Taita Central School asked me to work with their students to design a mural that expresses who they are as a school and welcomes the community in. The school is nestled in the Hutt Valley near te awa kairangi. The school has gone through some exciting changes with their land guardianship over the past five years with the governance of the land now lying with several local iwi. This has bought a wonderful opportunity for more knowledge, learning and growth. The school is in the process of creating a harekeke garden where they hope to provide opportunities in harvesting and weaving flax. The weaving of this knowledge is a lovely metaphor for the schools access to their community for inspiration and guidance. With a large pacifica and maori role the students have chosen some cultural patterns that fit with their identity. The traditions and stories about the local area are alive with taniwha Awarua, Ngake and Whataitai and native birds particularly the Kārearea. The students have shared with me their strong value of friendship within the school which they are really proud of.

The taniwha in the final mural is based on a students drawing below. I had never seen a child so proud of himself. At the unveiling he stood in front of the mural while his family took a photo and he was absolutely beaming. I feel so very privileged to be able to share this wonderful journey with so many talented wee artists. Did I mention how much I love this job!!!

I was invited back to Upper Hutt School to create another mural to sit beside the one I completed last year. This mural was created with a different group of students who were year 5 and 6. The brief I was given was the theme of ancestry / whakapapa - human connection & relationships - tying in with the schools whakatauki for the year: 

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! “What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.””

The students and I did some drawings and brainstorming around things that make our whakapapa unique and that we are proud of. We came up with the idea of getting some drawings from all the students in the school and using them in the mural. We received around 350 wonderful drawings of food, places, sports and most importantly people. This showed me how proud they all are of their whanau and who they are.

The mural group and I then explored the whakatauki - what does it mean? How can we illustrate it? What are some of the words we can think of around this: Trust, bond, friendship, support, love PRIDE

This pride sets us up to confidently go out into the world and chase our dreams. Our whakapapa support us and guide us through the journey of life, like a big net of hands there to help when needed. Lifting us up and catching us when we fall.

We used a maori poutama pattern in the background which symbolises growith and learning. Layered ontop of this pattern are the students drawings we collected. This took so long to paint but was worth every hour as all the children at the school proudly locate and share their drawing with their families and friends. At the bottom of the hands we weaved some patterns to share the wide array of cultures in the school community. You will see Chinese, Filipino, Samoan, New Zealand, South African, Maori, Pacifica, UK, Indian and Sri Lankan. The response to this mural was so touching and really helped me feel proud of this work and how important it is.

A huge thank you to Upper Hutt School for having me back to share this wonderful journey with you.

“I just wanted to share....

as the bell rang today, I felt a little tap on my back. A very shy student said to me
” I nearly cried today because I heard Filipino, and I never thought a school in NZ would mention me”

How gorgeous is that!
”

— Stepth Campbell - Principal, Upper Hutt School

Throughout term 2, 2025 a group of students and I have been on an incredible journey exploring the idea of their school whanau groups. St Claudine’s Thevenet School in Wainuiomata is surrounded by Rata, Rimu, Hinau and Totara trees. They populate the area in the expansive native bush of the valley. The streets near the school are also named after these important trees which expresses how proud they all are of them. When we dug a little deeper we found that the ages of children in each whanau group were named after each tree for a reason. The rata tree attaches itself to larger trees to help it climb into the light high above the bush. It eventually takes the place of the tree it climbed. Like the younger children at the school learning and being supported by the older students ‘Tuakana-teina.’ Eventually taking their place as the leaders of the school. The Rimu and Hinau trees both play important roles in the local ecosystem but are not the largest trees. The Totara is known for its large size, resilience and longevity and is often used as the symbol of strength and leadership.

We found this lovely Whakatauki that compliments this idea of leadership within the school. 

🌱E kore te tōtara e tū noa i te pārae engari me tū i roto i te wao-nui-a-Tāne

🌱The tōtara tree does not stand alone in a field but in the great forest of Tane

We also looked at a Samoan proverb Le ala i le pule o le Tautua ‘The Pathway to Leadership is Service’ which felt like a nice way to look at the journey through the whanau groups and links to the schools values.

St Claudine’s school is rich with pacifica, maori, asian and pakeha students. We looked at some great art and motifs from these cultures as well as some New Zealand artists and muralists. The students created some of their own patterns and designs which are featured in the detailing on the mural. The patterns they chose were special to them and their heritage which are samoan, filipino and maori. The shapes and motifs they used represent strength, protection, resilience, family, power, guidance through difficult times, unity, union and faith.

