Post #292872 by Tamapoutini on Sun, Mar 18, 2007 4:31 PM

Kia ora Tiki-types. Crikey, nine days since Ive been in here myself...
Been very busy finalising the work for the Sydney show (sooooo much paperwork!) but am happy to report that was all packaged up & posted off last Friday. Spent a couple of days chiilin' with the whan-damily & unwinding and back into it today.

In spite of much time & a lot of moaning I only managed to complete four pieces for the show, although they were all fairly large/tricky pieces. The large 'Aussie Black' Hei-tiki you have already seen & the rest you're not going to get to see for a while anyway... (two I consider irrelevant to TC & the other must remain secret for secret reasons..?? confused? good).

Attn: Hewey & Molly: The show is called "Coast-Garde - 5 Contemporary New Zealand Carvers" & is being held at 'Metalab' gallery, Surry Hills (PM if you want the street address or ph#) and runs from 6th April - 4th May. Ive never been to Oz so obviously dont know the gallery at all. If one of you does check it out I would be keen to hear your thoughts... As above, I have only managed the thinnest of representation so you wont be missing anything too much of mine if you dont make it. Im sure the others will have filled it out as a good show though; non-tiki you understand.
One of the crew, (Jamie) will be artist in residence April 6th - 13th, giving demos & tuition in jade/stone carving & Im pretty sure its a hands-on thing (assuming youve got a little experience, and Im sure you'd both be fine/allowed).

Tipua: Thanks for your comps! If you do snare one I will sweeten the deal with a few related goodies; gotta look after the TC Ohana. Your tiki-preference duly noted & Ill keep it in mind for the near future. Can I ask where you are in the world? If NZ or Aussie you can bid on T.Me; let me know. I too see similarites with Marq. tiki forms, and many other Pacific cultures too - Remind me to flick a pic of a small wooden Cook Isld tiki I have...

Benz: I dont think the hanging angle is a matter of specific degrees; just a 'vibe'; you know when its right & you know when its not. After so many I can pretty much get the balance point right visually whilst drawing up & a little jiggery-pokery can pull them into line if they are a little lop-sided. The main problem is if the head hangs too low, ie; below horizontal.

Big thanks Surf n Turf, Flynny and Gman.

Tipua again: I had never seen Sheela-na-Gig. Where does she originate from? I must confess to having a special weakness for this type of 'art' (I got myself into a bit of trouble expressing my own opinion on the 'purpose' of this sort of thing whilst discussing the Venus of Woolendorf during class one time - sure, it was a "fertility" charm, uh-huh...) :lol:

Thanks for stopping by folks. Give me another day or two & I should be back with something; dont know what yet...

Happy carving!
Tama :)