Children's
Book
Linocuts
Kids Summer
Program
Kids & Adult
Workshops
Kids Program
& Workshop
TESTIMONIALS
 
HOME | CONTACT US

THANK YOU NORTHUMBERLAND for honouring Journey Through the Arts and Christine Benson with FIVE Northumberland Readers' Choice Awards!! (link)

* 2024 Best Local Artist:
Christine Benson
Diamond Winner


* 2024 Best Art School/Instruction:
Journey Through the Arts
Diamond Winner


* 2024 Best Kids Activities:
Journey Through the Arts
Platinum Winner


* 2024 Best Kids Camp:
Journey Through the Arts
Platinum Winner


* 2024 Best Summer Camp:
Journey Through the Arts
Gold Winner

 


 

The Journey Through the Arts
2026 Summer Program

JTtA Music Drama VisualArt

Are you interested in registering your child for our Journey Through the Arts Summer Program of Music, Art & Drama at the Old Art School (Molson's Mill) in Port Hope?

Please email jttacabin@gmail to join our Mailing List and receive a 2026 Summer Program Application.

2026 SUMMER PROGRAM DATES AND THEMES

Week 1: July 6-10: Welcome to Magic School

Week 2: July 13-17: The Haunted Hotel

Week 3: August 10-14: Comic Characters Come to Life!

Week 4: August 17-21: Underwater World



March/ April 2026

MONDAYS from 4:45-5:45
Ages 6 to 12 years old

Monday, March 9: 'Bee' Happy Watercolour Paintings

Monday, March 23: How to Draw an Optical Illusion

Monday, March 30: Golden Art: Drawing with Metallic Markers

Monday, April 13: Magazine Flower Collages

Monday, April 20: Create your Own Comic Character

Monday, April 27: Sunflower Paintings

$20 plus $6 Art Kit to take home.
Register for whatever workshops interest you! (Plus HST)

 

TUESDAYS from 4:45-5:45
Ages 6 to 12 years old

Tuesday, March 10: Clay Photo Holders: Cartoon Avocados

Tuesday, March 24: Creating Bold Sunsets with Oil Pastels

Tuesday, March 31: 'Painting' with Plastecine

Tuesday, April 7: Butterfly Books: Creating Butterfly Drawings that Pop out from the Page

Tuesday, April 14: Shading with Paint: Learning How to Paint Monochromatic Portraits

Tuesday, April 21: Delicate Ink Pen Tree Drawings

Tuesday, April 28: Clay Bird Nests

$20 plus $6 Art Kit to take home. (Plus HST)
Register for whatever workshops interest you!

 

WEDNESDAYS from 4:45-5:45
Ages 6 to 12 years old

Wednesday, April 8: Sketching & Shading Dolphins

$20 plus $6 Art Kit to take home. (Plus HST)
Register for whatever workshops interest you!

 

THURSDAYS from 4:45-5:45
Ages 6 to 12 years old

Thursday, March 5: Capybara Paintings on Canvas

Thursday, March 26: Printmaking: Creating Monoprints

Thursday, April 2: BFF Workshop: Jewellery Making

$20 plus $6 Art Kit to take home. (Plus HST)
Register for whatever workshops interest you!

 

SATURDAYS from 10:00-11:00
Ages 6 to 12 years old

Saturday, April 4 SPECIAL EASTER WORKSHOP
Bunny & Tulips Paintings

All Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday workshops are $20 plus $6 Art Kit to take home. TOTAL: $29.38 with the HST. Register for whatever workshops interest you!

 

P.A DAY WORKSHOPS
Held from 10:00-11:30

Friday, April 17 from 10:00-11:30
Making Wearable Art Tshirts: Creating with Fabric Pastels

Note: P.A Day workshops are 30 minutes longer and are
$35 plus HST= TOTAL: $39.55 including ALL art supplies.

 

TO REGISTER for any of the workshops:
Please email Christine at jttacabin@gmail.com

See you at the studio!

 



ADULT ART WORKSHOPS

The Monday Night Adult
Art Workshop Schedule for March

CLASSES WILL RUN from 6:00-7:00pm on:

Monday, March 2: Watercolour
Monday, March 9: Collage
NO CLASS Monday, March 16- MARCH BREAK!
Monday, March 23: Drawing, Sketching & Shading
Monday, March 30: Acrylic Painting

Details:

• Cost: $30 plus HST per class (payment can be made by ETransfer to this email address or feel free to bring cash or a cheque with you to the studio)

• All art supplies are included! You don't need to bring anything with you—just your imagination and your willingness to try something new ☺

• You do not have to register for every Monday—feel free to choose the classes that interest you

• If you are new to Journey Through the Arts please let me know if you need directions to the studio

I can't wait to see you in the cabin!

