|
|
|
Southwick's Friendship
Garden
Large mural - exterior masonry paint on
brick
size 7m x 3.5m
The
staff of Southwick
Primary school asked me to design and create a
mural for their school playground to help promote the idea of 'games
and
friendship' between children and for the pupils to take part in
its creation.
|
|
Normally I work on my own designs and paint alone. It was a
challenge working with a group of young children.
We discussed in class what games they played and, what they would
like to see in their 'Painted
Garden'. I asked them to draw out their
ideas, as many as they wanted but, to pick their favourites. I took
the drawings away and composed a mural using elements from each
child's drawing so no one was left out. Then, in the early hours
of one November morning (in the dark !) I returned to school and
projected their images onto the wall tracing the design but their
images. By doing this I could control the scale and position of each
image but still make them easily recognizable as the children's
work,
making them a crucial part of its creation and giving them
ownership in the piece. To them, all I did was... 'colour it
in'. One said, "You're good at colouring, aren't you
Chris". Maybe I am.
|
|
