Working brief:

The spirit of Tangaroa

The movement of water

Structure of Project

1. Discussion around the project brief with school community.

2. Brainstorming and input into design concepts from students and school community.

3. Initial design proposal, feedback and confirmation.

4. Painting on site (possibly in stages).

5. Presentation/blessing of mural.

Design

My initial design thoughts are to use stylised water forms and patterns combined with Mahi Toi Māori forms to represent Tangaroa and the prescence of the ocean. 

My goal with designing a mural is to create a public artwork with a degree of complexity, abstraction and potential narrative that, as a result, invites interaction and interpretation from different viewers in a range of ways. I think a mural should be able to act as a discussion point (rather than just decoration) within the school community for years to come.

Student input:

It is great to get some thoughts from the school community which will inform the design. 

It would be great to have students brainstorm and discuss questions such as the following. Answers are helpful when given in a range of ways, as drawings, words or stories.

• What is Tangaroa like?

• How does water move?

• What shapes does water make? 

• How big is water? How small? 

• Why is water important?

• How does the ocean make you feel?

Site

We have discussed painting some (or all of the) mural on the ground. The surface needs to be in good condition for this to work. I have a Resene expert who has helped me with a paint system for painting on a concrete ground which includes diluting the paint and applying two coats. Due to wear and tear and it being a high foot traffic space, it is possible that the mural may need touching up over time.  

Weather 

We need a stretch of fine weather for the painting on the ground part - recommend summer not spring! We could also paint a stage of the project onto plywood panels which are paintable in any weather (inside!) and would be screwed onto the exterior of the building (this is how we did the Karoro School ‘Poutini & Waitaki’ mural). Depending on the surface of the building we may be able to paint directly onto it (in fine weather). This would likely require a base coat to be painted first which I have outsourced in the past (eg. to school grounds-people) but am happy to do myself.

Budget

For mural commissions I have an hourly rate of $50/hr. It is difficult to estimate the total time a project may take but if but as an example, this project at the Waiau Playcentre came to $2500 (plus paint). Designing the mural stages can be a way to manage hours and budget as required.

I can do the whole mural as a commission or I can break it into a couple of stages, with one/some painted with help from students. I would recommend any mural on the ground is painted by me as it is more technical and also much harder to fix/change anything after it has been painted on the ground! As I am a qualified teacher, the school may be able to use relief hours to employ me for student-involved parts of the project though it is best to have a max of approx 10 students at a time for this, rather than a whole class.

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Thanks for the opportunity to pitch in on this project, I’m excited to work with Paroa School to pull together something fun and interesting that will be part of the visual landscape of the school for years to come.

A mural inspired by the forms within the local native bush and the concept of the interconnectedness of both the plant and school communities.