West Belconnen Child and Family Centre
"Yarning Pit Mosaic" Project 2014
Late last year I was invited to come in and work with the "Strong Women's Group" and "Koori Kids", to create a mosaic for the Yarning Pit, in the Indigenous Garden, at the centre.
The theme for our designs was the Bogong Moth and it's connection to local indigenous people.
Then we prepared our materials. I estimated we smashed and cut nearly 1,000 tiles for the project.
It was a big project, and we couldn't all first into the yarning pit at once to lay tiles, so we used a netting base so each family could work on their own designs.
I invited my good friend, ceramic artist Linda Davy along and work with the group to make additional clay tips and icons for the perimeter of the Yarning Pit.
Meanwhile the staff and sponsors got to work on the centrepiece, designed by Shaun Caddy; a parent and friend of the group. It was made with hundreds of different sized stones. The centre piece is where the fire brazier will be placed when the yarning pit is used for sharing stories and songs.
We worked on the project during weekly gatherings, for about 5 months and finally all the pieces were ready.
Now just to put all the bits together in the ground!!
Day 1....
Day 4...
About 3 weeks later!!
We had a lot of fun on this project, and made a lot of new friends. The Yarning Pit was opened during Reconcilliation Week and is used regularly to bring together people to talk, sing and tell stories around the fire.
West Belconnen Child and Family Centre
