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New Whale Tail

I've just created this stunning new New Zealand (native) tawhairaunui (red beech) whale tail. It's available from me directly at the moment, but I'll probably put it into a gallery some time. It's about a metre high.

30,000 year old swamp kauri manaia

I have just finished this manaia out of 30,000 year old swamp kauri. Swamp kauri is our "bogwood". As a timber it is normally very bland, but put it in the swamps for a few thousand years, and the minerals leech into it giving it these amazing rich colours and showing up the grain. This is made from root wood, so makes it even more so.  A manaia is a spiritual guardian. It has the head of a bird, the body of a man, and the tail of a fish, so has guardianship over air, land and water. 

                                               

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I've done a couple of manaias lately, one in wood, and one in jade. The wood one is made from a stunning Tawhairaunui (New Zealand red beech) burr (burl). The jade one is made from a stunning piece of highly prized New Zealand Marsden flower jade. Manaias are a traditional Maori design, representing spiritual guardians. They have the head of a bird, the body of a man, and the tail of a fish, so are protectors over sky, earth and sea. They guide and protect you, like a guide sitting on your shoulder. They guide and protect you, like a guide sitting on your shoulder. I'll put up some photos. Hope you like them :-)

New Marsden flower jade manaia

I've just carved this amazing manaia made from New Zealand Marsden flower jade - in my opinion the best jade in the world! It sits on a red beech (NZ native - Maori name Tawhairaunui), and stands at 173mm high. For sale.

NEW JADE/GREENSTONE/POUNAMU DISC

I've just finished this beautiful New Zealand greenstone/jade/pounamu disc, made from top quality Marsden jade, with a red beech (Tawhairaunui) burr bade. On the base, it measures approx. 200mm high. The disc itself is approx. 180mm circumference. Stunning! :-)

Exhibition at the Hastings Visitor Information Centre

I have an exhibition of some of my NZ wood and jade carvings at the Hastings Visitor Information Centre throughout March 2013. The large disc is swamp kauri with a Marsden flower jade insert. The greenstone/jade/pounamu carvings are all Marsden flower jade with a red beech (Tawhairaunui) base. The upright one is red beech Uenuku, a rainbow God and there is also a re beech burr bowl with a paua insert, and a red beech matau with a muka cord and pounamu sinker.

HUGE burr matau for Kura Auckland

I recently dropped off this huge Tawhairaunui (red beech) burr matau to Kura Gallery in Auckland. It's the biggest burr I've ever found. Muka (rope) cord with pounamu sinker. see it at Kura Gallery, Lower Albert St., Auckland. Ph (09) 302 1151 :-)
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Marsden jade frog

This Marsden jade frog was carved by my daughter Natasha. She works for me part time now. Normally I design and carve them, and then hand them to her for the polishing. However, this one she designed, carved, and polished it all herself. pretty good eh? For sale for $350.

MANAIA MANIA

I recently felt inspired to carve some Manaia. The wood one I haven't started carving, the one in my hand is roughed out but needs finishing, and the pendant is finished.

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HAWKES bAY dISTRICT HEALTH BOARD HEALTH AWARDS TROPHY

The Hawkes Bay District Health Board recently bought one of my greenstone (jade) matau. Last week they held their annual Health Awards. There were 8 category winners, and each of those received a certificate. Out of those a supreme winner was chosen, and they were given my matau as a trophy. Every year it will be taken back to be presented to the next winner, but in it's place the previous winner will be given a smaller one to keep.

SCULPTURES IN THE WILDFLOWERS EXHIBITION

I've just dropped off three sculptures to the Sculptures in the Wildflowers exhibition a Tawhairaunui (red beech) disc with pounamu (NZ jade) insert, a Totara seat with a river polished pounamu stone insert, and pohutukawa burr pot. See www.wildflowersculptureexhibition.co.nz

Sea week competition entries

There's a competition next week to celebrate "Sea week". Something to do with the Department of Conservation. You can use any materials off the beach to create a sculpture. It's got a strange title like "One Ocean Too much Love". Not quite sure what they mean but I've created a couple of sculptures which have a fair bit of love in them :-) They're both made from tawhairaunui (NZ red beech). Hope you like them :-)

NEW BURR SCULPTURE

I've just polished up this most amazing burr - or piece of wood with many burrs all over it, more correctly. Quite unique - I've never seen anything like it before. I scooped out the middle as well, so it can be useful as well as being an amazing sculpture in it's own right. My thoughts are that it could be used as a stick/umbrella stand, or pot plant holder. Definately New Zealand native timber, but not quite sure which. Probably a beech (tawhai) of some sort, as they are most common around here, but hard and smooth, like pohutukawa to work. It came off a local Hawkes Bay beach.

NEW SCULPTURES FOR KURA AUCKLAND

I just dropped some beautiful new sculptures off to Kura Gallery in Auckland including a large tawhairaunui (red beech) matau (fish hook) with muka cord and greenstone (jade) sinker. These are proving to be very popular, and this one in particular is a beauty. The wood was given to me from Te Horoto marae, so it's kind of special too. As fishermen were the providers for the community, the matau represents abundance and prosperity. There's also a smaller matau, as well as a huge tawhairaunui burr which I've carved korus into, and inserted a greenstone. Korus represent new life, as they are the budding fern fronds. A new tawhairaunui burr bowl with a paua insert, and beautiful swamp kauri korus. The kauri is about 30,000 years old.

SCULPTURES IN THE DAFFODILS

I've just delivered three sculptures to "Taniwha Farm" just south of Waipukurau. They are having a "Sculptures in the Daffodils" exhibition through September.

One sculpture is a new rendition of Uenuku, a rainbow God inspired by a Tainui artefact of the same name. It is made from macrocarpa and stands at about 7-8 ft tall (2m odd). I almost exclusively carve New Zealand native timbers, but I make the odd exception with an occasional macrocarpa outside sculpture because macrocarpa doesn't take up moisture so it will never go rotten, and because I was given a huge piece of macrocarpa driftwood (my source) which I have already made 2 scuptures out of, and had this piece left over.

The second sculpture I've delivered to Taniwha is a tuatara made from an old driftwood puriri burr. It's been a lizardy looking thing at the back door for two or three years, and I recently got inspired to morph it into a tuatara (for those non New Zealanders, a tuatara is a New Zealand native reptile which has survived from the time of the dinosaurs).

I've put exterior marine grade varnish (3 coats) on both of these sculptures.

The third is called "In memory of Shrek and The Dog". Again for the non kiwis Shrek was a sheep found in the mountains of the south Island which had evaded the musterers for 7 years, so had a huge wool growth, and became a world wide phenomenon. He died recently, and "The Dog" is a cartoon character, another New Zealand icon by Murray Ball who retired him a few years back. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph this one so will have to post photos later, but here's some of Uenuku and the Tuatara.

NEW CARVINGS FOR KURA AUCKLAND

I've just sent four beautiful carvings up to Kura Gallery (Lower Albert St) in Auckland. They'll probably arrive in the next day or two. Two whale tails - one large (about 1.3m high) - both carved out of very different looking tawhairaunui (red beech). Also a very large bowl made from tawhairanui burr wood with a paua insert, and a very nice middle size (about 600 high) matau (fish hook) once again tawhairaunui with a flax cord and a very nice piece of pounamu (jade) as a sinker.

Cheers.

Paddy.