Chris Timmins

One of my favourite photos from past retreats is of Chris in the swimming pool with glass of wine, giving instructions to a student who is bending over their quilt beside the pool (it’s shown below). Not that you should get the impression that she doesn’t take her teaching seriously – she is an exceptionally dedicated tutor – but she also believes that a retreat of this sort should be enjoyed to its utmost. So come and jump in with her, and enjoy her enthusiastic embrace of every aspect of the week. This will be the third time Chris has taught workshops in Fiji, and it’s a great workshop for all levels.

The Course

Patchwork and quilting have always been her passion and she is well known for her vibrant bargello designs. The design Twisted Bargello was the start of her journey to designing, tutoring and selling patterns. The pattern for Twisted Bargello is one of Chris’s most popular patterns, selling especially well in the USA and Canada.

Chris uses a variety of rulers and has developed quick easy methods to create exciting designs for many quilts. As an ex teacher she is well trained in teaching a number of students several different projects and so she is capable and happy to teach a variety of quilts in her workshops.

Hunters Star

During the week in Fiji, you can create one of the many designs that she has developed using a variety of rulers. Moroccan Tile and Water Wheel are made using the Jewel Gem ruler. The Civil War Stars uses the Rapid Hunter Star ruler. The X Block ruler can be used to design many different exciting quilts.

You may also like to create one of the exciting Bargello quilts or her Take 6 design. The choice of quilt you can make is endless.

To view the many designs you can select to make go to Chris’s website www.christimmins.com – and have a look at her brief descriptions of each one below.

Take Six

Chris Timmins

Chris started off her quilting as a teacher of textiles to High School students, and has influenced many quilt makers. Since retiring from school teaching, Chris’ life has taken a new direction and she now travels around Australia teaching the rich array of designs she has developed. Her greatest pleasure is that she has introduced so many people, especially teenagers, to the art of quilt making.

Chris is also involved in the Misty Mountain Getaway held in Dorrigo each year in September. “I have taught students aged from 10 years old to 85 and I realise that, no matter how old you are, being creative and producing a finished quilt is an achievement. The excitement of my students’ faces brings me a lot of pride in their achievements.”

Some of the quilts

Bargello

Bargello: Bargello is a simple strip piecing patchwork technique that can be used to create exciting, spectacular designs from a range of colours or shades to produce a gradual colour value change of exciting patterns. Students will learn to design their own Bargello quilt or can complete the design featured. Some preparation is required prior to the workshop.

Rapid Hunter Star: This quilt s made using Deb Tuckers Rapid Hunters Star Ruler system. It is great way of using up scraps or special feature fabrics.
Each block consists of two triangles, two trapezoids and four star points.

Jewel Gem : A new workshop using rulers designed by Cheryl Phillips from USA that Chris has been given permission to teach. Using pentagons and decagon create a centre circle (115cm), which can be used to make a larger quilt. Many designs available. All participants will need to purchase the rulers.
A fun exciting quilt.

X Block: The X-block tool can be used to make dynamic quilt designs. The designs start with nine blocks or strips of fabric and can produce a variety of different designs.

Take 6: Create a strip quilt using just 6 fabrics. Many great designs can be created from

Take 6

sewing the strips into sets, and then by cutting triangles, squares or 60-degree sections. Quick fast quilt top, which could be finished in a day. Some preparation is required prior to the workshop.

Programme

The programme is structured around morning workshops with afternoon excursions or free time to relax, swim have a spa massage or simply continue quilting. We may alter the programme in response to the weather or the interest of the group.
Sat Jun 9
Arrive Fiji.
Overnight in Nadi.

Sun Jun 10
Fly to Savusavu.You will be greeted with a traditional Fijian welcoming ceremony.
Morning / early afternoon workshop: an introduction to the week.
Late afternoon: free to relax.
7.30 Dinner

Mon Jun 11
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
After lunch you will have some free time for snorkelling, swimming and relaxing. Or there’s an optional visit to town, visiting the geothermal hot springs, local market and shops.
7.30 Dinner

Tue Jun 12
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
2.00 Tapa (decorate bark cloth) making demonstration.
7.30 Dinner

Wed Jun 13
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
In the afternoon we will have a boat or beach outing.

Chris giving instruction to Jenny from the pool

7.30 Dinner

Thu Jun 14
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
Afternoon free
7.30 Dinner

Fri Jun 15
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
7.30 Dinner
Finish individual projects; end with show and tell. Afternoon visit to Vivili village for traditional meke (dance)
Final lovo dinner.

