Tama - NZ Pounamu/greenstone - Last post for '08! - pg99 - Tiki Carving

T Tamapoutini Member Aotearoa (New Zealand) Joined: Aug 30, 2006 Posts: 1530	T Tamapoutini Posted posted on Tue, Sep 26, 2006 4:35 PM Kia ora everyone -Sorry for delay. Gearing up for Xmas/summer season here & orders are flying... Thanks Hewey. Benz, glad I could send you away on a happy note! JohnnyP -sad to say, there arent too many scraps on my floor. If a stone is of decent quality it gets used right down to toggle-sized bits. Happy to fling a few pieces if you are really interested tho'..? KingsTD: Happy to start a TC 'list' if youve something special in mind..? (dont worry GMan, youre at the top & not far away now -I keep saying that dont I?) Nah, lightening left the tools in one piece luckily. Hope the angry mob arent too harsh & have been disarmed at the door!! Nothing on Lono yet (or anything else interesting for that matter) so I thought Id add the long-promised 'Hei-tiki Kohatu'... This piece + a few others were included in the '11th NZ Pounamu/Jade Exhibition 2006', hosted bi-annually by our local LeftBank Art Gallery... The exhibition has 3 catagories, Adornment/Sculpture/Contemporary Maori Design, with a nice cash prize for each + a 'Supreme Award' (next time, heehee) I have only entered the exhibition twice and so was very chuffed to win the Contemporary Maori Design award with 'Hei-tiki Kohatu' (kohatu:stone) & an 'encouragement award' with another piece 'Te Waka', from the 'Scarfies' series... Pieces are purchased by the gallery as funds are available & the Permanent collection can be viewed at: http://www.leftbankart.co.nz/cjc.asp and the 11th show can be seen at: http://nzjade.org/catalogue. Hope these addresses work - Im fairly comp. illiterate... Now, the big deal with these pieces is that they were produced with a combination of modern technology & traditional Maori 'scarfing' technique (sawing with greywacke/stone spalls). In the old-days, carving/dividing pounamu was achieved by knocking a sharp-edged 'spall' from a natually rounded stone & working back & forth against the jade with water and/or quartz sand to act as an abrasive. VERY slow & labour intensive work... I took a cheaty route and periodically resharpened my spalls on a diamond wheel to minimise waste & mess, & because of this was also able to achieve very sharp/crisp 'V' cuts beyond the reach of neolithic Maori. I also saved myself from insanity by drilling internal & suspension holes & eye sockets with my electric handpiece. Had a point to prove, but Im not crazy, haha!! The title 'Scarfies' is a wordplay on an NZ film of the same name (tho referring to Dunedin student 'uniform', very cold place & where my family Marae is located...) The tools... ('Moai' in production on right) All of the 4 pieces entered were fashioned from top quality naturally-occuring jade beachpebbles with minimal alteration. The first piece to be produced was 'Te Waka' (centre) & was originally going to be cut right through, (scarfed from each side & then snapped in two, the technique that many old adzeheads were produced with) but I stopped when the waka/outrigger form became apparent... The other two are called 'Tangaroa' (left) & 'Moai' (right)... Te Waka is now my 'everyday' pendant that I wear. The toggles were also made from natural pebbles & I got my chance to experience the satisfying snap* with these, ahhhhh... Believe it or not these tiny cuts took about 3hours each!!! And the Award-Winner: Hei-tiki Kohatu Never recorded the hours but something over a months work o this fella, phew!! I still have this piece & until someone is prepared to shell out about $5000 bucks (NZ) I guess he will remain as the crowning glory of my personal collection, heehee! Free postage -PM me, ahhahahahahahaha!!!!??? One of the most interesting things about working this way was the places that my head went... Oh man! Questioned my own sanity MANY times whilst prodicing this fella! Why, oh why, oh WHY am I doing this...? arrrgh! Settled into it by the end though & plan to do more some day soon... Hope you enjoyed that wee glimpse! **Reminds me of an idea that has been swirling my mind... Would anyone be interested in a thread devoted to the 'Zen and the Art of Tiki Carving'?? Benz has mentioned the large Maori that 'happened' without concious recall & I have had similar experiences where the 'Self' just disappears into the work... Might be some interesting stories out there for carvers to share & a peek into the minds of the makers for those who dont know..? Thought it might go down better here than in the discussion forum?? Let me know... Back to the 'grind' I suppose! Take care all, Tama The Terrible/TTT/T3

Kia ora everyone -Sorry for delay. Gearing up for Xmas/summer season here & orders are flying...

