studio” was a makeshift space in the art library. I moved between the studio, where students would drop in to help me sew and the classroom where I would introduce them to the concept of the I, Canada Project. Their involvement consisted of making a hand sewn fabric patch that could be adhered to other patches that would eventually “grow” into a blanket sized piece. For more information on the I, Canada Project please see the I, Canada gallery.
The first student I prepped for Canterbury High School, in 2009, is about to enter her final year of her Undergraduate degree in Architecture. Under my supervision, she, along with several other “graduates” have become my assistants in helping me work with new students. Mentoring is rewarding and productive work. Hiring my former students allows me to help finance their art, give them experience teaching and offers me more time and space to produce my own work.