NZ ART SHOW ENTRIES

I've just finished creating my entries for the NZ Art Show. I thought I'd give them something different this year. Firstly I've carved a fin in the style of a dolphin fin out of NZ pounamu/greenstone (jade) with a beech base. It has amazing grain in it, and looks stunning in natural light, and even more so with a spot light shining through it. Secondly, there's a stunning red beech burr bowl, beautifully shaped, which had a hole in it, which I've filled with another piece of greenstone from the same block. Again, it looks especially great with a light shining through it. Finally I did a matau/fish hook and carved an eye through which I looped a platted flax cord. I carved a notch around a piece of greenstone like Maori did in the old days to create a sinker and tied that on to the other end of the cord. I think the hook is pohutukawa. Very hard to work, but has amazing grain. So they will be down at the NZ Art Show in Wellington (TSB Stadium on the waterfront) which runs from the 30th July-1st August (opening night on the 29th).

MY FIRST GREENSTONE JADE HEI TIKI

I've just finished my first tiki! A hei (meaning it is worn) tiki is a traditional Maori adornment which represents the first person, so it has some features similar to a baby - especially the big head. This may also be because the head to Maori is tapu, or sacred. No one knows really; people can only surmise what it might mean, but tikis are as meaningful to New Zealanders as the kiwi are. Many nowdays are made from plastic, but I wanted my one to be the real thing. Also, because many people carve greenstone (New Zealand green jade), I want any of my carvings to be different. Firstly I found my favourite really deep green kawakawa jade. Then I got a nice thick slab cut. I wanted it to be really 3D! I wanted to give him a big Budda belly, have his tongue poking right out, as the Maori do in their haka, and give him a spine! (my other job includes a lot of massaging, especially peoples' spines; most tikis have a flat back). Mostly I wanted him to be pretty. Watdya reckon?

AROHA POUNAMU

This is a very special stone. It is a huge 51 kg river worn pounamu boulder discovered on the West Coast four generations ago. Not only is it sacred because it is pounamu, but it has a natural koru clearly evident in the grain. The koru is the New Zealand fern frond, the budding fern, so represents new life. The stone itself is very powerful. It has mauri (life force), and is totally unique. It has been blessed by a local koumatua. It is set into a kete (basket), carved from a huge red beech burr, which surrounds the stone in a loving embrace. Where koru face each other, they form a manawa, or heart. I call the scuplture "Aroha Pounamu". Most of the rhind has been worn off the stone, over thousands of years of the river flowing over it, revealing a stunning kawakawa (deep green) coloured heart. Some of the rhind is still evident on the back, providing a rich contrast with parts of the heart showing through. The new kaitiaki (guardian) of this stone will enjoy rich blessings from it's mana, to enjoy for themselves and their friends (everyone that sees it goes "WOW!"), or to give as the ultimate gift. Alternatively, it would make anamazing adornment for a corporate foyer or offices.

BEAUTIFUL LARGE RED BEECH BURR BOWL

I've just done this stunning huge bowl. It's approx. 600mm long, 470mm wide, and 120mm deep. It had a little knot in the middle, so I've put a piece of paua in there. You could fit a lot of fruit in this one!

MATAU WITH POUNAMU

I was asked to do a sculpture for Pacifica Restaurant in Napier, who were voted the best restaurant in Hawkes Bay last year. Jeremy and Rebecca Rameka are the owners. Jeremy, who is Maori of Ngati Tuwharatoa descent, is the head chef. They have a space where they had a very nice, but Indonesian carving, and wanted something New Zealand, and to reflect the name of the restaurant. I chalked out quite a few potential carvings, before getting to work on on a couple. One is a long and slender whale tail; a bit differnet because of it's length. I made it tall to match the size of the carving it was to replace. The other was a matau, or fish hook in a traditional Maori style, but made from a very old piece of red beech, so looks, when finished, like an artefact. At about 600mm high, both fitted their space perfectly.

I created an eye, and then thought I might as well put some rope there, so got my daughter Tash to weave me some rope out of flax, again in the traditional Maori style. I've got a mate up North, Kerry Strongman, who does this and attatched burr wood sinkers. I've been doing some greenstone (pounamu) carving lately, so thought why not add a pounamu sinker? (talking with Jeremy about his Maori ancestry inspired this). I had a beautiful little river worn stone just the right size in my collection, so I carved a notch all the way around the stone, again as the Maori used to to create their sinkers, and attatched it to the rope.

They took the Matau, so now it is in pride of place in the best restaurant in Hawks Bay, and I have a new whale tail for sale.

NEW DOLPHIN

At last I have something new to write about. Sorry, I've been having a bit of a break over Christmas/ New Year, and enjoying my time with my family, but I have just completed a beautiful new dolphin. A good size to tansport, at about 50cm long, I have carved it out of red beech. Many of the pieces I do are carved from a piece of driftwood that may suggest the carving to me, but in this case, it looked nothing like it. See the next one lined up in the background!

Uenuku

Uenuku means rainbow (four rays going up, with the three gaps, making the seven rays of a rainbow) and is a Maori God. Uenuku was a man in his life, and became a rainbow in the afterlife. He was inspired by the great 12thc. Tainui artefact of the same name who is housed in the Te Awamutu museum, which is close to where I was brought up. Ever since I first saw it, I've always loved it. As you can see, kids love it too. That's my gorgeous grand daughter, Ashley-Rose Linda Etu Marama Cooper.