Thanks,
Christine

 

JTTA In-the-Schools Program

Looking for a creative experience for your students in Kindergarten to Grade 8? The Journey Through the Arts In-the-Schools Program brings amazing interactive and hands-on visual art workshops that are geared towards each grade right into your classroom! We bring all of the art supplies and guide the students step-by-step through fun and imaginative art projects. $7 per student (includes all art supplies, instruction and a 2-period-length art workshop). By the end of the workshop each student will have a piece of art to hang in the classroom or take home with them.

Email jttacabin@gmail.com to for more information or to reserve a workshop.

(Please note: The JTTA In-the-Schools Program is open to schools ONLY in Port Hope & Cobourg at this time.)

Here are just a few of the school art workshops we offer:

WORKSHOPS DESCRIPTIONS

JK/SK: Clay Pinch Pots: During this workshop students will learn all about clay, 2D shapes, 3D shapes and how to make their own clay pinch pot using self hardening clay. The pots will be left to dry in the classroom and paint will be left with the teacher so that the pots can be painted and decorated 4-5 days later once the clay is fully hardened.

Grade 1: Art in the Round: "Exploring Sand Mandalas": This workshop will focus on learning about the various types of lines, geometric and organic shapes, warm and cool colours and radial designs to create a mandala sand painting on canvas using various colours of sand.

Grade 2: Understanding Warm and Cool Colours: "That's One Cool Panda!" During this workshop students will learn how to draw a panda using geometric shapes. They will then transform their symmetrical panda drawing using warm colours on one side and cool colours on the other. This workshop will focus on how colours can be used to show emotion as well as using symmetrical shapes.

Grade 3: Painting Underwater Creatures: This workshop will teach students how to draw an underwater scene and will focus on the concepts of space (foreground, middleground and background) to create the feeling of depth and will teach the students how to create various textures (pointilism for sand, scales on fish etc) and underwater creatures including a jellyfish, seahorse and a fish to create an underwater painting.

Grade 4: Squirrel Drawings: Learning About Line and Texture: This workshop will teach students how to draw a squirrel and to use various drawing techniques such as cross-hatching, pointillism and repetition of lines to create visual rhythm and texture in their squirrels fur and the setting of their drawing.

Grade 5: Birch Tree Landscape Paintings: This workshop will focus on understanding how to compose a landscape and using shading and cast shadows that create the illusion of depth in a landscape painting.

Grade 6: Caricatures: This workshop will teach students about the rules of proportion for the human face. After understanding proportion we will break the rules and exaggerate a facial feature to create a funny caricature of ourselves.

Grade 7: Drawing Trees Inspired by Emily Carr: This workshop will teach students about how to use lines for expressive purposes while creating a landscape drawing inspired by Canadian artist Emily Carr. The workshop will also introduce students to using texture and value in their drawings of trees using chalk pastels.

Grade 8: Cubist Portrait Paintings Inspired by Picasso: This workshop will investigate Cubist portraits and how artists such as Picasso broke up and analyzed three dimensional shapes and reassembled them on the page. During this workshop we will analyze the shapes used in the human face and reassemble them to create our own Cubist self-portrait paintings.

I would also be happy to discuss the individual needs of your students and customize a lesson to suit your individualized learning goals and units.

 

ART BIRTHDAY PARTIES
For Ages 6 to 13 years old

Are you stuck for a creative and fun way to celebrate your child's birthday? Why not hold a party at the log cabin at the Journey Through the Arts studio! Parties include:

- a 1 hour art project
- 30 minutes for cake and/or presents

Birthday Party packages include:

- a customized art project based on what the birthday child would like to do (painting, cartooning, drawing, clay sculpture etc) and a customized subject matter (their favourite animal, cartoon character). Email Christine to discuss all of the art media options AND subject matter available.
- includes all art supplies
- an art-themed goodie bag for each participant

Cost: $18 plus HST per child
**Parties can be booked to suit your schedule

 



ADULT WORKSHOPS
Book Your Own Time With Friends at the Studio!

New Year’s Resolutions are easy to break aren't they? But if you made a resolution to do something fun, to learn something new or be creative I’ve made a cozy & inviting studio space for you at the Journey Through the Arts log cabin. Come and spend a couple of hours with your friends and pick a project you have always wanted to try:

What are YOU interested in exploring? Landscapes, animals, gardens, abstract? The art supplies are ready! Feel free to contact me to reserve a customized time during the day Monday to Friday between the hours of 10:00am to 2:00pm and create a project for you! Connect with your creative side and with your friends in a fun and relaxing environment. $30 per person for a 1.5 hour private workshop (includes all art supplies). Please email the studio at jttacabin@gmail.com for more information or to book your workshop!

