Jade rings

A client from the USA sent me some Californian “Blue” nephrite to use for some work pieces he wanted – two rings and two pendants.

The stone has a most unusual colouring in my experience – mid-bluish grey - with black flecks and inclusions.  The black mineral was harder than the nephrite and created some difficulties in grinding it evenly, but the carving went well.
 
Here are the rings, polished and finished to the stipulated inside diameter. ​

Repairs

​Though Maori tend to believe that a piece, once broken or lost, has fulfilled its purpose and is no longer needed, I occasionally receive a request to look at a broken piece which the custodian/owner loves and would like restored.
 
It is generally just a matter of a re-grind and polish, but in some cases the original grace of the piece is lost, unfortunately.
 
I’m happy to do this though and don’t usually charge for the service, especially if I’ve already sold it before.  And if it is a piece I know, it can be an enjoyable time, re-connecting with the past.

Diving Loon

The Loon is an iconic Canadian water bird.  Across the country you will hear its mournful call at any time of the day.  They are very territorial and on a small lake or pond you will find only one, or a pair.  I was asked to carve one, but how to do it when every man and his dog carves them!?

I was sitting on a short jetty one cool Autumn day in the Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, watching one swimming; it dived, only to re-surface a minute or so later; the idea was born!

I carved mine in its true element, diving, chasing a small bone fish (no weed for these predators!) and flapping its wings to give itself greater speed for the kill.

The loon is carved out of Gros Morne serpentine and has wooden feet, legs & beak, and bead eyes.  It is framed by a submerged tree branch - a twig cut from a tree in our garden after much searching far and wide.

I carved it in mid-2013 and it resides in Canada.

Adze

An adze blade (made from gorgeous South Westland stone) mounted in a polished Pohutukawa stock, picked up off the beach at Paraparaumu.  I carved the blade in 2007 and the stock in 2008.

Sydney boxes

On the left you see a selection of the beautiful wooden boxes I've received from the Leichhardt Community Men's Shed in Sydney.  They are lovely!  After a couple of failed attempts to obtain locally made containers for my carvings from other potential suppliers, I'm so pleased to receive these!  I can recommend the Men's Shed very highly - go and talk to them if you have something you need in wood or metal.  I've already put in my order for more!

Inuit-inspired Inuksuk-like birdbath

The Inuksuk (pronounced "in-uk-shook") is a marker, built by the Inuit of Nunavut (Arctic Canada).  It is made of locally available stone and any other materials, and marks anything the builder wants it to – a stash of food, a territorial marker, a route or hunting ground marker, a reminder that someone was there in the wide and remote land, a warning, and more.  I guess if you have the time, there probably isn't too much else on offer!  Inuksuit (plural) can be any shape that you want, though they are often in the form of a man, which is what I chose here, to grace the garden of our Toronto home.  It is about a metre tall and made from stone quarried from the Niagara Escarpment and I completed it in May 2012 – mind you, I cheated and used mortar.  Tsk, tsk!

Animal & bird carvings

The unpolished "protest squirrel" was carved in 2011 from Yukon nephrite, the kiwi in 2008 from Flower jade and the baby wombat (one of my early carvings) from Cowell in 2002.  It was the relative success of this early carving that spurred me on to try more rather than spend all of my time on jewellery - and I find the carving of them immensely fulfilling.

Elephant

Living in South Africa (at the time) I had to try my hand carving an elephant! It was completed in late 2015. It is 23mm high and made of South Australian Cowell nephrite. The tusks are made of beef bone.  And yes, I have plans for a rather more demanding one in the future!

Local containers - local craftsmen & women

Let me say up-front - these (shown on left) are not my work!  But they form an integral part of my sales approach.  Wherever I go I need containers for the pieces I sell.  And everywhere there are craftsmen and craftswomen making gorgeous boxes and small bags to use!  Here are some of my purchases.

Lower left is a beautifully finished wooden box, bought from a sheltered workshop on the Marginal (coast road) in Maputo.  Upper left and lower right are small woven pouches purchased from a co-operative of wonderful ladies selling through the Mercado Central (central market) in Maputo.  And top right is a beautiful beaded box purchased from a Zimbabwean refugee selling through the Lion's Market in Hout Bay, near Cape Town.

Purchasing local crafts is one way I can help people living a perilous, hand-to-mouth existence in a small way.  And my pieces look even better in the right containers.  It's a win - win situation!  So a big THANK YOU to my container suppliers - past, present and future!

Little Spotted Kiwi

This little fellow came about on a whim, and I finished it in June 2016.  I wanted to try using brass for its legs & beak instead of the much easier (as I found out!) wood, used for my other kiwis.  And yes, the left foot does have three forward-facing claws (check the shadow) - I didn't want both feet flat on the ground - too static!  The body is made out of Cowell, which I realise is almost a sin but hope you'll allow me some cultural flexibility, or call it artistic licence maybe?  I made a couple of advances in the design and am happy with the end product.  It is 65mm high by 72mm long.

Greater Spotted Kiwis

The kiwi is unique to NZ, and is a fascinating bird, and yet few people seem to carve them.  I was asked to carve one in early 2016, and figured that two are almost as easy to make as one.  They are made of South Westland pounamu with wooden legs/feet and beaks.  They stand approximately 85mm high and are quite imposing, though I say so myself!

Each species of kiwi has it's own characteristics, and as I carve more of them I'm picking up on their individual traits.  I can see these will not be my last!  I finished them in the second-half of 2016.

Nativity scene setting

Yes, I know this is not a carving, but if you thought I was taking time off over the 2017 Christmas break you were wrong!  Remember the old line, "Happy wife, happy life!"?  In moving from Cape Town to Sydney there were many items which we realised would not satisfy Australian bio-security regulations.   Our cinnamon stick & lichen Nativity Scene from the Dominican Republic was one of them, so we regrettably had to leave it behind.  I promised my wife I'd make her another, but settling in took longer than anticipated and I unfortunately missed the Twelve Days of Christmas, and it was only completed afterwards.  It is made of pre-cut and sanded hard wood pieces bought from a local hobby shop, with a rusty iron (painted corrugated cardboard) roof as befits an Australian shed in a state of neglect!  It incorporates battery-powered LED lighting to represent oil lamps (an improvement requested by my wife).  At least it was ready for Christmas 2018!