It Takes A Village

Creative Matters recently took on the challenge of creating a large mural for Kumeu Arts in Huapai, a suburb in the Northwest of Auckland, New Zealand - a few more details to add and we'll be done!

The Kumeu Arts project was slightly unique in that I wanted to create a collaborative work that other local artists could easily contribute to. I had to make the theme and style accessible and not too intimidating (for me as well haha!!) to allow people to contribute in their own way and at the same time ensure the work remained cohesive. I love that you can enjoy the different styles each person has brought to the work.

Izzy Harris, a local teen who has worked with CM on a number of projects, was our number 1 amazing artist and we had a wonderful group of 10 artists and interested friends join us. It meant a lot that people came to us and offered their 'services' when they could and that they felt welcome and comfortable to join in.

The mural was drawn up with chalk to start with and then the background paint colour was painted on the lines so we didn't lose the outlines in the winter rain. People added drawings of their own along the way and added colour or details.

The theme of 'abstract garden' made sense for a collaborative work and connected the building to the public park below. We used a limited colour palette of 6 colours and white, taken from the new Kumeu Arts logo, with a chocolate brown background (Bokana Grey - Resene) to connect to the new Pod building to the right of the centre.

Large simple shapes that represented plants and had an abstract feel were added, then details were painted on top in some areas. The odd realistic ladybug, bird, vine or dragonfly appeared, which complemented the abstract shapes beautifully.

Creative Matters has now completed 5 mural projects in the North West of Auckland and we are keen for more! Our ultimate goal is to develop a public art trail in this area and we're very interested in working with councils, local boards, schools or businesses to make this happen.