Sat Jun 16 Leave Savusavu and on to international flights.

Costs:

AUD $2,980.00 twin share including flights ex-Sydney / Brisbane
Single supplement: $350
Non-painting partners: $1050 (international flight not included)

Program Includes
Return international flights from Sydney / Brisbane.
Return domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu.
Return airport transfers from Savusavu to Daku Resort.
7 nights accommodation at Daku Resort in traditional bures with private facilities.
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are provided.
Course fees.
Lectures and excursions as indicated.

Program Excludes
Comprehensive Travel Insurance.
Optional activities not listed on the program.
Costs of a personal nature such as laundry, massages, private trips.
Meals taken in transit at the airport.

21 – 28 April, 2012

9 – 16 June, 2012

22 – 29 September, 2012

(if these dates don’t suit you, please contact us; we are often able to arrange small groups at other times)

A fantastic week of snorkelling, learning and exploring in Fiji

8 Days / 7 Nights

The reefs around Vanua Levu provide some of the most rewarding snorkelling in the world. If you don’t want to dive the reefs, this week will give you the chance to see sharks, rays, turtles and many species of reef fish and corals.

In the evenings, an experienced marine biologist will give talks on the marine environment and brief you on the next day’s snorkel. He will come with you to guide the snorkel and point out some of the wonders of the ocean on an all-day field trip.

Below the water is definitely the centre of the week, but we’ll also show you a lot of Fiji above the water. Visits to schools, farms and villages are included.

Marine Biologist Johnny Singh studied at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. He has worked in Savusavu for the past 6 years and knows the reefs and marine life of the area intimately. He is a keen underwater photographer and illustrates his talks with his own wonderful photos and videos. He is a passionate conservatioist, and his enthusiasm for ocean life is contagious.

Itinerary at a Glance

The course runs for 7 days; the last day is a travel day.

You should book your flights to arrive in Savusavu on the first flight from Nadi at 7.00am on Saturday – and you are welcome to arrive earlier in the week or stay on later – we’ll just charge you at regular room rates less 15% if you’re on the course.

Saturday
Introductory lecture and field trip with Johnnie Singh.

Sunday
Field trip day with Johnnie Singh.

Monday
Morning: Field trip.
Afternoon: Town Visit.
Evening: Lecture on Conceptual Coral Reefs

Tuesday
Morning: Filed trip.
Afternoon:Pearl farm visit.
Tapa demonstration.

Wednesday
Morning: Field trip.
Picnic lunch and boat / beach trip.
Evening : Lecture on ‘Cities under the sea’

Thursday
Morning: Field trip.
Afternoon: Excursion tolocal village.
Evening dinner in town.

Friday
Morning: Field trip.
Afternoon: Free
Evening: Lecture on Coral Critters

Saturday
Leaving Ceremony and departure to Nadi.

Cost: F$1665 twin share. F$1615 is approx AUD$1050 / US$850 – we take payment in Fiji dollars and your bank will advise you the rates they charge. Single supplement F$400.

Includes accommodation, all meals, excursions, equipment. Does not include travel – but we are happy to advise.

» » Make a booking

Paradise Courses offer exciting week-long holiday retreats focussed on a number of subjects. Our teachers are well-established in their fields; they’ll inspire you afresh in the course you choose, show you new ways to look at old techniques or teach you things you never knew in the first place.

Every morning starts with breakfast beside the pool before a daily morning workshops. The workshops fit the pace of each teacher’s programme – it might be a three hour writing session around a table near the pool, morning’s singing in the big bure, an intensive tutorial bent over your drawing pad, or perhaps a dawn start to catch the early morning bird chorus for the birdwatchers. Have a look at each course – and my thanks to all past course participants who have sent me their photos, particularly Julie Rickwood (all sorts of lovely images) and Jenny Carmichael (who has excelled in the quilting photos).

The afternoons are free for you to relax by the pool, have a massage, snorkel on the reef or wander into Savusavu. Or maybe you just want to keep going with your writing or painting or quilting, enjoying the tranquillity of the place and the companionship of the other people with you. And then in the evenings we gather together for a buffet dinner, and there’s time to exchange stories, listen to some Fijian singing and drink a bowl of kava.

During the week we organise a couple of local excursions so you see some Fijian life – we visit a village and watch a meke (dance), spend an afternoon on a beach and have a drink at the Savusavu Yacht Club. And of course you’re free to take your own expeditions as well – a walk through town to buy a souvenir, a boat across the bay to Mutuku Beach, a visit to the J.Hunter Pearls farm where they harvest magnificent black pearls, a steep walk through the bush to a lovely waterfall where you can jump into the deep water pools if you’re brave enough, or lounge in the shallow pools if you’re not.