I hope to see you all at the cabin studio!

Christine

Journey Through the Arts

 


 


The JTTA In-the-Schools Programme

WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:

  • Learning the Basics of Drawing
  • Relief Printmaking
  • Drawing Trees Inspired By Emily Carr
  • Caricatures
  • Pointillism
  • Portraits Inspired by Modigliani
  • Surrealism and Salvador Dali
  • Architectural Designs Inspired by Hundertwasser
  • Navajo Sandpainting and Symbolism
  • Art in the Round: Exploring Tibetan Mandalas
  • Australian Aboriginal Art
  • Drawing Our Own daVinci Flying Machines
  • Drawing Underwater Creatures
  • Egyptian Hieroglyphics

  • OwlPaintings on Canvas: Learning How to Mix Colours and Create Textures with Paint
  • Contour Leaf Drawings with Cross-hatching
  • Paintings That Make You SCREAM Inspired by
    Edvard Munch
  • Pen and Ink Owls: Learning About Lines and Textures
  • How to Draw People in Proper Proportion
  • Canadian Aboriginal Art: Petroglyphs and Storytelling
  • Understanding Colour
  • Self-Portraits Inspired by Vincent vanGogh
  • Collage with Gustav Klimt
  • Cubism Portraits Inspired by Pablo Picasso
  • Landscape Painting and the Group of Seven
  • Scratchboard Inspired by the Tree of Life

We hope to see you at the studio soon!

 


WE ARE...

Journey Through the Arts, run by artist Christine Benson, and musician Mike Woods is a multi-faceted arts organization in Port Hope, Ontario which is dedicated to bringing a variety of exciting programmes to adults and children. Founded as a way to ensure "the arts" (music, art and drama) are an integeral part of children's lives JTTA offers week long summer programmes throughout July and August at a restored mill along the Ganaraska River. The summer programme, which was founded in 2002, teaches children (between the ages of 6 and 13) about the value and importance of using their creativity and imagination while they produce visual art, perform original musical compositions and perform short plays. The results are both inspiring and humbling as the children gain confidence and learn various skills throughout the week.

From its roots as a children's arts organization Journey Through the Arts (JTTA) has blossomed and grown into a place where adults and children alike can experience the limitless possibilities of the arts. JTTA now offers after school, weekend and specialty art workshops for children, private guitar lessons, a group recording facility and adult visual art workshops which are dedicated to exposing adults (with various levels of experience) to the fine arts.

In the summer of 2005 JTTA opened the doors of the The Journey Through the Arts Gallery which focuses on giving exhibition opportunities to local and regional artists and artisans. The JTTA Gallery offers visitors a glimpse into the ideas, practises, techniques and work of 15 artists. The gallery features a variety of media including painting, printmaking, jewelry and pottery. Exhibitions and artists are ever-changing with work that is sure to inspire the artist within all of us.


JOURNEY THROUGH THE ARTS OFFERS:

PRIVATE LESSONS for ADULTS & CHILDREN:
Arranged to suit your individual schedule, these lessons can be booked after school or in the evening. Lessons are 30 minutes ($20 per lesson) or 1 hour ($30 per lesson) plus HST.  Private lessons include all art supplies. Lessons are based on your individual interests including mosaics, jewellery, painting on canvas, watercolour, printmaking and more!!

 

ART BIRTHDAY PARTIES:
JTTA offers a fun and creative way to celebrate your child's birthday! Your private party includes all supplies, snacks and an art project for each of your guests. Parties are one hour in length and are held at our downtown studios. Parties are suitable for children 6-13 and are $15 per child plus HST. Please visit our website or call the studio for project descriptions.

 

 

 

IN-THE-SCHOOLS PROGRAMME:
Invite JTTA to your school! Workshops are available for JK to Grade 8 in various media. All workshops are affordably priced at $6 plus HST per student, including all art supplies. Instruction is 2 periods in length and comes with an accompanying rubric that compliments the visual art curriculum.

 

 

 

SATURDAY MORNING ART WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN 6-12:
Each 1 hour workshop focuses on a particular technique and/or art movement.  Art workshops for children are held on Saturday’s from 10:00-11:00 and are $20 per workshop plus HST (which includes all art supplies) and consist of a maximum of 10 participants. Children are not required to register for all workshops and are free to pick and choose the workshops that interest them!