In November the children of Gowrie Outside School Hours Care unveiled a ‘totem’ created for Erskineville Public School through the artist in residence program.
The artist in residence program was an opportunity for the children who attend Gowrie NSW's Outside School Hours Care to design and create individual artworks with guidance from visual artist Philippa Playford. The individual artworks were arranged together to form a grouping of totems.
Coordinator of Outside School Hours Care, Gayle Dodd said the idea for the project came from the children.
‘The interest in totems stemmed from a group investigation into how Indigenous Australians and other cultures use totems as part of their spiritual identity.’ Ms Dodd said. ‘While participating in the project, the children considered signs and symbols of their culture, personal identity and community experiences to reflect in their individual pieces.’
The artist in residence project enabled children to explore the various techniques used in clay work including hand forming, carving & building.
The result, a colourful, connected, dynamic ceramic art piece will stand in the grounds of Erskineville Public School as a symbol of community, connection and collaborative relationships with children.