Our accommodation is at Daku Resort in a range of single and double bures, cottages and villas. It’s a comfortable mid-range resort set in lovely tropical gardens, with a staff who will welcome you like family. Have a look at www.dakuresort.com

End of summer special $1500 ($2400 with flight)

Breakthrough writing is a week’s creative writing retreat during which Jan does what she’s so good at: focussing on what’s swirling around in your mind, accessing it and getting it down on paper in your own voice. As any writer knows, none of this is easy – and all of it is essential.

Jan is coming back to Daku Resort for the third time: this is what Chris Richards had to say about the 2011 workshop he attended:

Every now and again in this world of spin, hype, over promise and under deliver, we get a surprise. Our expectations are exceeded. My experience of Jan Cornall’s Writers Workshop at Daku Resort, Fiji was just one of those rare times.

Here I was sixty thousand words into a novel and totally stalled. I am an experienced writer, I know all the gimmicks but still “the very urgent but not important subsumed the very important but not urgent,” in my life. The casualty was my demon, my novel. What I needed was some isolation, immersion and the company of like minded writers to resurrect my demon. Daku Resort (a jewel) and Jan Cornall provided just that.

Jan is a more than a competent facilitator and an excellent writer. She is non invasive but nevertheless resolute on our purpose for being there. She coaches and pushes… just enough. Her workshop was one of the best things I have done in the past twenty years.

Workshops take place every morning and participants are expected to use some of their time in the afternoon to complete specific writing goals. During the workshops, we’ll revise the essential elements of the writer’s craft, and you’ll have a chance to read, critique and receive feedback on any aspect of your writing or writing process. Begin a new work, refresh a tired old draft or come as you are. Jan uses the principles of the course to work with all genres including scripts, poetry and non-fiction with the emphasis on breaking new ground in your chosen writing form.

It takes place in March, which is the end of summer in Fiji and can still be hot and humid – but this end of summer price is a real low-season bargain which should really take the heat out of your purse.

A writing workshop is a precious opportunity to forget all your daily responsibilities and be greedy with your writing time. No work; no cooking or shopping – just pens, paper, inspirational teaching and a group of others who share the passion.

Then spend the afternoons relaxing or exploring the island – snorkeling the reef, hiking up the mountain, visiting a local village, having a spa massage or reading by the pool.

Throughout this week you have the opportunity to be a serious writer and show yourself and others just what you are capable of. The lab concludes with celebration drinks and readings.

Jan Cornall is a highly experienced teacher, renowned for motivating writers in all genres to set and complete writing goals while instructing them in essential writer’s craft. Participants in past workshops include many who go on to publish. First time author Marguerite Van Geldermalsen, Married to A Bedouin, received invaluable help from Jan’s workshops. Margo Lanagan, award winning fantasy writer wrote her novel, Tender Morsels, with the support of Jan’s Draft Buster workshops, as well as her novella Sea Hearts, the winner of the 2010 World Fantasy Awards.

Others who have benefited include : Margaret Wilcox, Gone (Penguin); Anne Lovell, Connie’s Secret (Allen & Unwin); Catherine Therese, The Weight Of Silence (Hachette Livre); Margaret Stevenson Meere, The Child in The Lotus (Rockpool); Walter Mason, Destination Saigon (Allen & Unwin); Yvonne Louis, Brush with Mondrian (Murdoch); and Mary Delahunty, Public Life, Private Grief (Hardie Grant).

She has also written over 15 produced plays and musicals, a feature film (Talk 1994), a novel (Take me to Paradise, 2006) and three CD’s of songs. Jan’s cabaret musical, Failing In Love Again, (with pianist Elizabeth Drake), was a cult hit of the comedy/cabaret revival in the early 80’s when Jan performed alongside Jeannie Lewis, Margaret Roadknight, Robyn Archer, Wendy Harmer and Gretel Killeen.  www.writersjourney.com.au

Read Jan’s account of the 2011 retreat at Daku Resort »

Program Includes

• Return domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu.
• Return airport transfers from Savusavu to Daku Resort.
• 7 nights accommodation at Daku Resort in traditional bures with private facilities.
• Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are provided.
• Course fees.
• Lectures, excursions as indicated.

