Mural Masterpieces - Ohoka School

Location:
Ohoka School, Jacksons Road, Kaiapoi.

Team:
All 36 Year 7 and 8 students assisted by parents Sandy Gottermeyer, Cheryl Muirson and class teacher Jocelyn Austen.

Accessible to public:
Yes.

Mural theme:
Ohoka - Past and Present.

Background to mural creation:
The Ohoka mural was created as a focal point for the school celebrating the special features of the district. The mural was a project that the children could plan and create together then present the finished work to the rest of the school.

To develop the mural the children first looked at old photos of the district and books about early New Zealand, flora and fauna and Maori designs. Each student created their own Maori design and the best were chosen to feature around the outside of the mural. Students also sketched native landscapes, plants, birds and animals - once complete these were used to decide which flora and fauna to include in the mural. The design was broken into sixteen sections, one section allocated to each group of students to practice the details then paint.

All work was done in the school hall before the final work was transferred to its final home on the side of a classroom. The students used a myriad of variously coloured Resene testpots and then intermixed these to create other new colours to suit the design.

The final mural design shows the:
Majestic Southern Alps under a norwest arch.
Foothills at the base of the Southern Alps.
Sun blazing down on the Canterbury Plains.
Waimakariri River traveling down the mountains to the sea.
Tram Road winding its way past Ohoka.
Flax and swamp areas.
Pukeko, monarch butterfly caterpillar and fantail.
Wilson's Mill, the Ohoka Train and the church from days gone by.
School, with its sign, bell and gate as we see it today.
Together these images show the district, past and present and the place it holds in Canterbury.