The process is far more important than the result!

The Art Barn team has created a program which is fun, exciting and stimulating for each age group. We want to allow the child’s own ideas to be celebrated and encouraged at all times. We strongly believe that each child should be given the opportunity to explore their creative mind and imagination.

Our Holiday Workshops offer both open-ended process art and adult led activities. The teachers are there to help when its needed but more importantly, we are there to set up opportunities for the children to use their own ideas and figure out how to solve any problems that may occur when working on a project. Classes are designed to guide the children with techniques and teach them how to use different equipment and mediums – we carefully plan each session to encourage them to have a go at a variety of things. We are there to help them understand that making a mistake doesn’t mean you have to throw your work away and we help them through any wobbles when their art didn’t turn out the way they wanted to.

Term time classes are kept small, which allow us to get to know all the children well, as we want to offer a caring and nurturing environment.

Our aim is to ensure that each child is given the time they need to find their feet with activities. We certainly encourage the children to try new things but it is important to remember that every child is different and some will need more time than others to figure things out.

We can’t tell you how fantastic it is to see a child who won’t even touch paint with a finger tip to begin with, to then see them get stuck in with the paint and making patterns and talking about what they are doing. Or a child who uses painting to express themselves because they are shy, grow in confidence week by week and start chatting non-stop! The results are amazing. This happens every week at Art Barn and that is what makes it so special!