Program Excludes

• Departure taxes applicable to the standard itinerary.
• Comprehensive Travel Insurance.
• Optional activities not listed on the program
• Costs of a personal nature eg laundry, massages, private trips
• Meals taken in transit at the airport

Cost of course
$1500 per person twin share (includes flight from Sydney)
$300 single room supplement
or course plus international flight Sydney-Nadi return: $2250 if booked by Jan 10

The course runs for 6 days, and includes workshops, local excursions and free time.
Throughout this week you have the opportunity to be a serious writer and show yourself and others just what you are capable of.

Programme

Day 1:
Arrive : Welcome ceremony and dinner.

Day 2:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop – Breaking Through to the Essence of Your Writing.
Setting goals, mapping the territory, making a plan, hunting and gathering. Dreaming up descriptive detail, creating the atmosphere of your writing.
6.00pm –7.00pm:  Reading and feedback
7.00pm: Dinner

Day 3:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop – Breaking Out of Old Habits.
Dealing with the negative critic, procrastination, avoidance addiction, transforming obstacles into descriptive imagery, character and plot.
Afternoon: Visit to Savusavu town
6.00pm –7.00pm:   Reading and feedback
7.00pm: Dinner

Day 4:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop – Breaking Into Voice.
Rediscovering your writer’s voice, developing its character, tone and rhythm, through the building blocks of sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter, story.
Afternoon: Beach outing
6.00pm –7.00pm:   Reading and feedback
7.00pm: Dinner

Day 5:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop – Breaking It Down.
Effective editing, busting bad writing habits, going for the jugular, ensuring the impact of our writing with pace, style, rhythm, timing.
6.00pm –7.00pm:   Reading and feedback
7.00pm: Dinner

Day 6:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop – Breaking Into a Run
Finding dramatic tension in action, plot, juxtaposition and opposition. Foreshadowing and suspense techniques, character development,  emotional subtext, subplots and storyline.
5.00pm –6.00pm:   Reading and feedback
6.30pm: Drinks and dinner at Savusavu Yacht Club

Day 7:
10.00am – 1.00pm: Workshop -  Breaking Out of The Mould
Enhancing the unique qualities of your writing, finding unity and cohesiveness, experimenting with form. Setting future writing goals, discussing publishing options.
4.30pm – 5.30pm: Village visit and meke (traditional dance)
Final dinner and readings and celebratory drinks

Day 8:
Return home.

» » Make a booking

2 courses for the price of one

Leonie has been leading painting and sketching tours to Fiji since 2007. She delights in the rich variety of flora which offer her students a marvellous choice of subjects – at least 6 varieties of heliconia ranging from tiny, delicate flowers in shades of oranges and reds, soft pinks and lemons, to the larger hanging bright red and yellow species with long glossy leaves; hibiscus; the beautiful orchids, and robust coconuts in all stages of development.

Whilst the mornings are dedicated to Botanical Art, afternoons are the time for sketching, when Leonie will take you off around the island to capture the landscapes and details of your holiday.
You are welcome to bring along non-painting partners or friends, who will find plenty to do and are welcomed on all the group outings.

Botanical Art

Fiji’s rich tropical flora offers sensational subjects for the botanical artist – multicoured ginger, delicate orchids, vibrant heliconia, sturdy coconuts and other exotic plants. These specimens can be gathered from the gardens of Daku Resort where we are staying, and also sourced from the surrounding countryside. Leonie combines individual tuition with group demonstrations, focusing on each participant’s particular abilities and style within the context of the demands of botanical art. Explore various techniques in both drawing and painting and learn to mix and match any botanical colour. All skill levels are welcome.

Holiday Sketching

In the afternoons, following a demonstration of colour and techniques, there will be expeditions to local locations to sketch. Holiday sketching is quick and spontaneous, and captures the impression of people and place. Learn to create a visual souvenir of your holiday in Fiji. Diarise your experiences and enhance them with colourful sketches. Explore and experiment with various materials and techniques using coloured pencils, waterproof pens and watercolour. There are daily demonstrations, individual tuition on location and daily reviews of completed sketches. No previous experience is necessary.

You will receive a list of materials for both courses.

Read an account of Leonie’s August 2010 retreat at the Daku Resort blog.

Leonie Norton is a versatile artist who has made her name in Botanical Art, and also runs workshops on Holiday Sketching as well as taking holiday sketching tours to various destinations. She is an international tutor of Botanical Art and Sydney’s most prominent botanical art educator. She is highly qualified, holding a BA(VisArt), B.Fine Arts (Hons) Plant & Wildlife Illustration and a Grad Dip VET (Adult Ed). Her paintings can be found in private and public collections in Australia and overseas. She also illustrates for magazines, undertakes commission paintings, has a published a fascinating study of botanical artists, Women of Flowers.

