Year 4 pupils from Murdishaw West Community Primary School in Runcorn worked with visual artist Caroline Daly to decorate The Murdichords Caring Owl, known affectionally by the children as Morris.
Morris can be seen hugging a happy bunch of characters including a singing sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine; a jolly ice-cream; and a nightingale, the national bird of Ukraine.
Artist Caroline explains: “We explored the themes of coming together, being united through music and things that have a positive effect on our wellbeing.
“The design features a lot of symbolism. The butterfly symbolises positive change and a love of nature. The acorn symbolises strength and persistence as well nature’s positive effect on mental health and wellbeing. The sunshine represents warmth, happiness and well-being. There is even a happy milkshake, representing the school’s ‘Milkshake Mondays with the Headteacher’, which selected children attend for demonstrating the school values.
“There are also lots of hearts and flowers to spread love to the Ukrainian community and to send out positive vibes throughout Liverpool and Europe.”
“The children were absolutely fantastic to work with – I wish they could help me with all of my projects.”
Julie Phillips. Art and Design Lead and Deputy Headteacher at Murdishaw West Community Primary School, added: “What an honour it was for our school to be selected to take part in this engaging and inspiring project. The children thoroughly enjoyed working with our artist, Caroline Daly, and to now see their work on display in such a public place; what a very special experience! A real opportunity to appreciate and evaluate their own work of art! As a school, we know what a vital role the arts and culture have in our curriculum, so enriching opportunities like these play a pivotal role.”