Throughout this mural concept development journey the students created a large amount of drawings of trees, people and cultural patterns. They then put these three elements into their own compositions and mural designs. These drawings are what I have based the final concept on however I have played with scale, layout and composition to create the desired impact and communicate our ideas clearly. The mural features 4 students from the school, one from each whanau group chosen by the mural students. The mural students then painted majority of the artwork themselves and I completed the black outlines and finer details. This was such a wonderful project, I am always blown away with what each group of students comes up with.

Birds playing Settlers of Catan painting

This painting was a commission for two friends of mine. They came to me with the idea of a tui and a little blue penguin playing Settlers of Catan. They like to play boardgames together and I just loved the challenge of creating this fun, cosy scene in my style. I haven’t done a commission for a personal client before but this was such a lovely experience and I can see how rewarding it was for both them and me the artist. I was able to buy a framed wooden round from a local framing company ‘Wallace Studio Designs’ which was so easy to use and looks fantastic. I uses a mixture of Resene Paints and Posca paint pens with a clear satin varnish to finish and protect it.

“It was really fun working with Amy and the other kids”

— Rian - Upper Hutt School Year 6 Student

Upper Hutt School reached out to me to create a mural with a small group of their senior students. They didn’t have a too much of idea around the theme of the piece other than it being about their school. The students and I created a set of worksheets which we got each child at the school to complete. We then had around 400 drawings, notes and ideas around what makes their school special. We collated these ideas and narrowed them down into these themes.

The schools culture is one that values friendship, supporting one another, aroha and safety. Each child knows what is expected of them and how to treat one another because of the PRIDE CAR values. Whether they are riding bikes around the bike track, playing snap or working their way across the monkey bars everyone loves being at school. They welcome people “into their family” through waiata led by the kapa haka group as part of the regular powhiri celebrations. They are surrounded by large oak trees which have been around a long time watching the tamariki grow and move through the school. The tamariki are connected to the history of the land and our country through the maori legends and gods.

“I really enjoyed painting the mural. Working with Amy was amazing and super great!”

— Aisha - Upper Hutt School Year 6 student

Upon presenting three concepts to the school management they liked them so much they decided they wanted two panels instead of one. We developed two of the concepts through to the final artwork and painted them onto plywood panels. The murals were then finished with a Resene graffiti shield product to protect them. This was such a wonderful project and the finished artwork really fits nicely into the schools strong culture.

Amy Burrell - Artist, Steph Campbell - Upper Hutt School Principal

“Amy is the best art teacher”

— Elijah - Upper Hutt School Year 6 Student

In term 4, 2024 I was asked to create a special piece of artwork featuring the ‘Fruits of the Holy Spirits’ for St Brendan’s School in Upper Hutt. I worked with a group of year 4-6 students over the course of six weeks. The students and I researched what a dove looks like and how to draw one. The finished artwork was based on one of the students drawings and another students typography design and layout. To get the dove as big as we desired we had to use two pieces of plywood and join them together. We painted the design onto the boards using Resene paints and covered with a graffiti shield to protect it. The colours were chosen around the schools branding and house colours. This was a fantastic project and I am so proud of how amazing it turned out!

In term 4 of 2024 I had the pleasure of helping two clever young men paint a ‘pataka kai’ they built from scratch to donate to their church. This was a special project with St Brendan’s School in Upper Hutt and the finished piece is now being used by their community to share food.

We used stencils to get the shapes the same size. We used just three colours and completed the painting in just a few sessions.

Through the first term and a bit of 2024 I have had the pleasure of working with Boulcott School on a large mural project with the students. This project was incredibly unique in that we were investigating and featuring an important historical event in the New Zealand land wars ‘The Boulcott Farm Massacre.’ As you can imagine this is a tricky piece of artwork that involves being incredibly diligent with historical sources of information, sensitivity to all parties involved and helping the students create their own feelings and ideas about what accrued.

The leader of this project was Brigit Scahill (teacher at Boulcott School). She based the project around the following whakataukī.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. 

I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past. 

This whakataukī speaks to the past, present, and future being woven together. 

