Welcome to the Art Room of
Clifton Hill Primary School in Melbourne Australia
Art Teacher: Gina Grant
Lesson: Harmony totems (with Artist in residence)
Medium: Wood
Grade Level: 5 - 6
From Gina: My grade five and six students designed totems based on the theme of harmony. These were carved out of cypress logs by a chainsaw sculptor and then the children decorated them. We had them placed in the gardens of the Organ factory (the town hall organ - quite famous around here - was built here over 130 years ago), which houses the art room and grade six rooms. I organized the younger grades to perform around the school on the night of the installation. The preps and grades 1 performed dances from around the world, the grades 2 and 3 performed songs, and the grade 4 students built their own instruments and created a soundscape which they performed to a poem they had written about the environment. I decorated the front garden of the school with 'Wish for the Future' flags created by the preps to grades 3 - based on the Tibetan Prayer Flags and the grade six students wove colourful material through the wire fence of the Organ Factory. Some of the grade six students (who will be graduating shortly) read out pieces on their interpretation of harmony and three created the front design of our program. I placed all their designs of the totems, created on large rolls of paper, in our art room along with their storyboards about how it all was created.
