Saturday, April 26, 2008

Kauri Wood Carving

Just north of Auckland, Kerry Strongman's house is his Guest Room Museum. This Scottish/English/Irish/ Maori artist sculpts super-sized iconic images (many from indigenous Maori folk culture) out of the local Kauri tree, most of which is more than 10,000 years old. This tree species was almost lumbered to extinction by 1800's colonists. Qualities that attacted Maori to the tree (for sea-worthy canoes) and the English (for residential and port building) also caught Kerry's eye. He let's "the natural wood tell me what it will be", and the outcome is large and organically beautiful, preserving natural color, curves, grains and inclusions. His current series is called "Jewelry for Giants" (photo left, with large Maori fishhook icon, he and wife, Monique). His home is a full-service studio with warehouse for raw Kauri (over 20 tons), complete processing to finishing studio, and exhibit area. Final art can take several years to complete from swamp to finish and weigh over a ton. If New Zealand is too far to see for yourself, then visit them at http://www.artprimitiveandmodern.com/.

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The Guest Room's Window: Art Travels

Keep checking the Guest Room Window for art adventures outside the house.

LONG ISLAND: Nassau County Museum of Art's OpArt exhibit features 1960's paintings with optical designs that create fluctuating spatial depth (with potential for retinal after-images, without a hangover). If the OpArt's abundance of geometric form and color is too much, the adjacent Tee Ridder Miniatures museum brings your retina down to scale. "Tee" was a fine arts miniaturist who created over 100 miniature rooms with period precision, many on display here. Nassaumuseum.com gives more info.

WYOMING: Dad's art interest began with American firearms art. If you start your art journey there, one of the most comprehensive American firearms collection is at Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Wyoming; you can check out their searchable digital firearms collection at http://www.bbhc.org/collections/BBHC/index_CFM.cfm.