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Ngaruawahia skate park jam

We had a great afternoon down in Ngaruawahia last week. We've been so busy working on our Auckland Museum project that we are a little behind with our blog posts but hey we don't even know if anyone actually reads them so oh well.

Anyway, back to what we were saying - Ngaruawahia was awesome. The skateboarding legend Eddie Elguera was a guest judge for the local skate comps & together with the Village team, we all worked together to provide a fun, safe & inspiring little event to bring back some life to the town that has now been left out (thanks to the new gigantic highway to Hamilton). 'Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui - Be strong, be steadfast, be courageous!' was inspired by the song writer & our great friend Aaron Hardy.

To create a better future we need to look after the next generation!

Festival Mania

How many festivals can you do in 6 days you say without going slightly crazy? Well 3 festivals later & a slight bit of craziness we have survived & made it out the other end. It has been busy, hot, fun, hot, messy, hot & did we mention hot - not that we are complaining because winter will arrive again & we will be reminiscing about the good old days of summer!

We were in Hamilton for Festival One Thurs 28th Jan - Sun 31st Jan, back up to Auckland for the Tāmakai Herenga Waka Festival Monday 1st Feb then down to Ngaruawahia Tues 2nd Feb. 1ltr of suncreen later, approximately 300 spray cans, a few roller tins of paint & a whole lot of water we produced 3 murals & completed a 5 hour art workshop all while keeping 4 hungry & tired kids happy (yay for ice blocks & motel wifi). These are a few pics of our week but now on to the next project - 4 paintings for the Auckland Museum & the upcoming South Auckland exhibition at MIT Manukau so keep an eye out and happy summer everyone!

Commission work

We spend a large amout of time quietly working away on private commissions. Clients send us information that they would like interpreted through our art style & together we create a work of art that is both an expression of our passion for native/endemic birds & designs & is a treasure for them to keep. The couple wanted to take something with them when moving from Aotearoa to Texas in the U.S. as a reflection of their time here - below is an overview of the meaning:

Title: 'When Tui become 1'

Medium: Spray paint & acrylic on canvas

Size: 101cm x 152cm

Client: Texas, U.S

The Tuis represent the couple who commissioned the piece. Working in unison they bring balance & purpose to their journey in life. Kaokao (triangular mountain shapes) are Māori designs that are drawn from the shape of the armpit of a warrior who does the haka. It is a symbol of strength & determination & is a significant inclusion as they left this country to follow new work opportunities jumping out into their dreams. They wanted the work to be a symbol of their time in Aotearoa, the multi-coloured fade is about the multi-cultural makeup of this nation - Māori are tāngata whenua of the land & this importance is shown by placing the imagery over the top. The white border reflects the meaning of Aoteroa (land of the long white cloud) and brings a serene balance to the overall work. This will be crated up & shipped off shore soon, if you would like to enquire about having your own painted find our 'contact us' page & we will be in touch. Estimated time for production is 2-3 weeks working around current scheduled projects/festivals.

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