What a wonderful week bringing a little FLOX magic to the beautiful seaside village of St Heliers!
This mural has been a long time in the making, so to finally see it come to life last week was incredibly rewarding. And boy oh boy, did the St Heliers community turn out with the love! The conversations, encouragement and positive feedback were a beautiful reminder of why I love creating public art so much.
What makes this piece particularly special is that the artwork was shaped by the community itself. Through a public voting process, locals had their say on the native birds and botanicals they wanted to see celebrated. The result is a magnificent tūī taking centre stage, surrounded by vibrant pōhutukawa and kōwhai blooms. Three iconic elements of our natural environment, brought together through the collective voice of St Heliers.
For me, public art is about so much more than transforming a wall. It’s about creating connection, celebrating place and contributing something meaningful to everyday life. I love the idea that this artwork now belongs to the village, becoming part of its landscape and bringing joy to locals and visitors for years to come.
A special thank you to Tracey from @st.heliers whose passion, persistence and dedication made this project happen. Thank you for championing the vision and seeing it through!
A huge shout-out to Stella @stellahurdley and Sofia @s0fia_read, who generously volunteered their time and energy to help bring the mural to life. Your support was so appreciated!
To Melissa from @turuagallery, thank you for helping create such a lovely connection with the local creative community. And to Crisp @crisp_home my wonderful local FLOX stockist, thank you for being part of this journey and for your ongoing support.
