Grandads Toki
My Grandfather passed away earlier this year. He was almost 80 years old, his lungs started to fail him and he couldn’t keep his body running any more. He was a much loved member of our family and there is still a huge gap he has left behind.
I made these pieces because of him.
Whanau Nui
I visited him in March and he showed me some stone that he had been given by his Father my Great, great grandfather. He was a fossicker and jewellery maker it turns out. I never knew that. he showed me some of the gems he had found and turned into jewellery too. He gave me several pieces of raw stone to carve as well. This piece was the nicest. He said it came from his Uncle, his Mothers Brother.
He also gave me an old toki that had been found on the family farm. Not sure of the exact stone, it is not pounamu, more like a hard mudstone. This had been found in the 1950s when clearing the paddocks for cultivating and planting.
I decided to do something for my Grandad that would allow me to express what he meant to me. I carved two pendants from the greenstone he gave me in the shape of the toki that was found on the family farm. The larger one above called Whanau Nui is 2/3 the size of the original toki and Whanau Iti the one below is 1/2 the size.
Whanau Iti
I gave Whanau Iti to my Grandad about 3 months before he passed away. He wore it everyday, that meant a lot to me. It now is with his surviving wife my Nana.
The larger one Whanau Nui I gave to my brother as Grandads only other surviving male descendant. He chose to pass it on to Grandads sister when he passed away.
I love the idea of stone being a connecting material that brings people together.
Pounamu is a porous stone that will soak up things to a degree. It is believed that the Wairua the spirit of pounamu is shaped and influenced by the actions, words, and thoughts of the wearer and those around it. Which is why a piece of pounamu can hold immense significance.
This is much the same as people. Our spirits are shaped and influenced by those we choose to spend our lives with. They become a part of us and we become a part of them. In this way I believe he will always be with us.
