Artist leaves his mark on school values

by Bonnie Collings
A budding young artist has left his mark on St Ita's Primary School, encapsulating the school values in his hand painted murals.
Before graduating at the end of last year, grade six student Lachlan Trowbridge took on the task of designing and painting a series of murals representing the schoolwide values of compassion, inclusiveness, resilience, teamwork and respect.
After seeing his talent develop through the after school art program, St Ita's art teacher Robyn Leary approached Lachlan with the idea of the murals.
"When Mrs Leary came up to me and asked if I wanted to design the murals, I was so happy," Lachlan said.
Lachlan said the school values helped shape the way students behave and interact with each other.
"The kids at the school, we really put a lot of effort into showing our values which is really nice to see," he said. "They keep everything together and make sure that everyone is doing their part, making sure that everyone feels included and respected."
Working with his mum, a fellow artist, Lachlan came up with a series of designs to represent each value.
"The design process, I managed to get it done in around a night and a half," he said. "My mum and I sat together, brainstorming and planning ideas, it was a lot of fun figuring it out."
Drawing, painting and designing since he was eight-years-old, for Lachlan, creating artwork is a calming process he can throw himself into.
"It gives me a lot of zen time," Lachlan said. "I like to sit down and relax, it's very easy to get lost in your work and forget about dinner."
The next step in Lachlan's creative process was preparing the space where his murals would eventually come to life. While painting the bases, Lachlan said his peers took a lot of interest in what he was doing.
"To paint the base all white we had to put down two layers of gesso primer first and then a layer of white paint, which probably took three or four days," he said. "I had a lot of kids coming up to me with questions when I was painting. A lot of kids wanted to help and share their ideas."
Finishing the project with lots of bright colours, Lachlan's murals brought smiles to the St Ita's school community.
Art teacher Mrs Leary said Lachlan showcases the abilities of someone much older than a grade six student.
"I have never in my 18 years of teaching art, seen his capabilities at such a young age," Mrs Leary said. "We are very proud to have had the opportunity to have such a bright, creative student at our school and we wish him all the best for his future adventures. We cannot wait to see what his future holds."