Isaac's artwork explanation

"My guernsey design is revolved around my Nana Faith and the ways she influenced and guided me and taught me as I was growing up. She was special to so many people and an Elder. She used to tell me scary stories while we were sitting around the fire. It made me feel scared to do certain things like walk by myself at night and stay out too late and this was a way of her keeping me safe and guiding me. I remember all those stories today and it is her watching over me. My artwork shows a red brown design near the centre, that’s the people meeting in the middle by that fire. Nana Faith also told us the ways she used to live and told us to always be grateful for the things we have today but I didn’t really realise what she meant until I got older.

One main thing I remember is she was 1 of 7 kids and that’s why I put 7 stars in my design. I also put the river in all different shades of blue because of the way the river has changed and my Nan told me how clear it used to be. The shading shows the river going from a clear blue to darker and dirty. Nan was always by the river when she was younger then she grew up, and wasn’t really as much as she liked, but she told me she remembers when it went from clear to all black and they still went there with her pop and would collect mussels. I used a fire in my design because Nan always shared the most knowledge around the fire. I think having Elders around is important because they are a good resource for information but also can support guide and share their knowledge."

Danielle Weeks
Assistant Principal
Director of Inclusion