Lawson Community Preschool decorated with special artwork from Jayde Field

Artist and business owner Jayde Field recently worked with the children of Lawson Community Preschool, in the New South Wales Blue Mountains, to create an artwork which conveyed the journey of the children through their childhood. 

Ms Field, a Gamilaraay woman living and working on Dharug Land, visited the school weekly over the course of Term 4 last year to help students create the work, and in discussing both herself, and the work she created, she said “Ngay waabigu dhawun nhama cabun gunnigal”, which translates to “I come from my grandmother’s country before my name”.

“[The art is a] representation of the many different learning places and relationships a child will encounter during younger years,” she shared with the Blue Mountains Gazette.

“It is symbolic of community responsibilities to nurture and look after our children, it takes a village to raise them,” she said. 

“It also depicts and maps the environment in which our children are growing and learning in, from their very own perspective.”

Ms Field worked with the children to identify symbols in their local environment, including the animals which are present in their outdoor environment such as bees, blue tongue lizards, and yellow tailed black cockatoos. 

The artwork also features wombats, to represent the involvement of the preschool with a local wombat conservation group, along with non-animal symbols such as water, people, campsites and a meeting place.

Ms Field’s presence in the learning community was part of the preschool’s commitment to embed First Nations Perspectives into the daily program.

The painting is now proudly hanging in the preschool’s indoor space for children, families and educators to refer to in play and learning.

The First Nations Artist in Residence Program was made possible through community grant funding provided by Blue Mountains City Council.

Access the original coverage of the story here.