We spent weeks researching the history of the Boulcott area. The students talked to their families about their own family history and what bought them to Boulcott whether it be recent or generations ago. We had a local expert of ‘The Boulcott Farm War’ Tui Lewis visit and share her knowledge. Tui is the Hutt City deputy mayor and is of Ngāi Tai​ and Ngāti Manu descent, she is currently working on a project to address the accuracy of the war event memorial and acknowledge Māori.

We created a visual timeline of every major event from the prehistoric age to now and narrowed it down to the meaningful parts to the students. This timeline included the students families arrival to the area and stories. We identified a common theme in people coming to New Zealand to live in that they were all searching for a better life for their families.

We then had the tricky job of figuring out what this history means to us today and how it has shaped Boulcott School culture. We managed to tie the schools ‘CHEER’ values to the events.

This is what we came up with.

Today at Boulcott School…

We aspire to be Confident because on the 16th May in 1846 200 Maori bravely marched through the night to Boulcott farm in an attempt to resolve the injustices of land agreements. They had confidence in their rights to the land they are connected to, their home.

We value Honesty because through our ancestors' suffering and conflict during the New Zealand land wars we have learnt to value communication and courageous conversations.

We strive for Excellence because 23 Chinese families who had immigrated to New Zealand for the Gold Rush were resourceful when they didn't strike gold and turned the Hutt Valley into the largest Chinese market gardens in the country to feed our growing population.

We look forward with Enthusiasm because in 1944 the Lower Hutt hospital opened and started caring for the growing communities health needs. The hospital has also provided jobs for many New Zealanders and immigrants.

We have the utmost Respect for our river Te Awa Kairangi which has been the source of water, food and transportation for many generations. We care for it to ensure a fertile future of this land.

In the finished mural you will see a night scene of two figures faces, one representing the Maori the other a British soldier. Under the moonlight they look each other in the eye with sadness and empathy. Behind them a large Totara tree which still stands in the school grounds. Running around them is the Te Awa Kairangi with our two Wellington taniwha Ngake and Whātaitai which were designed by a student. A Chinese market gardener and a signing featuring the whakataukī sit on the left. A historic hospital scene with an airplane out the window sits on the right.

The mural was painted predominantly by the students. Like a large colouring sheet they carefully fulled each section with paint. I then touched up and outlined everything to finish the mural.

This was such a wonderful process and project to be part of. One that I have to pinch myself as I can;’t believe I get to do this as my job!

““AMY LISTENED CLOSELY TO OUR BRIEF AND WAS THOROUGHLY PREPARED AND RESEARCHED. THE MURAL IS ONE WHICH REFLECTS OUR DIVERSE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WHILE ALSO RECOGNISING OUR LOCAL HISTORY. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND AMY TO WORK ON ANY MURAL PROJECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF HER WORK AT BOULCOTT SCHOOL.”

”

— Brigit Scahill, Boulcott School

As you know I love to draw and paint fun, bright, loveable characters many based on our native birds here in New Zealand. Each year St Joseph’s School in Upper Hutt welcomes groups of international students into the school to join their classes and experience school life here. I was asked to run an art class with two groups from China. These students knew very little if any English so art was the perfect activity to connect with them. These sessions were two hours long.

I drew some of my characters step by step on the whiteboard and the students followed along. they then created some of their own. Their ideas were amazing, a kiwi jumping on a trampoline, fast food worker penguins and a tuatara who had worked out too much at the gym. What I was blown away with it how they were able to draw along with me so confidently, some of their drawings looked better than mine!

They then drew their favourite design onto a wooden shape and coloured it with Posca paint pens. This was a nice small size they could take home with them easily. A few of the younger students wrote to mum and dad on the back as they were missing home.

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Having just had a new playground installed and a large blank wall facing it the principal of St Brendan’s School reached out to me with her ideas. She was an after a piece of line art that told a story about the school and their values and feature the students having fun. This artwork is now a special visual they can use of school collateral and communications going forward.

I visited each class in the school and they shared with me what is special about their school, their favourite things to do at school and their values and beliefs. I used their ideas to create the artwork.

I painted the artwork onto the wall with a white primer coat followed by the colour and a graffiti shied to finish. This was a large wall and took some time but I am so happy with the end result.

School Mural St Brendan’s, Upper Hutt - Principal Veronica Sawers, Artist Amy Burrell

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