My discovery for working with natural materials started when I was a teenager. To me stone as a medium holds a quality of age and respect, which fascinates and offers the opportunity for a very physical involvement in the creative process.

Maori carving or whakairo has developed over the centuries . The main mediums worked are wood, pounamu (nephrite jade), and stone. I was encouraged to attend a carving programme where I was first taught to carve in these mediums. My early work was small intricate Hei Tiki and other indigenous figures destined for the export market. I then completed a Marae (indigenous settlement) based sculpture course followed by a course in Te Reo Maori.

Working with nature nourishes me. I have learned to observe the work that nature has already begun. I have discovered that nature is my teacher. For a creative dialogue to begin I only need to look closely at what is already happening in a given piece of rock stone or wood.

The key is to be attentive to what happens before my eyes and gradually the sculpture will emerge. I can truly say that working in this way is thrilling and risky, but incredibly enlivening. To have that insight and passion alongside the very thing that captivates me, to be able to bring the stone alive into a present state can only bring a simple smile and self preservation to us all.