Swannanoa School / 2017

 

In March 2017 I was invited to Swannanoa School to help create five symbolic sculptures for the entrance to the school. Each has a special meaning that ties into the values of the school. The five Taonga are as follows; Pikorua - Community, Toki - Integrity, Roimata - Respect, Koru - Kindness,    .Porowhita - Success.  

Although we were working on five sculptures instead of one large one, the process is still the same as the other schools that have worked with. In short, the process starts with the senior students doing the sawing and chiselling and then as the sculpture develops, we move through to the young ones who sand the five Taonga to a fine finish.

We were lucky to be set up under a large veranda, as we managed to work in most weather conditions, and the job ran to a fair schedule.

It was great to see the children put in so much effort, and take real pride in the project. Now that the five Taonga are installed (as seen by the video below), they have significantly impacted the school's image. New artworks have been created from the five taonga and are now used for letterheads and other material to promote the school's vision.