Leonie holds regular courses in community colleges and art centres and conducts specialised workshops throughout Australia and New Zealand. She instructs at Summer Schools in the UK, Canada, NZ and regional NSW, in addition to conducting an External Botanical Art Course where she educates students globally. She welcomes all levels of skills. She is past President of the Botanical Art Society of Australia. As one of Australia’s better-known botanical artists, she successfully exhibits annually with the Botanical Art Society of Australia and the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens.

Programme

The programme may change depending on the weather and the interests of the group.

Saturday 17 March
Fly to Nadi: overnight in Nadi.

Sunday 18 March
Fly to Savusavu.
Welcome ceremony.
12.00pm: Poolside lunch
2.00pm: Botanical Art Workshop
7.00pm: Dinner

Monday 19 March
9.00am: Botanical Art Workshop
12.00pm: Lunch
1.00am: Holiday Sketching Demonstration.
Afternoon: Visit to Savusavu, visiting the geothermal hot springs, the local market and the shops. Sketching in town.
7.00pm: Dinner

Tuesday 20 March
9.00am: Botanical Art Workshop
12.00pm: Lunch
1.00pm: Visit local beach for snorkeling, diving, swimming, relaxing and sketching
4.30 pm Tapa making demonstration (traditional decorated bark cloth)
7.00pm: Dinner

Wednesday 21 March
9.00am: Botanical Art Workshop
12.00pm: Lunch
1.00pm: Holiday Sketching Demonstration
Free Time
3.30 – 5.30pm: Boat/beach outing with sketching
7.00pm: Dinner

Thursday 22 March
9.00am: Botanical Art Workshop
12.00pm: Lunch
Afternoon: Relaxing. Optional outings to beach or locations along the coast with sketching
7.00pm: Dinner

Friday 23 March
9.00am: Botanical Art Workshop
12.00pm: Lunch
1.00pm: Holiday Sketching
4.00 – 6.00pm: Village visit
6.30pm: Final dinner

Saturday 24 March
Return to Nadi and on home.
Costs
AUD $2,980.00 twin share including flights ex-Sydney / Brisbane
Single supplement: $350
Non-painting partners: $1050 (international flight not included)

Program Includes
Return international flights from Sydney / Brisbane
Return domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu.
Return airport transfers from Savusavu to Daku Resort.
7 nights accommodation at Daku Resort in traditional bures with private facilities.
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are provided.
Course fees.
Lectures, excursions as indicated.

Program Excludes
Comprehensive Travel Insurance.
Optional activities not listed on the program
Costs of a personal nature eg laundry, massages, private trips
Meals taken in transit at the airport

You can see some pictures from last year’s Botanical Art Workshop on our Flickr page.

» » Make a booking

International travel from Australia
All yoga course prices are without the international airfare. Other course prices usually offer the option of including it if you wish, so you are able to book your own flights, or we can arrange them for you. We  book with either Virgin Australia,  Jetstar or Air Pacific.

Virgin Australia leaves Sydney at 8.10am (depending on time of year) and arrives in Nadi at 2.10 pm. You will then need to spend a night in Nadi and fly on to Vanua Levu (our island)  the next day. We will usually book you straight on to Savusavu although sometimes we may use Labasa to the north of us – its a 75 minute drive over the very beautiful mountains and gives you a chance to see more of the island.

Air Pacific which has just introduced a new flight which leaves Sydney at 6.10am, arrives in Nadi at 11.00am and then has a connection with the afternoon flight to Savusavu. Alternatively if this is too early there is a second flight which leaves Sydney at 1310; you will then need to spend a night in Nadi and again, we will arrange for a flight on to Savusavu or Labasa the next day. On the return, there are now two Air Pacific flights; one leaves Nadi in the evening so you can fly out of Savusavu the same day to make the connection and do the jurney in a single day, OR there is the morning flight which  leaves Nadi at 9.00am. If you use this one you will either need to spend another night in Nadi.  You may choose to book your return with Virgin  or JetStar as they leave in the afternoon and you can therefore make the connection in a single day with them too.  Please double check with us before booking as the domestic flights are sometimes very busy and we may need to book another time.

If you are coming from another city in Australia, we can also book your flight; we will advise of the price before going ahead.

International travel from the US
If you are coming from the US youwill probably be flying out of LA. Air Pacific flies from LA regularly 4 times a week departing at 2330. It is a 10 hr. 25 min. flight but as it crosses the International Date Line you arrive at 5.10 am two days later ie if you depart LA on a Tuesday night you will arrive in Nadi on Thursday morning. On the return you leave Nadi at 2230 and arrive back in LA at approx 1320 on the same day, so you get your ‘lost’ day back.

