4 minute read
The Value of Felicity
Words by Felicity Knobel
What began as a discussion with some very talented art teachers, asking what does the value of Felicity look like? Ended with the creation of an artwork that is 4.5m long, contains 72 separate canvases, painted by over 300 students, from two year levels, who reconstructed all 72 canvases to the large artwork in front of the school community.
Above: Placing the tiles to create the mural at Opening School Mass
Our initial goal was to create an artwork that encapsulated the value of Felicity, what eventuated was a delightful journey with our school community that became so much more than just a fabulous piece of art.
Our original discussion of the artwork centred around what Felicity would look like for us. We knew that bright colours and bold images would be a focus, with reference to a street art vibe. Subtlety was not something that we wanted to explore, as we did not want to leave anyone in doubt that this piece was happiness and joy. The artwork needed to speak to our community and to bring to them the value of Felicity. With inspiration from Mary Ward, who we have no doubt in her life’s work thought big and broadly, we decided that we would not be hindered by logistics, we wanted to see where the creative process took us. The creative team of Esta Bourke-Finn, Rachel Myers, Janine Ronaldson and Alessandra Bourke-Finn outdid themselves and the final piece is truly something to behold.
In our artwork you will see the recognisable feet of Mary Ward making her way through the mural. As people of Loreto we walk in the footsteps of Mary Ward and we wanted her presence to be felt throughout this painting. The journey begins with the Myrniong Daisy which is the traditional flower of the Wadawurrung people. We are acknowledging that our College is very proudly on Wadawurrung Country and that we are continuing to work in partnership with our first people to build respectful partnerships in our journey as people of Loreto. Alongside our acknowledgement of Country, we wanted our Catholic faith to be at the forefront. In doing so we have referenced our iconic chapel with the familiar outline of our windows and the building itself and the fleur-de-lis art that is present throughout our chapel. Through these inclusions we are showing that we are truly walking in the footsteps of Mary Ward on Wadawurrung Country. Our footsteps are also the footsteps of Jesus and his teachings that are found in our Gospels that are central to our Catholic faith.
Our Felicity is about exuberance and this shines through with our six individuals with their arms in the air in celebration. We are a school community that loves to bring joy and happiness to our learning and our lives at Loreto College. We also see our crest symbols in prominent areas of the painting and the graduation ring and crown that are so important to our past and present students. Our journey of Mary Ward’s feet takes us through all these elements alongside the bold colour choice and distinct shapes used throughout the painting. These components all worked synonymously to enable our understanding of our value to take shape and evolve.
The process of the painting and the thrill of watching it come to fruition was in itself something wonderful. However, what we took for granted initially was the fact that through this process we were living the very essence of Felicity. Anne Muirhead, Director of Mission in Loreto Ministries in her writings, shared that Mary Ward in her life fostered new ways of living, encouraging others and fostering deep friendships. The gathering of our Year 7 and 12 students together to complete this artwork, we witnessed these elements of Mary Ward come to life. The Year 7 students had an opportunity to be with Year 12 students and were welcomed fully as people of Loreto. There was laughter, joy and conversation and the beginnings of their friendships. The value of Felicity is the least written about by Mary Ward, as this was the one that she simply had “to get on with and do.” Our students in creating the artwork certainly showed this to be true.
Above: Year 12 & Year 7 students painting the mural tiles
The art piece and the development of this art, truly is a statement of our Felicity and our focus for this year. Anne Muirhead’s words seem so fitting as we celebrate this year of Felicity. Felicity is nourished by fun and celebration; beauty and creativity; sensitivity to the natural environment and opportunities for self-expression and reflection. We are called as people of Loreto to bring this to our world.
