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In Term 4 2022 the students from Lumsden School studied New Zealand history.

As part of this learning, they investigated their own family history and connections.

Many students were very excited to talk to parents and grandparents and learn about their family history and heritage.

Jamelia came into the principal’s office several times in the morning because she was excited to share the news of what she had learned the previous night.

She has Māori family and European family links.

I asked Jahmelia recently how she felt when she looked at the mural.

“I feel proud of our school because it shows how much we care about our school and our cultures.”

Jahmelia C Year 6 points to some of the cultures her family links to.

Students were involved in researching images, patterns and symbols associated with different cultures.

Students drew up design ideas.

These ideas were used to create two overall mural design concepts by our artist Shannon Douglas.

One design was a weave pattern with different images and patterns woven together.

The other design was a stylised landscape where paddocks showed a variety of images and patterns.

Both concept drawings were presented to the students.

They voted strongly in favour of the paddock design.

All cultures in our current school community are represented in the mural.

Māori culture is shown by a Taniwha in the river, koru along the edge of the river and koru patterns in the sky.

This signifies the importance of our tangata whenua.

Shannon painted the mural over the school holidays.

Thanks to Resene for discounting paints.

Thanks to Southland District Council for supporting this project via Creative Communities NZ Fund.

On Monday 13 February Lumsden School celebrated the mural at our Meet and Greet Family picnic.

A mihi whakatau (traditional welcome) for new families on the evening we unveiled the mural and shared a picnic with families. 



Staff and families enjoyed a relaxed picnic tea



Interview with the Artist Shannon Douglas

What inspired you to become an artist?

Being an artist is such a part of who I am, not creating is like not breathing.

I can't help myself!

What skills and qualities help you to be so successful with Mural painting?

For me, being organised helps a lot- I (or the person who wants the mural) have an idea, I draw a sketch and when I'm happy, I can paint it.

That way we can move ideas around before doing the final version .

If I don't follow a process, I can get very muddled and end up not happy with the final product.

It also helps to be open-minded about trying new things or new ideas- you never know what new trick might make all the difference.

What do you like most about the mural at Lumsden School?

I love that it is so inclusive, but in a cohesive way- even though we have pieces of everyone in the mural, it fits together so well that you can tell we're a pretty awesome school whānau.

What would your advice be for any students who aspire to painting murals when they grow up?

Practice, practice, practice.

I have a lot of people, grown ups and young people, look at my work and feel frustrated that they're "not as good" as me.

But what they don't see is how long it has taken for me to learn and grow, and how many times things haven't worked out how I wanted!

It's okay not to get things right the first time.

Sometimes, it's just a beautiful accident waiting to happen- so be brave and have a go.

*Also, colour theory is awesome.

If you don't know what colour theory is, go look it up!

Shannon Douglas and her family



Lumsden School Proudly Supported by Harvey Tanks