core courses
Our regular programme of weekly courses runs term-by-term in line with our official term dates. Classes range in duration from four, six or eight sessions. To ensure a supportive learning environment, classes are kept small, with no more than 10 participants per session.
Materials are supplied for classes unless otherwise stated in the courselisting. Most courses require a minimum of four enrollments to proceed, and may be postponed if minimum numbers are not met.
Regular courses offered at our school are listed by discipline below:
Drawing & Animation
All core drawing and amination classes are suited designed to build confidence in beginners and refine the skills of more experienced artists.
Every term, drawing students can choose from the following
classes with Denise Durkin:
- Anyone Can Draw - Observational
- Anyone Can Draw - Structural
- Life Drawing
Artist and animator, Ross Payne teaches a regular Tuesday evening class, with the focus rotating between:
- Traditional 2D animation
- Stop-motion animation
- Cartoons, Caricatures and Comics
Materials are supplied for all courses except 2D and stop motion animation which require students to bring their own device.
Untutored Life Drawing sessions run every Tuesday morning from 10 am - 1 pm, during term times. These are causal sessions and materials are not supplied.
Painting 
Classes suitable for beginners and those with experience include:
- 123 of Painting
- Painting in Oils
- Expressive Watercolour
- Abstract Art.
Experienced students seeking to deepen their practice and explore personal ideas with expert guidance can also select from::
- Open Painting Studio
- Keep on Painting
- Contemporary Realism
Basic materials are supplied for all, except Open Painting Studio.
Art History & theory
Explore and discuss all things art in a friendly, supportive environment. Journey through the traditional art history canon with Geetika J Chatterjee, or challenge your conception of art in What is Art? with Deidre Sullivan.
Four-week theory courses include The Secrets of Colour Theory and The Art of Composition.
Printmaking & Screen Printing
Core printmaking and screen printing courses are scaffolded to provide a fun and accessible experience for beginners while experienced students may bring along their own projects to develop with the tutor's support.
Printmaking courses run for four weeks with the course focus
alternating between mono and lino printing, or drypoint etching and collagraph techniques. Screen Printing on Fabric & Paper is an eight week course. Basic materials are supplied for both courses.
Pottery
Eight-week pottery courses teach basic hand-building techniques and are suitable for both beginners and those with prior clay experience.
Wheel-throwing lessons introduce the fundamentals of pottery on the wheel across four 90-minute sessions. Places are limited to just two students per course to ensure that participants receive highly personalised instruction and support throughout.
For both courses, all necessary equipment, clay (with more available to purchase), and glazes are provided, and you'll finish the course with a variety of completed, usable pieces.
Tamariki & Teens
At Inverlochy Art School, we take young artists seriously! Our afterschool and school holiday courses aim to provide a space where young artists can grow, experiment, and thrive.
Regular after school sessions
- Young Artists After School - for 6–11 years
- Fundamentals of Drawing for Tweens & Teens - for ages 10+
- Sewing for Tweens & Teens - for ages 10+
- Pottery for Tween & Teens - for ages 10+
- The Art of Composition for Teens - for ages 12+
- The Secrets of Colour Theory for Teens - for ages 12+
School Holiday Creative Art Workshops
The core focus of each Creative Arts Holiday Programme are specialised workshops for teens & tweens starting from age 10. Here, students can pick-and-mix from a variety of workshops such as pottery, sewing, painting, printmaking, jewellery making, photography, and animation to create their own arts programme.
For younger students ages 6-10 we always offer a mixed-media morning programme of daily creative time. This changes each holidays to ensure variation for returning students.
A popular feature you can expect to see throughout our holiday programmes are our whānau workshops - where tamariki and their caregivers are invited to create side-by-side.
Regular workshops
Our weekend workshops and short courses offer a diverse range of media, techniques, and disciplines, often featuring guest artists. These change each term so keep checking in to see what is on offer.
Examples of workshops include:
- printmaking processes - from three-day monoprint sessions to one-day drypoint classes
- sea glass jewellery making
- intensive weekend watercolour workshops
- DRAW IT OUT: drawing for wellness sessions.
- Cameraless photography in the darkroom
Explore short courses and workshops currently on offer via the "Workshops & Events" section of our website.
Inverlochy Art School course and events programming is developed and managed by our Directors and overseen by our Committee. For further interest at Inverlochy such as tutoring and programme feedback, contact us at [email protected]. All enquiries welcome.
Term Dates 2026
School terms are 8 weeks in duration, and follow the dates below. If one of your classes is interrupted by a public holiday, a catch-up class will be scheduled for the week following the end of term.
School Holiday and Summer School programmes are each two weeks duration, with the exception of the Autumn School Holiday programme which will run for only one week on account of the public holidays.
Exhibition & Events Plan 2026
Board Plan 2026
