When invited to participate in an artist in residence mosaic project at Altona West Primary School, acclaimed ceramic artist Bern Emmerichs saw the opportunity as both a challenge and a change of scenery. Bern is renowned for her ceramic painting, glazing and mosaic talents. Her pieces have been showcased in public exhibitions nationally and internationally. Demand for private commissions span a diversity of media such as tiles, cups, jugs, teapots, plates and platters of all shapes and sizes and even surfboards. Bern’s talents are also commissioned for architectural and sculptural applications. Her style exudes a sense of fun and is characterised by fine line work, lots of colour, the use of words, decals, pictures and on occasions etching technique. Some clients have suggested that pieces take on a ‘Where’s Wally?’ quality in so far as a second glance gives rise to the appearance of something new.

Art teacher and project coordinator Rosemary Etherton said Bern was sought for the project because her imagination-rich, narrative style was felt to be “particularly accessible and appealing for primary aged children.” Rosemary was also keen to secure an artist of the highest calibre. The relatively small school of 220 students drawn from a diversity of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds is situated in Melbourne’s western suburbs. The enthusiastic budding artists are supported by a committed staff and strong parent involvement. Both Bern and Rosemary agreed that the project theme should expand on the school’s keen interest in performing arts through an exploration of costumes. Eight steel-framed large tile panels, 1100mm x 900mm, backed with AC sheeting were chosen as a medium, with the benefit of displaying the final works in an outdoor gallery space. This would serve as a project legacy that could be admired for years to come. Importantly, this format would enable the inclusion of an artistic contribution from every student in each of the eight grades, not to mention staff members. Based on an imaginary performance, each grade was allocated a different theme as the foundation for their drawings. The themes were: fairy tales (prep), circus (Y 1), dress ups (Y 2), superheroes (Y 3/4), medieval (Y 3/4), animal impersonations (Y 4/5), Indonesian and Indian (Y5/6) and Chinese and Japanese (Y 5/6). A particularly creative extension to the project was the creation of self-portraits by the children on small tiles, employing scratching and etching techniques. Collectively these represen-ted an audience watching the performance.

The artistic journey

The project starting point was an engaging and interactive discussion about life as an artist and what was to unfold in both the mental and physical process of the artistic journey. A collection of Bern’s diverse works were set up as stimuli in a classroom which was converted to a dedicated gallery/studio space for the project’s duration. As many of the students had never visited a gallery previously, Rosemary believes this “show and tell session was an extremely important part of the whole process.”
The next essential step was to capture the children’s drawings. Classes were provided with real-life examples of costumes pertinent to their theme both pictorially as well ingeniously sourced fabric versions for visual inspiration. The studio walls were also adorned with posters gathered of various major theatrical performances. “Fabulous, inspirational line drawings with lead pencils followed,” says Bern. Once the difficult task of selecting drawings for the centre of each panel and a layout composed, Bern then enlarged and transferred the images onto the tiles. Rosemary was particularly impressed with the way Bern preserved the integrity of the children’s drawings, obviously valuing their originality and “choosing to work with them rather than against them.” While artistic control was maintained by the artist, the children were included in a hands-on capacity as much as possible. The tiles were kiln fired, cut into shape, and then ground down with student input. Colours were chosen by the children who painted their individual drawings using a series of brush techniques, scratching and rubbing away paint surfaces. After the tiles were fired a second time, they were laid and glued into place within the steel frame. The final stage comprised filling in the mosaic background, grouting and polishing.

Art classes provided an opportunity for the students to expand on the original drawings they’d created with the resident artist. As an example the grade 5/6 students brought their drawings to life by making clay figurines of their characters while the grade 3/4 students made paper mosaics. Application to other subject areas such as story writing and poetry is virtually unlimited. The nature of the project generated inherent extension capabilities for each individual, appropriate to their skill levels. The curriculum also reaped the benefits of new equipment, materials and resources. Children, staff and the community beyond: The project provided children, staff and parents with the unique experience of working with a highly regarded professional artist. The sense of pride and boosted self confidence in the children was visible throughout the project’s progression. Understanding of the big picture and the process involved in getting from start to finish is knowledge that students can now transfer to many endeavours. The ability to work collabo-ratively and as a team, respecting the input of each individual was a feature. Skill acquisition was not isolated to the children and is aptly summed up by Rosemary who says: “it was like having an informal PD every Tuesday and Thursday.” Another bonus was the strengthened support to the visual arts program from the parent community. The school environment too, has been visually enhanced. However, the flow-on benefits have extended far beyond the school gates and the project’s completion date. Parent helpers involved in the project have gone on to manage another mosaic creation with the students for the local community shopping centre. Above image: Year 5/6: Indian & Indonesian

Success factors

Keys to the project’s success were twofold:1. Artist and school community: The selection of an artist whose style of work, life travels and the ability to build a rapport and value each individual’s contribution - complemented, fully embraced and further enhanced the school’s culture.

2. Attitude and project integration: Enthusiasm and commitment towards the project was extended by students, staff, parents and the broader school community. The artistic involve-ment of each student and staff member was integral. The school commitment demonstrated was multi-faceted involving physical space allocation, extension of the themes into other subject areas, resources of time and additional funds to ensure that the benefits of the project were explored to their full potential.

Logistics

The artist resided at the school two days per week for eight weeks. Up to 20 parents provided additional support to the project with the volunteer input of two parents on studio days seen as a vital cog. The many benefits delivered through the mosaic project were achieved within a budget of $5500. This comprised a $4000 Artist in Schools Grant from Arts Victoria and a further contribution of $1500 from the Altona West Primary School. In addition to the artist fee, the budget was allocated to tile firing and the material purchase of steel frames, tiles and glazes.

This project was assisted by ‘Artists in Schools’, a joint Department of Education and Training and Arts Victoria program. More images visible in Issue 44#2