Early Learning

Emma Stenhouse Printmaking Workshop

This week the Possum and Echidna children and teachers were so lucky to have Emma Stenhouse come in and run some print-making workshops with us!

Emma Stenhouse is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman, and an incredibly talented artist. She spoke to the children about how Indigenous art tells a story, and asked them to think of some stories their art might be able to tell. Emma also encouraged the children to remember that we are all artists. 

This concept is one we hold dearly, both in wanting to nurture children's creative expression with a strong belief in the first part of Picasso's famous quote: "every child is an artist", and the goal of instilling a love of art, self-confidence, and a joy in process over product that we hope does some work in combating the second part of his quote: "the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." This is reinforced by our understanding of God as the most amazing creator, who has made us in His image - so of course we must create!

Emma taught the children the lino-printing process, and gave them choice and agency over colour, materials, and different designs. We learned some new vocabulary, like "baren" which we used to rub over the paper, transferring the ink from the lino block to create an amazing design on our paper!

It was so fun to watch the delight on children's faces as they saw the prints move from the lino block to their paper. Emma is also an experienced kinder teacher, and had children writing their names to be ready for their turn, and organising the turn-taking themselves. We thank Emma for her work with our four year old Kinder groups and look forward to continuing this ongoing partnership. 

Beth Bennett

Head of Early Learning