The Making of Joe's Mum's Hei Matau

Although we had a concept plan, the detail developed as we went.

The design of the hei matau changed as the rolling body of the fish hook took shape. I removed more stone from around the body as I wanted to release more of it at the back and let in more light. I decided to only have one line for shadow on the body that rolled around the hook, up and around the neck. There was a contrast of curves and sharp edges, and of course the smooth of the hei matau with the rough of the block.

We decided to give it height and blended in a block to the bottom. I thought of adding more design to the block, but i think it would have distracted from the main feature.

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