Mural artist Samantha Wortelhock has been camped in the hallway outside the K-2 classrooms of The Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School (TSHPMPS) all week creating a 32 metre long artwork that extends to the ceiling.
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It’s all about encouraging the students to engage with the natural world, with inspiration now just outside the classroom door featuring familiar trees and birds.
“Hopefully then they will want to go out and interact with real nature,” Ms Wortelhock said.
In addition to prepping the wall for Ms Wortelhock’s arrival, staff and students also had input to the content of the mural, choosing a liquid amber as the tree shown progressing through the seasons, and local birds that can be found in local backyards.
Ms Wortelhock also incorporated the Great Dividing Range, and there are depictions of students enjoying the landscape.
“Murals deconstruct the institution,” she said.
“They bring joy and whimsy and humour, and the students love it.”
Each mural she creates also has references to aboriginal culture.
She said schools she has worked at in the past have noticed a dramatic change in student behaviour, one client saying that the whole culture of the school had changed.
She’s off to South Tweed next, but TSHPMPS principal Anna Starcevic said the artist will be back in the future, to undertake more work to make the school warm and inviting.
“It has been lovely for us all to watch the mural grow.”