International travel from other cities
If you are coming from another part of the world and are arranging your own flights to Fiji, we are happy to advise on the best flight options. Please let us know when you plan to arrive so we can make the appropriate domestic flights bookings.

Requests for different flight dates
We are happy to book your flights earlier / later than the course dates if so requested. If this involves moving into an expensive period we will let you know and add on the difference, but this is unlikely to happen, and we will quote you before going ahead.

Overnight stays in Nadi
Where flight times make it necessary to spend a night in Nadi. We can book you into Raffles Gateway hotel for AUS$85 (standard single / double). It is a comfortable, pleasant mid-range hotel directly beside the airport, with a courtesy bus service running regularly back and forth.

Domestic flights from Nadi to Savusavu (Daku Resort)
Daku Resort is just outside Savusavu on Fiji’s northern island of Vanua Levu.
The price of your course includes the domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu return.

The flights from Nadi is in a deHavilland Twin Otter which has 20 seats, and takes 55 minutes.

Pacific Sun have just issued a new flight schedule (Jan 2012). Flightswill now depart from Nadi at 7.00am on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. and at 1415 on all days of the week except Tuesdays.   The return flights from Savusavu to Nadi are at 11.20am on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and at 1545 (3.45 pm) on all days except Tuesdays. You can also consider flying to Labasa, the airport to the north of Savusavu. We are happy to help you make these arrangements. You can check flights at www.airpacific.com.

It’s hard to say what it is about Savusavu that draws repeat visitors and why so many of those visitors end up full or part-time residents with their own slice of paradise. It’s an active community of locals, expats, yachties, and visitors from around the globe. It’s a quirky little place with limited choices for the dedicated shopper – but lots of endearing nooks and crannies.

Savusavu calls itself the Hidden Paradise – and with good reason. It’s off the sunset strip of commercial vacationland, away from the rush of day-glo tourists, bus tours and international hotel chains. Located on Fiji’s second largest island, Vanua Levu, it’s a 50 minute very scenic flight from Nadi. You’ll land on a beautiful little airstrip by the sea. Town is about 6 minutes over the hill from the airport, and 8-10 minutes to Daku Resort. From Daku, Savusavu town is about a 25 minute walk along the sea – or a three minute taxi ride.

Town is a mile long and has nearly everything you need lodged in colourful buildings facing the bay. You’ll find a mix of cafes, funky Indian shops, a Hot Bread Kitchen, hardware stores, video stores, a well stocked bottle shop, a post office, ANZ and Westpac banks, two supermarkets, and an outdoor/indoor fresh veggie and fruit market where you’ll find all the home grown goods – plus a great handicraft market run by local Fijian women.

If you want to get a feel for Savusavu, you could start off at the Copra Shed, a wooden building with its own wharf which was once used for loading copra from the coconut plantations onto the boats to Suva. Nowadays it’s home to one of the best restaurants in town, Surf and Turf, run by Vijendra Kumar. Vijen has worked as a chef in some of Fiji’s top resorts, and opened his own highly popular place in 2007.

For a more casual meal, pop into the Captain’s Café for burgers, pizza and fish and chips. Check out their fruit smoothies too. You’ll also find the Savusavu Yacht Club at the Copra Shed, where you can enjoy a drink whilst looking at the yachts in the harbour.

Then walk through town and browse the shops. You’ll find t-shirts and casual wear at Solanki’s, and if you want him to run you up a dress or a beach wrap. he has a tailor’s shop at the back. Further on, there’s the market where you can usually find papaya, water melon, bananas and pineapple. At the back, there’s a handicraft shop that offers things like tapa cloth, wooden bowls and shell necklaces. The market is behind the Town Council which you’ll recognise by the two extraordinary carved stone lions – a unique piece of municipal decoration in the South Pacific!

A bit further on the Hot Bread Kitchen sells fresh bread, buns and cheese rolls; Chhaganlal’s store is crammed with fabric, fishing lines, stationery, and a little section of tourist items that are fun if you’re looking for a souvenir. At the end of town the green Waterfront Building houses Bula Re, another good restaurant where you can eat or just have a fruit juice or an iced coffee.

There’s lots more….but you’ll discover it all for yourself. J.Hunter Pearls sell beautiful pearl jewellery made from their own pearl farm in Savusavu Bay; Karen Bower’s shop has a range of paintings by local artists (herself included); at Denise Melinsky’s shop in the Waterfront you can find some wonderful bits of local furniture and craft work.

