New lease on life in art for Elspeth
What do you do with yourself after retiring from teaching after 38 years?
How do you make sure you still have a purpose in life and a reason to get out of bed in the morning?
If you’re Elspeth Atkinson you reorganise your house and turn your lounge into a studio and join the art society. This enables you to continue with your lifelong passion — painting. But that is just the start . . .
After sorting herself out year two arrives. After a bit of travel to Europe, Elspeth enrolled in an adult education course to upgrade her technology skills. During this time she observed Val Broughton, the art tutor, and how she got the best out of her students. That got her thinking about passing on the skills she had to like-minded adults. So in the second year of retirement, Elspeth ran a one-term art course for the Art Society.
By the third year, Elspeth was approached to run an art course at Manawarangi, and her Art Society course morphed into a full year adventure. Some of her students stayed for a while, but many completed the entire year.
Elspeth talks with glee of the sculptural challenge she has set the Art Society group, nudging them into new territory.
This year, the fourth since retirement, Elspeth has continued with another full year course — she has amended and grown the course. On a trip to Fielding printmaker John Brebner — Homeprint Studios, she purchased a small printing press for her classes. This is being used at both the Manawarangi course and will will be debuting at the Art Society classes soon.
When Elspeth talks of her classes, you can hear the joy in her voice. She loves to pass her knowledge on to anyone with an interest. There is no comparison to her formal teaching days — no paperwork, no judgement, just the joy of passing knowledge, tips and tricks to those who share her passion.
Why people choose to tutor is understood when she talks about how no matter how tired she is on a Wednesday, by the time she has finished her classes at Manawarangi she is on a high for the rest of the day.
Sessions with adults means the art is mixed with conversations where the world’s problems are solved. And other times silence steals into the room because of the focus on the work. These are the moments to savour as an adult educator, she says.