ABOUT · MAKING OF SERIES
From first conversation
to finished piece
No moulds. No casting. Shaped entirely by hand.
Every sculpture Brett carves is shaped using traditional hand tools — chisels, rasps, and files — the same way stone has been worked for centuries. These stories show what that really looks like: the weeks of patient, skilled work that turn a block of raw Ōamaru limestone into something permanent and personal, responding to the stone with over 25 years of mana in every cut.
BEHIND THE SCENES
How Brett works with you
Every commission is a collaboration — between Brett, the stone, and the person or whānau he's making it for. The Making of Series is his way of sharing that process honestly: what the brief was, what the stone gave him, and how the final piece came to be.
"No two sculptures follow the same path — the stone always has something to say."
01
THE BRIEF
Every story begins with what the client wanted — the occasion, the meaning, the feeling they were looking for.
02
CONCEPT & SKETCH
Brett works through the design — sometimes his own, sometimes the client's. The sketch is the first commitment to the stone.
03
THE CARVING
The stone reveals itself as work progresses. Brett documents the challenges — soft spots, unexpected fossils, design pivots.
04
THE FINISHED PIECE
Sealed, photographed, and on its way. Some go across town. Some go across the world.
"Every memorial begins with a conversation. No commitment — just a kōrero about who you are honouring and what matters most."
BRETT KENO · SCULPTOR
"I love creating sculptures that reflect a special occasion, represent family and perhaps tells a story."
BRETT KENO · SCULPTOR