My latest project - Bone carving
My latest project - Bone carving
This project has been a real delight - a chance to revisit something I started doing when I was about 14 years old. But back then it was carving in teak rather than bone.
While the family was on holiday in Napier at Easter last year we stayed with Bill's parents. Bill's dad George has been carving bone and greenstone for years. It rekindled my interest in carving and here was a chance to work in a different material.
So, I decided to have a go and see how it worked out. A quick hunt around some second hand book shops left my wallet $18 lighter but I did have a great book which told me all I needed to get started. Bill, bless him, loaned me some small chisels and with my small modelling drill I was ready for the off.
The local butcher supplies the beef shin bone that I need and on bone boiling day (the only way to get them prepared) the rest of the household find something to do in another city.
In the past the Maori used bone to make everyday objects like fish hooks and hair combs. It is only recently that they have begun to turn these everyday objects into an art form.
The Maori, like many cultures have used carving not only as a method of decoration but also as a form of recording. Stories, myths and legends are often told in a carving and I was amazed to find that there were strong similarities between the Maori designs and those of the North American Indians. Amazed because I doubt that the two cultures would have met to compare notes!!
So here are my carvings and just a snippet about each one.
Holly's - Hei toki
This was my first attempt and although the design, an adze blade (Hei toki) , is relatively straightforward it took a long time to carve as i had to learn which tools were best for what stage of the carving.
The lashing at the top and the four plait necklace also took ages as I was still going up the learning curve.
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The second carving although the more complicated shape of a fish hook (Hei matau) was much quicker. There is still something like 10 hours of work in this one, including the necklace.
Carol's Marlin Brooch
I was actually trying to carve something quite different when it all fell apart, literally. I had been carving the bone too thin and the inevitable happened. The bone pieces were about to be consigned to the gash bin when Bill came round and said that since I had spent so long preparing the bone I should keep the larger piece and try and rework it into another design.
This is the result, a Marlin. I won't tell you how long it took Bill and I to find the brooch stick pin.
Lucy's Whale's tail
This one was a real joy to carve as it had to flow in all directions. It is carved and polished on both sides (as they all are) and the two sides are quite different.
The lashing however took a bit of time to get right and, even now, I'm still not convinced I got it right.
Still it hasn't fallen apart yet.
Katy's Dolphin necklace
By now I was feeling confident in working the bone and what I could and couldn't get away with. Up until now I had based my carvings on the traditional designs. This one took ages to carve.
As Katy loves the sea I had in mind to carve a Dolphin for her but all the necklaces that I had seen were hung from a hole drilled in the Dolphin's fin. That didn't sit too comfortably with me so I had to find a different way of carving it to avoid this.
Here is the first of my own carving style. A 3D effect carved on a "teardrop" hanger - all out of one piece of bone.
There have been some remarks passed about this carving. Suffice to say that some are about the uniqueness of it.
Joe's Dolphin necklace
I developed Katy's style of necklace into a slightly different design but still avoiding putting holes in Dolphin fins
I also tried to create an effect of turbulent water by drilling small holes at the base of the pendant.
Adam's Orca necklace
Very similar to Joe's Dolphin but with this one I tried to represent the whale rib bones to give me something to hang the necklace on.
I also carved waves, into the base of the pendant, either side of the whale and experimented with inlaying some Paua shell into the base just to complete the ocean theme.
Carol's Necklace
A good exercise in symmetry and carving in three dimensions. It was quite difficult finding a piece of bone which had sufficient thickness to accomodate the tails and heads. But I think it turned out OK
Lucy's Ring
Well what can you do when your daughter asks you to make a ring for her? Mmmmm that's what I thought ... get on and do it. Yet another exercise, this time in trying to keep the detail in the figure of eight as small as possible. Such a lot of work in etching away the bone a little at a time until the form reveals itself.
Beaded Anklet
This was Carol's idea. I had made a number of plain plaited anklets with toggle fastenings. The challenge was to produce a beaded one without the beads moving and no knots in the plait. Well I did it - and along the way learned another technique, this time to do with the plait.
Taiaha earring
The first attempt at earrings. A fairly simple carving based on a traditional Maori weapon. I will have to find a better way of hanging it so it looks like I might have to learn to silver solder.
So - another set of carvings finished and yes -- there are more planned. Commissions now welcomed.
There is a queue for them but you will be added to the queue if you ask.
If there is a special design or theme that you would like then sketch it out, tell me about the design and I'll see what I can do.
Here are a couple of links to sites which have some information on carvings and Maori culture.
Official Maori information site 
to
go to his page