Just outside of town you’ll find local villages and fantastic scenery – yours for exploring. Rent a car for a day or hop on a bus and really see Fiji.

Complete information on visitor facilities all around Fiji is provided in Moon Handbooks Fiji by David Stanley.

Read more about beautiful Daku Resort here.
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Drawing is everywhere. We practice it as one of our earliest childhood activities. People draw everywhere in the world. It can be used as a universal visual language. Drawing has come to be associated with intimacy, informality memory and narrative. Drawing is feeling. It is an attitude.

The importance of drawing’s role has never been neglected in art history, but it has seen a particular surge in importance among the current generation of artists. Maybe it’s a renewed respect for the handmade and for the value of time as opposed to computer generated images and manufactured objects. As a response, the human hand is visible and almost longed for!

This course will push and redefine the boundaries of drawing in fresh directions. We will go from the super small to the enormous, from monumental to micro. We will be looking at small objects and the bigger picture; we will be producing drawings that are miniature and others that are BIG, playing with the scale of objects and taking them out of context; and we will be looking at both representational and realistic drawings.

We will working between the conceptual and the three dimensional – we might start with drawing an imagined object like a leaf, and then move onto looking at the real 3-D leaf. This also involves learning how to render drawings that look 3-D using shading to create object with form.

And we’ll be looking at drawing in both black and white to full colour.

Some formal elements will be introduced and covered to allow you a language to speak in, dealing with essential basics like perspective, proportion, line, pattern, texture, composition … all of the design elements.

We will use everything that’s around us – the wonderful scenery, found objects, personal concepts and our imagination – all enhanced by the freedom of a safe place to learn and to explore personal mark making, where you can learn that great artistic tool of confidence.

Using charcoal, pens, pencils, coloured pencils, crayon, and ink and a range of tools we will experiment, discuss, play and make a range of images from tiny and precious to large and unruly! Have a bit of fun and unlock the child that has been hiding away for so long.

At the end of the week you will have had the opportunity to try out as many different approaches as you have time for, and will have an exuberant portfolio of ideas, experiments, half finished works and perhaps even something to hang on you wall.

Jenni Doherty
Jenni Doherty is an artist working in the south west of Western Australia. Solo Exhibitions are held at least once, sometimes twice a year. Jenni exhibits regularly at Yallingup Galleries and is represented in Perth by LK Galleries, Subiaco. Themes have varied over the past exhibitions but a continuing link is the use of pattern  and a fascination with time.

Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1958, Jenni studied at WAIT, Art Education. She is a full time artist, and also teaches regularly at all levels from Primary to University, painting, printmaking, textiles and Art Education.

Jenni has participated in numerous group shows, and had solo exhibitions. She has works in numerous private collections in Australia and worldwide. Other work includes, public art commissions, design work for architectural commissions, design of wine labels, interiors and colour consulting.

Programme

The programme is structured around morning workshops with afternoons for activities and free time to enjoy a spa, massage, snorkelling on the reef, relaxing by the pool or continuing to paint.

Saturday 12 May
Travel to Nadi and on to Savusavu
6.00pm: Welcome ceremony
7.00pm: Dinner

Sunday 13 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 1
Details: Loosening up and getting started – a number of group drawing exercises, colour drawing, learning how to see again, finding your own marks and compositional games.
- Painting sky and clouds
- Blending techniques
1.00pm: Lunch
2.00pm: Coconut demonstration
Afternoon: Free time
7.00pm: Dinner

Monday 14 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 2
Details: Using the landscape- we will look at composition for doing a landscape drawing, structure, perspective. What to put in, what to leave out. View finders can be used here!
1.00pm: Lunch
Afternoon: trip to Savusavu Town to see local market and shops
4.00pm: Tapa making demonstration
7.00pm: Dinner

Tuesday 15 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 3
Details: Up close and intimate detailed drawings . Construction and deconstruction, rearranging detailed drawings to create something different. At this point the workshop would be tailored to student needs, such as design for quilting, printmaking, painting.
1.00pm: Lunch
2.00pm: Beach / boat outing
7.00pm: Dinner

Wednesday 16 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 4
Details: BIG Drawing day! Today we are stepping out of our comfort zone and playing BIG!
Changing the scale of tiny things, drawing life size landcapes,
Images that are big and bold and strong. Liberating…
1.00pm: Lunch
4.00pm: Walk up hill behind Daku (optional – pretty steep!)
7.00pm: Dinner

Thursday 17 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 5
Details: Set of tiny drawings. Some may concentrate on three, some may do 100… miniatures. Detailed, focused on texture and line to create a set of drawings that can be individual or put together to make larger installation.
Once again tailored to students needs.
1.00pm: Lunch
Afternoon: Free time
6.00pm: Drinks at Savusavu Yacht Club and dinner in town

Friday 18 May
9.30am – 12.30pm: Workshop 6
Details: We will discuss  other applications for drawings and have ourown exhibition.
1.00pm: Lunch
4.00pm: Visit to village for meke (traditional dance)
7.00pm: Final lovo dinner

Saturday 19 May
8.20am: Return to Nadi and on to international fights.

