Youngster’s totem poles displayed at bank




 

 


For 10 years, Charter Pacific Bank in Agoura Hills has displayed art from Lindero Canyon Middle School (LCMS). This week, 12 totem poles standing about 12 inches high were placed to show off the sculpting talent of the LCMS kids. It replaced paintings of Alaska from the previous month.


Marilyn Fine, LCMS art teacher, has taught her students that totem poles are wooden posts that stand many feet in the air and are carved from wood by native Americans. The posts are made up of totemic symbols such as animals, plants or objects that serve as symbols of a clan or family. Totem poles can represent myths or legends or tell stories.


LCMS students made their totem poles from clay and molded shapes and forms to represent their family members, pets and ideas such as love. After their clay creations were sculpted, paint was added for color to create a mood or distinct emotion.


"The bank is thrilled when I bring new art in, and upset when I take them out," said Fine. She explained that Charter Pacific Bank customers have given great feedback on the art throughout the years.



It was a tough job for LCMS and Charter Pacific staff to choose only 12 pieces of art to be displayed in the bank. For the 12 chosen, each artist was given a certificate as an award. Third place prize was a savings bond for $50, second place prize a savings bond for $75, and first place prize, going to sixth grader Brittany Pedretti, was a $100 savings bond.


The art is now on display in the Charter Pacific Bank’s lobby and will be for about a month. Each work took about a week to make, according to Peretti, and required great detail. The holes in the back of the totem poles were added to allow the clay to "breathe" while being baked to harden.


––Michael Picarella


CHUCK ROGERS/The AcornTHE ART OF THE TOTEM POLE--Twelve entries of Lindero Canyon Middle School's quarterty art project are currently on display in the lobby of Charter Pacific Bank in Agoura Hills. Art teacher Marilyn Fine has several school officials and the staff at the bank judge the sixth grade students' entries. Winning first place and a $100 savings bond provided by Charter Pacific Bank is Brittany Pedrette. The second place winner, Benevieve Powers-Absey, received a $75 bond and a $50 bond went to Michael Leftwichthe, who was the third place winner.

CHUCK ROGERS/The AcornTHE ART OF THE TOTEM POLE–Twelve entries of Lindero Canyon Middle School’s quarterty art project are currently on display in the lobby of Charter Pacific Bank in Agoura Hills. Art teacher Marilyn Fine has several school officials and the staff at the bank judge the sixth grade students’ entries. Winning first place and a $100 savings bond provided by Charter Pacific Bank is Brittany Pedrette. The second place winner, Benevieve Powers-Absey, received a $75 bond and a $50 bond went to Michael Leftwichthe, who was the third place winner.

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