Dominika and Katya teach kids how to sew, sculpt, collage and paint through their art collective Grepa Studios
By Sophie Mitchell
Art collective Grepa Studios, formed by friends Dominika and Katya, have started weekly art classes for children, teaching sewing, sculpture, collage and painting using a wide range of materials.
The sessions – for seven to eleven-year-olds – run from 10am to 12pm, and sees the kids take their creative ideas all the way to a final product that they can take home.
Meanwhile, eleven to 15-year-olds can take part in sewing courses, learning how to safely operate a sewing machine and then create their first textile project over two Saturday sessions.
The friends met in Leyton in 2023. Katya specialises in fashion design, and her bespoke pieces have been worn by artists like Ellie Goulding, [former Little Mix member] Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and the Eurovision winner Loreen.
Dominika, originally from the Czech Republic, specialises in painting and sculpture and has taught art classes to all age groups while working with art nonprofits.
The artistic duo have been running the classes since April, with a capacity of around ten, because they want to be able to give each child personal guidance with their projects.
Speaking to the Echo, Katya and Dominika elaborated on what their weekly sessions offer kids. The classes are held in Dominika’s studio, which they say has enhanced creative freedom: “Dominika will teach them how to do a print on a fabric, let’s say, and then I’m like, ‘oh, let’s make a bag out of the print’.”
Katya says the range of tools and materials available in their studio, part of a complex of creative workspaces in the Bow Arts building in Leyton High Road, gives potential for a spontaneity and authenticity that wouldn’t have been available if they had gone with their first idea of hiring a room at the local library.
Dominika believes that coming to the studio is an important experience for the students: “We forget very often, because we are here all the time, but then for other people to come here, it can be so special.”
The pair’s idea for a kids art club was born after Katya brought her daughter to spend time at the studio and make art with Dominika. She noted that “rather than sitting and scrolling Instagram” art clubs can get young kids away from screens and encourage them to “not just look at how other people make art, but actually ask them to make it”.
Asked about the skepticism many people have about what realistic career prospects the art world offers, Katya said: “I think the most important thing is to have patience…everything takes time.” Dominika said that it is important for people to “really see that it can be a real job” because “for me it really changed my life.”
Katya says that her artistic childhood and the support of her parents had a big impact on her career: “They would never ask me to do anything else.”
Dominika’s experience was different: “Yeah, I didn’t have that!” she laughs. “I didn’t know it was possible…and then I met artists and I was like, oh actually, it can be your profession.”
About the influence living in Leyton has had on her art, Dominika said: “You can’t separate it from the environment.”
Katya described their experiences flyering in the local area: “We were going to the businesses, meeting other people, just to see who’s around. And it was actually quite inspiring.”
Dominika said: “When you’re an artist, it’s quite easy to stay in your studio and just do your own thing…but because of Grepa, we went out a bit more and we met people. We really fell in love with the community.”
They detailed the sense of community they found at the Bow Arts centre, where many Waltham Forest artists have their studios: “I can’t explain how important it is to have a friendship with a neighbour. For me, this is my third studio and I think I only found it here,” Katya said.
Katya added how the friendships they have found at the studio can help with the ups and downs she goes through with her work as an artist: “Light-hearted people snap you out [being in your head].”
Find out more about Grepa Studios here
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