Two new bone carvings

Here are my latest bone carvings. One was based on the outer shape of a tear/raindrop so it's title is rain droplet. The other one I'm not sure what it looks like to others but it looks like a particular part of a male appendage. It is actually a contemporary designed fish hook (Hei Matau).

Elephant progress update

I'm nearly at the sanding stage. I had to fill a small area today and as I'm out of town during the day for the next two days I will have to wait until the weekend to tidy up the filled area and begin sanding from there.

Two carvings

These are my latest jewelry pieces. The pendant is from wood, I'm unsure what type but will hazard a guess and say limewood based on that it smelled like limes when I was working on it.  The pendant on the top right is the feminine side with it's soft curves and the pendant bottom left is the masculine side with it's crisp lines which means it is suited for both sexes.

The other is beef bone and the back side is greenstone. I will include a photo of the back at a later date. The etching of the Kowhai flower is called scrimshaw.

 I plait my own cord which is black waxed nylon cord

Carving nearing completion

Finally I'm nearing the completion of my deer antler carving. The greenstone has been attached along with the wooden caps. I just need to shape them closer to the actual carving and remove marks and stain part of the carving for some contrast then join the two pieces together.

The Temptations of John the Baptist

Finally I have found the time to make the base for this deer antler carving. I certainly add to my own stress level by working on too many projects at once. I'm hoping to have learned my lesson. It's a lovely grain running along the edge of the base.  Forgive me for the background. Carving measures 24cm L and has been stained in a tea blend. The base is made from Totora.

new wood carving

The piece of driftwood I purchased from the arts recycling center the other day is now beginning to take shape. It is a very hard wood. I'm guessing it is Jarra but have my fingers crossed that it's Black Maire. Even my files are working hard to remove the wood. I've spent most of today thinking about the back of the carving and as you can see by the image I have begun work on it. As far as a story for this piece, I still am working on that too. The top image is day two where I have started to add more detailing to the hands etc. The bottom image was from yesterday.

Maori Carving

Although progress is slow you can begin to see the carving come to life. Still a long way to go I want to be patient and focus on  craftsmanship. I'm still a bit unsure where I want to take this but I'm sure it will come to me.

$200.00NZD

The Storyteller:

Depicts Jonah telling his journey inside the Whale.

Comes in a gift bag along with it's meaning on a nicely presented card

Abstract Flower

Sorry for the delay in posting the progress of the abstract flower. I've been preoccupied stripping wallpaper for the last 3 days. You may or may not have recognised that I have decided that this is going to be an abstract flower. As I am focused on producing souvenir artwork for international visitors to NZ the design will also reflect that in it's title once completed. (The timber is also native to NZ, Totara).

Due to not have done the scalloped effect I am trying to create here, you can see that I still have quite a bit of work to do just on these two. The top scallop needs to have more curvature, which, once I started the 2nd one began to become clearer as to how to accomplish this, I can now work with more confidence in reproducing each segment.

Deer antler progress

I don't know if anyone can see the difference from the previous images of this bone carving but I hope you can. Today I began carving Pounamu (greenstone) which will be incorporated into the carving. I'm also pretty sure this won't polish up as nice as I would like.

Manaia update

As you can see below the progress is reasonably slow mostly because I choose to use hand tools instead of electric tools. I have cut the bone in half  for a reason, which I will reveal when the time is right. Due to the age of the bone it looks and feels like a white wood. I'm not sure how it will polish up once completed.

I can give you a rough outline of the meaning so far. This is not written in stone, just a starting point. The Spiral patterns represent turmoil while the Manaia weaves it's way through the water. This is what I see at present and once I have completed the carving I will have a better understanding of it's meaning then.

The top image shows the tail of the Manaia wrapping round the bone.

Manaia day 3

The slowest process has begun. I've started carving the pattern design. It's still early days but as you can see from my previous posts it's starting to progress nicely.

 A day off tomorrow and hopefully I'll be back into it on Tuesday.

Bulls horn sketch

If anyone has an idea of what type of animal this bone belongs to please place a comment. Obviously the tip has been carved by the previous owner. It had been polished before I received it. Whether the polish gave the green look to it I'm unsure.

The sketch depicts 3 Manaia (Guardian spirits) ascending to heaven. I haven't quite worked out the story completely yet and would rather leave the meaning as is so you can come to your own conclusions. It will stand upright once carved.

Title: Ascension

Manaia carving (part 2)

Showing a bit more detail from the previous session I can see where I'm heading with this carving now. Vision is not guaranteed but I can only keep working away until it is complete.

The image below shows the earlier stage from the one above. This is carved from deer antler.

Acrylic Painting

Medium: Acrylic 

Title: Kahurangi (blue)

Size: 36"x 12"x 1"(91.5cm x30.5cm x2.5cm)

Price: $50.00 NZD

 The Maori word for blue is Kahurangi.

This is one of a series I intend to do using smaller canvas', better quality canvas' and better quality paints as well to make them more affordable for those less on a lower budget.

A slow weekend

A rather slow weekend this time around. I began a pastel on Sunday and have a few touch-ups which I will do tomorrow. I spent a few hours on the Somerset school mural today. Rain played it's part in the early departure. I spent most of the time making colour changes to clothing and tidying up my line-work.
I  do have a painting to photograph and place on here. With luck I will do that tomorrow.