Original concept & design line drawing by Jessie Spring.
In October of 2021, I participated in an Artist in Residency Program through the Meridian Regional Arts Inc DLGSC Lotterywest Creative Communities Covid-19 Recovery ‘Let Us Show You’ project. My brief was, to design and produce an external wall mural to be displayed within the assembly area of Saint Mary’s Catholic Primary School, in the Western Australian Wheatbelt town of Merredin.
I worked in conjunction with fellow members of Meridian Regional Arts Inc, Artist in Residence, Chloe Flockhart, and the Saint Mary’s School Community.
The mural design concept and colours were designed based on what the students of the school had discussed and envisioned during a sculpture, and painting workshop conducted by fellow Artist in Residence, Chloe Flockart.
Primarily the concept was to reflect upon the school motto, ‘To Do Ordinary Things Extraordinarily Well’. The students wished for bright colours including, yellow, purple, green, orange, and blue. They envisioned a bird, native to the Wheatbelt region, and themselves, the children captured doing everyday ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Concept & design the old school way.
With the student’s concepts and colours in mind, I designed a colour visual proposal for the mural. I decided on the iconic native bird to the wheatbelt region, the ‘female’ Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo. The student’s chosen colours of, purple, blue, and yellow were displayed within the bird, including the striking orange barred tail feathers of the female species.
My goal was to unlock the viewers imagination through an illustrative design telling a story much like a page from a children’s picture story book. The children who represent the students of the school were the point of interest in the design, sitting upon the back of this magnificent bird, flying through the sky, and soaring across the land extraordinarily well.
The ‘children’ demonstrate friendship and equality, and are happy doing ordinary things extraordinarily well, such as reading a book, and flying a kite. The ‘rainbow’ creates a positive feeling of hope and new beginnings. The ‘wheat’ represents Merredin as a Wheatbelt farming community and the ‘church’ nestled upon the horizon represents the beliefs, and values of the school community.
By enabling the opportunity for the students of the school to engage and be part of the concept for the mural design, gave them a sense of participation, and achievement. With my guidance, the children and members of the school community further engaged by painting some of the colour work of the mural during their annual October school fete. It was a wonderful fun-filled experience for everyone involved in the creative process of painting a mural.
The completed mural which now takes pride within the school assembly area.