A Story Telling Tree in Primary school

Massive Stump Project – Huntingtower School, Glen Waverley
This project was created in collaboration with the Huntingtower School community. Together, we imagined a whimsical world filled with giants, trolls, dragons and strange creatures – characters designed to inspire the children’s imagination and storytelling. We wanted each student to find a figure they could connect with, so the carvings express a range of emotions and personalities. The English teacher plans to use the sculpture as a tool to encourage creative writing and storytelling. Over several months, I transformed a massive clump of stumps – around four meters high and seven to eight meters wide – into this magical landscape. It was a joy to see the students rush outside each day to discover the latest creature that had emerged from the wood.

From Rob Kitchingman, HutningtonTower:

Our school had to remove several giant Cypress Pines that had come to their end of life and had become unsafe.  The trees were an iconic part of the school’s history. Much of the timber and several large stumps were retained to hopefully create some stump art so that they could live on and be admired for decades to come. Shlomit was recommended to us and immediately we felt there was a connection with the project and the values of the school.  We engaged Shlomit more as an ‘artist in residence’ to produce creative ideas for the stump art in collaboration with the junior students and our Art teacher. It was clear that Shlomit ‘got’ the vibe of the school and what we wanted to achieve. The students then watched in amazement as her and their ideas came to life in the huge four metre high stump.  It became a ‘storytelling’ tree and will act as inspiration for the students for years to come. Shlomit engaged with the inquisitive students graciously and they even interviewed her for their school magazine. She enjoyed becoming part of their school for the project. Shlomit attended when the weather permitted and what she accomplished each day was remarkable.  Staff would attend to view her visions as they emerged from the stump and couldn’t wait for more to be revealed. She really is an artist and her knowledge and skill is there for all to see.  She appreciated the budget we had available and worked within that, looking for ways to ensure we didn’t go over.  A high level of trust quickly developed between the school and Shlomit and the incredible result reflects that. The work will be an inspiration for us for decades to come.  Thank you Shlomit from all of us at Huntingtower School.