The order of workshops may vary depending upon weather conditions.

Costs
AUD $2,980.00 twin share including flights ex-Sydney / Brisbane
Single supplement: $350
Non-painting partners: $1050 (international flight not included)

Program Includes

• Return international flights from Sydney / Brisbane.
• Return domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu.
• Return airport transfers from Savusavu to Daku Resort.
• 7 nights accommodation at Daku Resort in traditional bures with private facilities.
• Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are provided.
• Course fees.
• Lectures and excursions as indicated.

Program Excludes

• Comprehensive Travel Insurance.
• Optional activities not listed on the program.
• Costs of a personal nature such as laundry, massages, private trips.
• Meals taken in transit at the airport.

The programme includes a number of activities – and there are more if you want. We plan the courses to give you a mixture of time for the course itself, local excursions when we take you snorkelling or out to a village, and free time for relaxing or getting on with your own projects. Here’s a quick summary of what is and isn’t included (and most people find that the programme covers enough), and then there’s a description of the activities.

The cost of the course ($2980) covers:

• International flights from Sydney for Australian purchasers (not for New Zealand purchasers – but we’ll add it on if you want)
• Domestic flights Nadi – Savusavu return
• Airport transfers from Savusavu airport
• Accommodation at Daku Resort
• All meals during the course
• Course fees
• Activities as listed

If you’d like to arrange your own international flights, the cost is $2180 twin share.

It doesn’t cover:

• Course materials – this is mainly for the art courses. We’ll send you a list of materials before you come.
• Expenses of a personal nature eg laundry bills, bar bills, massages.
• Extra activities not on the programme.
• Travel insurance.
• Overnight stays in Nadi

Activities

Activities vary slightly depending on the course, so have a look at the individual programmes. Here’s a quick rundown on what there is to do.

All courses include:

• Coconut demonstration – a fascinating look at how Fijians use every part of the coconut in their culture. This takes place in the grounds of Daku resort which is set in the grounds of an old coconut plantation, and lasts about one hour.

• Tapa making demonstration. Tapa is the decorated bark cloth widely used in Fijian ceremonies. One of our staff will show you how the bark cloth is made, and will then decorate it in front of you. This is more of a chick thing but some men find it pretty fascinating too.

• Beach or boat outing. We stay a bit vague on this because we judge it on the weather and on what you, the group, want to do. Sometimes we go snorkelling, sometimes we take the boat to a nearby beach, sometimes we take a taxi round to the other side of the peninsula and go to a beach for a picnic.

• Visit to Savusavu town. Well, that’s a bit of a no-brainer – it’s an easy taxi ride in and you will almost certainly go back more than once. The market is fun to look at, and there are some nice shops for souvenirs. You can also get the local tailors to make you up a garment pretty fast.

• Visit to local village for a meke. A meke is a traditional dance and they do it with tremendous energy and colour. You’ll also be able to wander around the village and see how Fijian villagers live.

• Visit to Savusavu Yacht Club and dinner in town. Dinner’s on us! (Drinks are up to you).

And then there is all this too:

• Massage. One hour $50. We will put massages on your tab.
• Great snorkeling – the resort has supplies of masks and snorkels although if you have your own, bring them along. You can go outside Daku; we can also take you to Split Rock about 5km down the road (also accessible by taxi) or out to Lesciaceva Reef on the boat.
• You can arrange to go diving, or fit in an early morning fishing trip.
• Mountain hikes behind the resort – lots of bird life although not easy to see in the thick rainforest canopy. Bring some tennis shoes – preferably not new as it often gets muddy.
• Kayaking: Doubles $35 for an hour and half; $50 for half a day. Singles $25 for an hour and a half; $40 for half a day.
• Pearl farm – Savusavu has a black pearl farm producing quality pearls. The visit takes roughly 2 hours and costs $25.
• Waterfall trip – $10 entrance and $50 taxi.

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