Best of 2015 Greenstone Pendant Carving Pounamu Jade New Zealand

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Here is a collection of my favourite greenstone pendants that I have carved and given away or sold over the last year.  Enjoy.

 Greenstone Pounamu Tear Drop - Kuru

Pale Green Inanga Kuruwai/Water Drop Pounamu Greenstone

Greenstone Set Toki and Kuru - Pounamu

 Flower Jade Pounamu Toki

 Greenstone Pendant - Pounamu Kawakawa Toki

Greenstone Water Drop - Pounamu Kuruwai

Smokey Greenstone Wedding Set Pounamu

Greenstone Fantail - Pounamu Piwakawaka Chatoyant

Deep Green Pounamu Greenstone Toki

Deep Green Pounamu Toki, Greenstone, NZ Jade

This piece is a beautiful deep green Toki made from NZ Jade, Pounamu

The dark inclusions add variety of colour and character to this piece.

Chatoyant Pounamu Piwakawaka - Fantail, Greenstone, NZ Jade

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This stone has some cool parallel grain running through it.  It is designed as a Piwakawaka/Fantail.  (The tail part).

A piwakawaka will always being flittering around people who are walking in the bush.  If feels like they are there looking after you or protecting you so this piece if for someone like that. This piece was made for and given to a special woman in my life.

Dark Smokey Pounamu Wedding Set, Greenstone, NZ Jade

These were made for a set of pendants for a wedding of some very good friends of mine.  

Having two pounamu that are carved from the same stone is a very special thing for a couple.

Toki and Kuru Set, Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

This set is made from the same stone from the Nelson region.  It is for a beautiful couple as their christmas gifts to each other.

Having two pounamu pendants made from the same stone is very special.

Leaf/Arrow Head Pendant

This is a free form piece.

It is from near the outer edge of the stone on the rind.  I followed the fractures and textures of the stone to make this piece hence the interesting contours.  It is definitely one of a kind and has a special place in my thoughts.

Free Form Simple Pendants

These are a small collection of simple pieces I put together as cheap options for owning a pounamu.  

They are simple free form shapes and some have the outer rind of the stone still showing.  This adds a cool raw and unique feeling to the piece like the grain and pattern of the stone does.

Water Drop - Kuru Wai, Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

I take a lot of my inspiration from the bush and rivers.  This is based on the idea or meandering rivers that go with the flow finding the path of least resistance.

This has found a new home with a wonderful woman in Quebec, Canada.

Simple Free Form Pounamu Pendants

These are a small collection of simple free form shapes I have created.

 I really like the patterning on this piece...

Small Patterned Toki, Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

Small pale green patterned toki

Traditional toki pendant lashing...

Toki - Kawakawa Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

This is a long Toki about 7cm long.  Made from the hardest Pounamu in New Zealand - Kawakawa.  

It is a lovely dark green with some really interesting brown and black specks coming through on it...

Nelson Pounamu Kuru - Tear Drop, Greenstone, NZ Jade

This is from a dark smokey piece of Pounamu from the Nelson Region.

It is a Kuru - Tear drop.  For me it represents emotion, commonly it is said to encourage knowledge, confidence and independence...

My Carving Studio, Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

I thought it would be a good idea to share about how and where I have been doing my carving.

I don't really have a dedicated space to the place I am living so have had to make do with where we have space with running water for now. Yep that is the bathroom

It works well enough but it does mean that I need to be able to pack everything up when I am done, no messy workshop yet...

Dark Smoky Toki

This is a very interesting coloured piece of Pounamu.  Found in Nelson this is characteristic of the colouring found in this area.  Darker than a lot of greenstone with more greys and blacks in it.

Toki (Adze)

The Toki (adze) was an important Maori implement...

Pale Creamy Inanga Pounamu Pendant

This is carved from a pale creamy piece of inanga jade.

Here is the piece that I started with...

Serpentine from the Arahura Rough Waterworn Pebble

This is a pebble that I found in the Arahura during my Aoraki Bound course.  At the time I didn't think it was pounamu, after reflecting and talking to a few other people it turns out it is.

I just ended up polishing one side and leaving the other natural as I

Long Hanging Tear Drop, Pounamu, Greenstone, NZ Jade

This is a beautiful and long piece full of emotion and mana/power.  

The meaning of the Tear Drop is about emotion...

Pounamu Greenstone Wide Toki

This piece was made from an already half finished pendant I acquired.  I finished the polishing and added the lashing.

Toki

Toki were originally a practical tool...