Prize winning painter visits

Stanthorpe State School recently welcomed prize winning painter and printmaker, Christine Porter, to their school for an educational and enjoyable printmaking workshop.As a full-time artist based in Lismore and formerly of Goondiwindi, Ms Porter’s works of art have not only been proudly shown locally at the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery and at Art in the Woolshed, but are also featured in the National Gallery of Australia and in international collections worldwide.
In fact, students and parents may be familiar with her shearing shed paintings and more personal smaller etchings.Bringing her talents to Stanthorpe State School, Ms Porter demonstrated “drypoint” etching – a process which involved students creating an artwork by scratching into a coated cardboard ‘plate’.
Ink is then rubbed into those scratches and the plate rolled through a small etching press, squeezing ink onto a piece of damp paper, resulting in a brilliantly individual piece of art.
Students of all ages took great delight in the exploration of several printing variations and were rewarded with some beautiful etchings of their own creation.“I love working with school age students, exposing them to techniques and processes that may not be normally available in the classroom,” Ms Porter said.“Stanthorpe State School was no exception. The students were, each and every one of them, polite and enthusiastic and I was thrilled with the results,” she said.“Even the cool weather couldn’t dampen the warm welcome I received. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the art to come out of this creative school.”Each student came away with a gorgeous print of their own design.