The Hongi

(My stone carving sculpture at Archibalds Stone Carving Symposium 2010)

The light is stronger in these photos and creates a sharper shadow on the hair and faces.

I wanted to try something different; to try life forms, faces and heads in particular. I found the challenge a little daunting. As I moved the eyes back and deeper, the noses up and down, I found myself staring at people's features as they stopped to talk.

Once I finally settled on the general placement of the faces I was able to concentrate on the hair. I loved the hair, I wanted it to flow, and be dramatic. It was always going to be the focal point that provided movement to the sculpture.

I wanted to use depth, sharp and rounded edges to create different shadows. I needed each strand to be different - it was incredibly time consuming, I found myself working very long days to complete the sculpture in the 10 days we had available.

The light that falls on the sculpture alters the mood, a bright light creates strong shadow and the hair creates drama, and a soft light softens the hair and causes the faces to be more prominent and portray peace, and calm.

Brett Keno
January 2010

MAKING THE HONGI

JACKIE'S MOREPORK

Jackie lives locally and asked me to sculpt her a Morepork or NZ native owl.

She mentioned that a close family member recently passed, and a Morepork landed in her backyard on the day of the passing and sat there for some time before moving off.

She asked if I could create a Morepork as a remembrance of that day.

The Morepork or Ruru has a strong spiritual connection with many indigenous cultures around the world, as it does with the Maori culture.

Maori consider the Ruru a watchful guardian spirit. Depending upon its distinctive call the Ruru can be the herald of good news or bad.

In researching the Ruru, I found that a New Zealand artist (Todd Couper, whose work I admire greatly) had already captured the design I was searching for. It was his design that inspired “Jackie's Morepork”.

Brett Keno
December 2009

MAKING JACKIE'S MOREPORK

MIKE AND MAREE'S BIRDBATH

It was quite challenging on a number of levels. It was a huge block of stone, and manoeuvring it around proved difficult at the best of times.

The original idea was one koru supporting the bowl, but it would have been too large and bulky. So we decided on splitting it into two koru. I liked the idea of the two koru representing male and female, so one design had softer curves , and the other had straighter edges and angles.

I struggled over the base for some time – it was a lot of stone and I didn't want it to detract from the koru. I eventually decided on a few levels with contrasting square and rounded corners.

And finished with a relief design again around the base with straight lines to contrast the curves.

The bowl was challenging, as creating round shapes in stone often is. As I continued to round it, I was worried I was losing connection and strength between the bowl and the koru. But it turned out fine.

I began this project over a year ago, and Mike and Maree were very patient and allowed me to work on other things whenever I ran into a design hurdle (which was often).

Thank you both.

Brett Keno
November 2009

MORE PHOTOS OF THE BIRDBATH

THE FAMILY KORU

Created specifically for a family with two kids. The simplicity and elegance of the koru appealed as the foundation for the sculpture.

As in past pieces it represents growth, and often new beginnings. It speaks of purity and strength borne of something new and fresh, and often reflects a state of peace and tranquillity.

Brett Keno
October 2009

MAKING THE FAMILY KORU