Understanding the elements of a totem is an important step in creating a community totem pole installation. Each element needs to represent both the individual and the communal group. To get in touch with our inner spirit, we researched the emotional and personality meanings behind animals typically used as totems. We then drew ourselves as those animals. This then lead to us making choices about how to decorate our clay totems so they too visually represented ourselves but in a more graphical way. The clay parts are on their way to the kiln tonight for firing so we can create the final poles on Friday.
