How well do we know people in our community?

By Bruce Congalton

Becs Mackie is bubbling over with wonderful ideas for her Ventana Creative Workshops when we

meet in her bright, high-ceilinged studio at 7 Kitchener Street. It’s obvious that she has a very

creative mind and the walls show off her artistic talent. But she’s never formally studied art.

“I’ve never been to art school but was interested in art from a very early age. I was always wanting

to make things when I was young,” she said. “When I was ten or eleven a friend of mine lived next door to a woman who was an incredible oil painter. I showed interest in her work and she offered to teach us.

“I remember bringing home my first painting which was of two hibiscus flowers and my parents were blown away by it.”

“On finishing high school Becs trained to be a teacher but left before finishing the course. She took on the job of governess to the children of an outback family in South Australia. She loved the freedom of her job to teach in any way she wanted and used nature and the environment around her as tools for learning. Later she moved on to be the station cook and then a station hand working the cattle.

“Although she loved the beauty of the landscape where she worked, after six years she was tempted

by a friend to move to Tekapo to work on a high-country sheep station. She ended up leading horse

trekking and fell in love with the mountains and lakes there. But it was the cold that she found hard

to take. In 2018 she was invited by another friend to join her in Martinborough. Here she instantly

got involved in the community.

“I began working in hospitality venues around town and then started making driftwood and

succulent sculptures. My friend Auriga Martin, founder of Ventana Creative Collective, asked me if I would like to display my work in the gallery. The sculptures were a success and sold well. 

“In 2019 I bought the Ventana brand from Auriga but decided that running a collective gallery was not my forte and instead, decided to run creative workshops. These have blossomed over the last five years and now I run two children’s classes every week, a range of scheduled classes for the public, fun art classes for hen’s parties in the weekend and team building exercises for corporate groups. I do what the locals want and keep the classes affordable.”

Thinking about how it all started with the friend inviting her to Martinborough, meeting Auriga at

Ventana and using social media to communicate, Becs says: “It’s all about people in the end and

making connections. The thing I bring is to give people encouragement. I tell my class participants

that I’m here to make them feel good. That’s my superpower and that’s why people keep coming

back.”

Becs does have some helpers for her classes. She uses a tutor for the Life Drawing class and will

bring in others who have special skills. She doesn’t only use her studio but runs classes at local

vineyards and the brewery and has pop-up classes planned for Brewtown in Upper Hutt next year.

She loves being part of the Martinborough creative community. 

“This is home for sure. I love what I do and I’m forever grateful to Auriga for getting me started. She’s one of my biggest supporters and now attends some of my classes. I’m so lucky to be able to do all this.”