Wings & Roots: The Unity of Spirit in the Arctic
Project: Milwaukee County Zoo Fantastic Forest of Holiday Trees
School: Cooper Elementary Student Council
Continent: Arctic
Educating Artist: Andrea Skyberg
Cooperating Teachers: Dawn Bigalk, Chris McCoy, Jackie Pollman
Funded by: Arts@Large
Inspired by the artwork of the Tlingit, Kwakiutl and Yup’ik tribes in the Pacific Northwest Coast, students created ornaments that incorporated land, air and sea creatures from the Arctic. Throughout these different cultures, animals play a large role in the mythology and the underlying elements in the day-to-day lives of the people. There is a strong notion of unity between human and animal.
The felted animal pockets are modeled after the Inuit finger masks, used by female dancers to help attract the attention of the spirits. Inside the felted ornament is an individual message of hope for the world, written by the student.
The etched tin and bead ornaments were modeled after the Tlingit graphic designs of animals. The feathers, made of paper, tape and beads, were created with a message for the people of the world to model their behavior after a positive aspect from one of the arctic animals. The paper pulp ornaments depict the sea creatures of the arctic, such as the seal, whale and walrus. The tree topper and tree skirt reference a wish for each person to be endued with wings for courage to fly away from the nest and try new things, while at the same time remain grounded with depth and fortitude by their roots.
