SculptureBy Euan CraigDigitalEuan ProductionsPukekoheinfo@digitaleuan.comwww.digitaleuan.com

CONTENTS:

1. Kauri Gums carving.2. Small items.3. Medium size indoor.4. Outdoor small.5. Relief carved oil paint.6. Relief carved water color.7. Seabed sedimet & Pumice.8. Outdoor sandstone.9. Moss growth.

Kauri Gum Carving.

As a child I found many small peices of Karui Gum on our family farm. 20 years later I decided to give carving it a go and turned out a few interesting peices.

I used small saws, files and tiny rasps to shape the item. Polishing by hand can take many hours but results in a brilliant finish.

Clockwise from top left:

Swamp Karui leaf.Gum pentant.Adz.Cutaway.Conical.

Small Items.

These objects are no larger than 4cm high. The material is seabed sediment which is formed through natural processes.

This material allows for fairly small carving features but will crack when reduced below around 4mm.

Inspiration for these objects comes from ancient artifacts. I wanted to create some small objects that I thought could look like they had been unearthed from some ancient site.

The top right image re-flects some ideas about asian Samurai design. The top left fish image in inspired by ocianic cultures while the two lower images are more specific designs that might be found in Pacific countries.

Small fragments of ash and sea-shell are still visible withing the material, the cream/white col-or comes from the site’s nearby location to an ancient swamp.

medium size - indoor.

Top left: Koru/mother & Child design.Low left: Pumice lizard.Top right: First wood carving.Low right: Seabed sediment head.

The medium size indoor objects are popular as gifts. I use only hand tools to create the objects, includ-ing saws, chizels, sandpaper and files. The wooden object was made using hand carving wood tools - about the only purpose made tools I use.

The wooden object is the first wooden item I have made. Although fairly simple it is still one of my farourites to have around. The design is based on Maori principals of history and ancestory but with my own interpretation superimposed upon it.

The low right image is a concept for a larger work which will be about chest height when completed. This object is crafted from seabed sediment, the final scuplture will be either sandstone or Hinuera Stone.

Outdoor small

These items are all made from sandstone except the center top image which is made from pumice. For these slightly larger sculptures I use a saw (which has become very blunt) and a screwdriver. Although a screwdiver doesn’t sound very useful I find it to have the level of control required for these peices. The long thin bar works well to get in behind details while the flattened head acts to scrape and drill.

Sandstone is just compressed sand, it is like a semi rock - on the way to becomming a solid rock. This material is quick to worl with but has limitations on how fine details can be made before chipping off. A sculpture of this size will keep its details for 5-10 years. The top left image shows a scuplture at around 1 year old; thispeices is now about 7 years old and has kept its shape remarkable well. A dense layer of mosses and small plant life help to protet it from the elements.

The image right is of a sandstone sculpture on completeion and at around w years old. Some mosses are beginning to grow but it lacks a suitable position in the garden to grow well all year round.

Above from left: Sandstone with partial concrete/plater covering. Pumice Lizard. Thinking Lady.

Relief carved oil paint.

Hand carved relief sculpture. Oli paint and clear coat finish. 69 x 43cm.This work is inspired by vegetation found in New Zealand. The peice is highly textured to enhance the 3D illusion. Colors with contrasting hues reinforce the effect.

Relief carved watercolor.

This hand carved wooden sculpture is 90 x 90 cm and colored with watecolor pencil then sealed with a matt laminate.

The image is of a fish-like creature and is coloer is a way that creates a sense of movement within the fish and water surroundings. Carvings were made shallow so that only particular sections of the sculpture are raised and level. A highly shiny black enamel paint was used for the outlines, this gives the image a contained shine that assists with the movement of the image.

Seabed sedimet & Pumice.

Pictured above is the first step in carving the sculpture pictured at the top of the page. This was completed with a saw and the screwdriver pictured.The work is sanded smooth but left uncoated as any unatural coating will eventually flake off.

Pictured at the top of the page is my first pumice carving, a lizard/man. The square cutaway is for a pot plant to grow moss to eventually cover the base of the sculpture. It should end up looking like the character is lying down in a bed of moss.

The three small images are designs based on natural forms found in New Zealand plant life.

Outdoor sandstone.

This sculpture was completed onsite at Earthtalk@Awhitu, on the Manukau Peninsula, Auckland, New Zealand.

The sandstone was sourced locally and con-tains several veins of lighter colored sand.

Above:The process of carving on site using hand tools such as a spade, tomohawke, blade and of course, the handy screwdriver.

The design is made to reflect the natural forms of the surrounding area, using the overall shape already found in the rock.

Below:The sculpture after 2 years out in the open environment. Rain has has some effect as have insects who have decided that the sculpture is a nice place to live. Mosses and plant life are beginning to take hold during wetter seasons. Birds have also taken fancy to the sculpture.

Moss growth.

Sandstone and many other tyeps of natural sculpture medium can host a wide variety of plant life. This sculpture is about 4 years old

I have experimented a bit with this scuplture by pressing moss into areas where it can take hold, this has greatly increased the overall amonut of mosses permently on the item.

Images from top:Sculpture when first completed.Moss growth after 1 year.Moss during dry summer.Ground based plant life.

This sculpture has not always been in ideal conditions for moss growth. The most suitable location is an a shady damp, but not saturated with water, area. Under a tree or with a few surrounding plants the sculpture will become completely encased in plant life.