This set is for a whanau. They have their maunga that they can see from their home and the skyline of it is carved into each of the toki for the set.
Some the maunga is on the front and some the back. They are all from the piece of pounamu that came from South Westland.
Here are some images of the process from the piece of pounamu through to the finished set.
This whanau will always have these pounamu to connect them with each other and where they are from.
The patterning on this Kawakawa pounamu is beautiful, the grain of the pounamu really stands out as it has been cut across the layers that make it up. I made this toki for a good friend of mine. It is really nice to be able to make and gift an item that holds significant value…
This is what is sounds like, a toki with a pikorua carved into it. The pikorua is on the back. The 5 notches on the sides are to represent whanau members. It is interesting to see some of the process to carve the pikorua into this toki.
This is a set made for the 5 children. 3 kohine and 2 tama. The three roimata are for the kohine/girls, and the two toki are for the tama/boys, who are actually twins. What I didn’t know when I started this set was that the twins had not been born yet! Originally these were going…
The phrase “Tū Kotahi” in Māori means “standing together as one”. It’s the perfect name for the special set of toki I recently had the privilege to carve for a father and son in France. The toki is a traditional Māori taonga (treasure) pendant, shaped like an adze, a woodworking tool important in our culture….
The Toki pendant, named ‘Awa Atua’, draws its inspiration from the divine rivers that carve through Aotearoa, shaping the land with their relentless flow and nurturing spirit. This name, translating to ‘divine river’, beautifully encapsulates the essence of this piece—the continuous journey of life and the spiritual connection we share with nature. This Toki is…
Deep green Kawa Kawa Pounamu toki, with koru in the negative space.