Kiwi doodle a winner with Google
By CARLY TAWHIAO - Central Leader
GOOGLE DOODLE: Epsom Girls Grammar pupil Emily Fountain with her art teacher Ella Brewer and winning Google design entitled Full-on Kiwi.
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A love of art and experimenting with different mediums and designs has made Emily Fountain a winner.
The Epsom Girls Grammar School student entered the Doodle 4 Google art competition in August after her mum saw it advertised in the Central Leader.
"I looked on their website and was interested because the prizes were not only for the artist but also for their school," she says.
"The theme had to be My New Zealand, so I had the idea of using a mass of Kiwi icons to make up a kiwi bird and putting Google inside the kiwi. This way, Google is one part of lots of different features of New Zealand life."
Thousands of entries were received from more than 600 schools across New Zealand and Emily’s detailed drawing was selected as one of 20 finalists.
There were five finalists in her year 9 to 10 category including Molly Ploeg from Immanuel Christian School in Avondale.
Zachary Helm from Balmoral School was also a finalist in the year 4 to 6 category.
All the finalists were flown to Wellington for the grand final event at Te Papa where original Google doodler Dennis Hwang announced the winners selected through an online public voting poll.
"My school encouraged the students to vote and my family let people know they should go vote too," Emily says. "They had the winning doodles on these huge canvases up the front and they unveiled them one at a time. I couldn’t believe it when mine appeared. I was shocked."
Emily’s prize included a Macbook Pro laptop and an electronic whiteboard for her school.
Te Papa’s contemporary art curator Charlotte Huddleston, Huffer clothing founder Steve Dunstan and television host Erin Simpson selected the finalists on artistic merit, creativity and how well the theme of My New Zealand was communicated.
"It’s been great to get an understanding of what influences the next generation of Kiwis, and it’s certainly something I’ll be taking back to our design room," Mr Dunstan says.
"What came through loud and clear for me in all the doodles is a patriotic pride and love for our clean and green lifestyle, from recycling and nuclear-free symbols through to native forests and grassy landscapes.
"It’s really encouraging for the future."
