Art gives Wangi kids helping hand

After all, Sir William Dobell's former home and studio is just a short stroll up the road.

But the truth is Wangi Wangi's reputation as the great artist's home town probably didn't make professional artist Helene Ruma's job any easier when she began to host weekly art classes at Wangi Wangi Public School this year.

"At the beginning, the kids were just so obsessed with doing great artwork," Ms Ruma said.

"Some were really nervous and reluctant even to just give it a try."

But that was just their "left brain critic" getting in the way, she said.

So one of the first lessons the children learned was that there is no "wrong" or "right" in art.

"I tell the kids they can't be wrong if they're expressing themselves.

"And when the kids aren't stressing about the outcome, they do better artwork," she said.

Ms Ruma said her classes involved a mix of demonstrations of artistic techniques, exploring new ways of looking at things, and lots of fun.

"I really want to bring out their awareness," she said.

And that involves discussions about how the children's left brain and right brain works.

To demonstrate the cerebral differences, Ms Ruma had the children draw a dog, but using an upside down picture of a dog as their reference.

The classes have produced some encouraging artworks, but more important has been the changes she has seen in the children.

"They've gained so much confidence and are comfortable taking risks," she said.

And in life it is the people who take risks, and who are prepared to look at things differently and express themselves who are often the most successful, she said.