Thanks Hewey.
Benz, glad I could send you away on a happy note!

JohnnyP -sad to say, there arent too many scraps on my floor. If a stone is of decent quality it gets used right down to toggle-sized bits. Happy to fling a few pieces if you are really interested tho'..?

KingsTD: Happy to start a TC 'list' if youve something special in mind..?
*(dont worry GMan, youre at the top & not far away now -I keep saying that dont I?) Nah, lightening left the tools in one piece luckily. Hope the angry mob arent too harsh & have been disarmed at the door!!

Nothing on Lono yet (or anything else interesting for that matter) so I thought Id add the long-promised 'Hei-tiki Kohatu'...

This piece + a few others were included in the '11th NZ Pounamu/Jade Exhibition 2006', hosted bi-annually by our local LeftBank Art Gallery...

The exhibition has 3 catagories, Adornment/Sculpture/Contemporary Maori Design, with a nice cash prize for each + a 'Supreme Award' (next time, heehee) I have only entered the exhibition twice and so was very chuffed to win the Contemporary Maori Design award with 'Hei-tiki Kohatu' (kohatu:stone) & an 'encouragement award' with another piece 'Te Waka', from the 'Scarfies' series...
**Pieces are purchased by the gallery as funds are available & the Permanent collection can be viewed at: http://www.leftbankart.co.nz/cjc.asp and the 11th show can be seen at: http://nzjade.org/catalogue. Hope these addresses work - Im fairly comp. illiterate...

Now, the big deal with these pieces is that they were produced with a combination of modern technology & traditional Maori 'scarfing' technique (sawing with greywacke/stone spalls). In the old-days, carving/dividing pounamu was achieved by knocking a sharp-edged 'spall' from a natually rounded stone & working back & forth against the jade with water and/or quartz sand to act as an abrasive. VERY slow & labour intensive work... I took a cheaty route and periodically resharpened my spalls on a diamond wheel to minimise waste & mess, & because of this was also able to achieve very sharp/crisp 'V' cuts beyond the reach of neolithic Maori. I also saved myself from insanity by drilling internal & suspension holes & eye sockets with my electric handpiece. Had a point to prove, but Im not crazy, haha!!

The title 'Scarfies' is a wordplay on an NZ film of the same name (tho referring to Dunedin student 'uniform', very cold place & where my family Marae is located...)

The tools... ('Moai' in production on right)

All of the 4 pieces entered were fashioned from top quality naturally-occuring jade beachpebbles with minimal alteration.

The first piece to be produced was 'Te Waka' (centre) & was originally going to be cut right through, (scarfed from each side & then snapped in two, the technique that many old adzeheads were produced with) but I stopped when the waka/outrigger form became apparent...

The other two are called 'Tangaroa' (left) & 'Moai' (right)...

Te Waka is now my 'everyday' pendant that I wear.

The toggles were also made from natural pebbles & I got my chance to experience the satisfying snap with these, ahhhhh... Believe it or not these tiny cuts took about 3hours each!!!

And the Award-Winner: Hei-tiki Kohatu

Never recorded the hours but something over a months work o this fella, phew!!
**I still have this piece & until someone is prepared to shell out about $5000 bucks (NZ) I guess he will remain as the crowning glory of my personal collection, heehee! Free postage -PM me, ahhahahahahahaha!!!!???

**One of the most interesting things about working this way was the places that my head went... Oh man! Questioned my own sanity MANY times whilst prodicing this fella! Why, oh why, oh WHY am I doing this...? arrrgh! Settled into it by the end though & plan to do more some day soon...

Hope you enjoyed that wee glimpse!
**Reminds me of an idea that has been swirling my mind... Would anyone be interested in a thread devoted to the 'Zen and the Art of Tiki Carving'?? Benz has mentioned the large Maori that 'happened' without concious recall & I have had similar experiences where the 'Self' just disappears into the work... Might be some interesting stories out there for carvers to share & a peek into the minds of the makers for those who dont know..? Thought it might go down better here than in the discussion forum?? Let me know...

Back to the 'grind' I suppose!

Take care all, Tama The Terrible/TTT/T3

Post #257080 by Tamapoutini on Tue, Sep 26, 2006 4:35 PM

Nothing on Lono yet (or anything else interesting for that matter) so I thought Id add the long-promised 'Hei-tiki Kohatu'...

**One of the most interesting things about working this way was the places that my head went... Oh man! Questioned my own sanity MANY times whilst prodicing this fella! Why, oh why, oh WHY am I doing this...? arrrgh! Settled into it by the end though & plan to do more some day soon...