Trips to Glenhyrst & ArtReach
Join us for an art workshop at Glenhyrst or your school!
New Workshops for Winter and Spring 2026 are here! Join in the fun with clay, printmaking, drawing, and painting workshops and art tours!
Check out this season’s workshops below and scroll down to request a booking. Hoping to repeat a past workshop you loved and don’t see it here? Let us know in the booking form and we’ll see what we can do. Looking forward to getting creative with you!
A limited number of bus subsidies are available (up to $100/school towards bussing) while they last. Have a student or two who can’t afford to participate in Art Reach with their class? We also have limited scholarships available.
Clay!
“Bobble Head” Sculpture
Ages 9+
In this lesson we will build whimsical sculptures of an animal/creature/character, complete with moving “bobble heads”! Our sculptures will be made in two sections: the body is a cone form, and the head is a hollowed-out sphere. The head and body are not attached, but rather the head balances on the point of the cone allowing for the head to rock and wobble. Together we will focus on pinching methods to hand build the two main structures, and then students will learn how to properly attach their components, and add details and designs to bring their creature to life. Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint if desired.
Clay! Animal Pinch Pot
All ages - lesson adjusted accordingly
Back by popular demand! Let’s learn to build a pinch pot with clay which we will then transform into the head of an animal by attaching ears and carving facial features and textures. Foxes, frogs, monkeys, bears, cats, dogs – wherever your imagination takes you! Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint.
Snowman Pinch Pot
All ages (lesson adjusted accordingly)
Let’s learn to build with clay using a pinching method to create 3 little pinch pots. We will attach our tiny pots together, add some details and attach a scarf to transform our pinch pots into a snowman sculpture. Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint if desired.
Lidded Pinch Pot – Any Theme!
All ages (lesson adjusted accordingly)
We will practice using both pinching and slab building processes with our clay to build a two-part container. We will create a pinch pot for the container and roll a slab for the lid, complete with a sculptural handle and carved details and designs. This lesson can be themed around a specific holiday or season, or students can be free to design their own theme according to their own interests. Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint.
Clay Hanging Pendant Sculpture
Ages 4 – 9
In this workshop we will create a series of clay components that will assemble together to become a hanging pendant sculpture or mobile. This project can be done as snowflakes in the Winter season, hearts for a Valentine gift, or flowers for Spring. This activity is perfect for young artists in kindergarten and primary grades. We will focus on the slab building clay process and learn how to draw and cut shapes out of our clay (using cutters to assist where needed). Holes will be made in each shape so string or ribbon can be tied through the pieces once parts are dried and painted. Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint.
Tic-Tac-Toe Game
Ages 9+
It’s all fun and games with this clay workshop! Each student will learn how to build their own Tic-Tac-Toe game board and pieces. We will focus on slab and coil building techniques to create our game and then students will carve designs to decorate their board and pieces. This activity would make a great gift for students to take home and play with their families. Clay pieces will air dry in your classroom within 5-7 days and can be painted once dry using a liquid tempera or acrylic paint.
Printmaking!
Hand Printed Greeting Cards - Any Occasion!
All ages (lesson adjusted accordingly)
Learn about the traditional block printing process to create one-of-a-kind greeting cards! Valentine’s Day, Mother’s/Father’s Day, or Easter – you pick the theme! We will draw our design on a foam printmaking matrix which we will then ink and stamp onto our card papers. Our cards can be enhanced further by drawing and colouring in more details after printing and of course writing a message on the inside. Each student will create a set of custom cards to take home, perfect for sharing with friends and family!
Award Ribbon Print - Any Occasion!
All ages - lesson adjusted accordingly
Using the traditional block printing process each student will design and create a unique hand printed award ribbon artwork to gift to someone special! The finished award prints can be framed, cut out, laminated or turned into a card. This is the perfect gift to honour a loved one on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
Spring Still Life Printed Artwork
All ages - lesson adjusted accordingly
Let’s create dynamic arrangements of flowers for Spring! In this mixed media lesson, we will learn about the reduction printmaking process and will design and create our own unique flower “stamps” to print into our flowerpot still life drawings. Flower stamps can be shared to make this a collaborative activity. Students will colour their remaining image using a combination of materials including oil pastels and crayons.
Painting/Drawing!
Picasso Style Self Portrait
Ages 7+
In this lesson we will look at Pablo Picasso and the art historical movement called Cubism as our inspiration to draw and paint fun, creative and expressive self portraits. We will learn about portrait drawing in this unique style that captures multiple perspectives, with a focus on line, shape, colour and value. Portraits can either be monochromatic or coloured according to a desired colour theme.
Lawren Harris Inspired Landscape
Ages 7+
In this lesson we draw and paint a landscape in the signature style of Brantford Ontario born artist, and member of The Group of Seven, Lawren Harris. We will learn how to build a convincing landscape composition, highlighting various tips and tricks we as artists can use to enhance our image to make it look like a deep more convincing representation of the environment around us. This mixed media lesson will include drawing, colouring and painting. We will work from various Harris paintings to accommodate the changing seasons from Winter to Spring.
Wax/Oil Resist Watercolour Snowflake Collage
Ages 4 – 12
Let’s create unique Winter snowflake mixed media collages! We will watch our “invisible” wax and oil snowflake drawings spring to life when we apply our watercolour paint over the drawing’s surface. In this lesson we will draw, paint, cut, layer and paste our drawings to resemble snowflakes falling from the sky.
Scroll down for more details on art reach to your school, gallery visits, workshops & tours or. . .
Tours
Glenhyrst features 6 contemporary art exhibitions per year, so there is always something new to look at and learn about. Guided tours of exhibits can be booked independently or in conjunction with a Workshop. The cost for a 45 minute tour is $4 per child ($80 min) and done together with a workshop is $8 per child ($100 min). Scroll down and click below to request a booking.
Tour Exhibitions coming up this year:
17 January to 15 March | Michael Barber: The Messengers (Indigenous Artist)
28 March to 21 June | Laura Findlay
28 March to 21 June | Chelo Sebastian
4 July to 6 September | Brant Needle Arts Guild
12 September to 8 November | Pat Godin: Bird’s Eye
22 November to 20 December | Vibrant Palette Student Art Exhibition Local schools are invited to submit up to 30 pieces. Contact partnerships@glenhyrst.ca for details.
Workshops
Join us for a workshop at Glenhyrst in our Coach House Studio! Each educational, guided workshop includes all materials and is curriculum based. New workshops are released each September and January. Cost for a Workshop only is $6 per child ($100 min) and done together with a tour is $8 per child for both ($100 min). Click below to request a booking.
ArtReach
Our ArtReach program brings our arts education workshop to you! Glenhyrst provides all of the materials and instruction and comes to your school ready for a fun and educational experience for all. All workshop options are available at the school and more robust art history curriculum is provided. ArtReach can accommodate a balanced day schedule and can be booked with multiple classes. Cost for a 1.5 hour workshop at the school is $10 per child ($100 min). Additional mileage costs do apply for out of town schools as well as a minimum of 2 classes - check to see if any other teachers at your school are interested! Click below to book.
Please note: our clay activities are air dried and cannot hold liquid or food.
Did you know our workshops meet requirements for the Ontario Education Curriculum for Visual Arts? Activity details coming soon!
Full Day Trip
Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant is a wonderful part of our community and we would love if you spent your day with us. If you have booked a tour & workshop, here are a few more fun activities to fill in your day and allow you to spend more time enjoying Glenhyrst, the grounds, and our community.