Art classes and holiday programmes in the heart of Devonport
At Marbles, we believe that children should imagine, explore, discover, create and celebrate who they are.
Our mission is to provide a studio dedicated to creativity— where artists can share their experiences,
develop their skills, work with others and produce work that they feel proud of.
We are passionate about running art programmes that engage, inspire and nurture our artists so that they
enjoy and appreciate art throughout their lives.
Ruth Christy
Your teacher
I was lucky enough to come from a creative, artistic home where art transformed a space, crafted a message,
captured a moment and served a purpose.
As a family, art was discussed, debated, created and appreciated. For my Dad, it also paid a few bills.
Over the past 20 years, I have taught art to children in my classroom and in my studio.
Throughout this time, I have come to see how brilliant our young artists are.
I take pride and joy from helping every artist discover their own talent and potential.
Marbles
The name
One of my fondest childhood memories was closely examining the many different marbles my mother kept in her old Anchor milk tin.
Their colours shone and the patterns inside each glass sphere captured my attention for hours.
This special tin lived in my grandmother's wardrobe for over 60 years.
A trip to Nana's in Te Araroa would only occur every two or three years as she lived so far from our home in Awarua.
When the marbles tin came out, my 11 siblings and I would be beside ourselves with excitement.
We studied and admired each and every marble— counting them, playing with them, categorising them and listening to the stories of
how Mum had won them at school.
When the stories were over and it was time to put them away, we took turns counting each marble— placing them carefully into the tin so it
could be returned to the wardrobe.
Mum's marble tin represents many things for me— her childhood, my childhood, family, art and now my studio.