Help Susan Bracelet

[Andrew Biggs]

A very good friend of mine is raising money for some much needed medication for his sister Susan that has breast cancer. This particular drug is expensive and not government funded. Part of the fundraising he is organising is a charity auction at the end of this month.

So………I quickly made up this Sterling Silver bracelet and donating it to the auction.

The centre piece is sculptured/carved as per Weldon Lister’s instructions in Part 2 of his Sculptured Scrolls article in the next FEGA Engraver magazine (As editor I get to read it first and you guys will have to wait a few weeks yet!!!) But also taking in what Phil Coggan said in a recent post about burnishing.

The heart type scroll on the back of the bracelet was drawn by a professional designer and is the logo for the Help Susan fund raising campaign. If you want to read more about it you can at www.helpsusan.co.nz

The three fingers on the hand designs are symbolic within Maori as being the 3 fingers of life. Birth, life and death. The central scroll elements in Maori are called “Koru”. These are essentially the juvenile fern and represents new life. (or if you are Marcus Hunt, Maori English Scroll )

The two central heads are “Manaia” which are bird like creatures that can have many meanings………..one of them is that they are Guardian Angels. Something that Susan needs right now.

As usual your thoughts, comments and critique are always welcome.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[fegarex]

Andrew,
As usual, just fantastic! I just don't know when you ever sleep!!
Great design, great job of engraving.

 

[BrianPowley]

Andrew. That's brilliant artwork.
I'm going to have to read up on NZ culture. Your interpretations are fantastic.

 

[Tira]

Andrew, you're a good friend to your good friend. The bracelet is beautiful, but not as beautiful as your heart is for doing such a project for her. The design and execution are great. I hope it brings in the large amount of money that it's worth.

 

[joe seeley]

andrew,
your design and cutting are fantastic.

joe

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Andrew ... a batch of cookies is something you whip up "quickly" .... not fine, exotic jewelry like this.

Absolutely fantastic. You are truly gifted. What a great way to try out Weldon's article.

Chris

 

[vanknife]

Hi Andrew,
Stunning work and for a good cause may you be blessed with more time and talent.

Cheers

"VAN"

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Definitely not 'English' scroll, Andrew, LOL. You've defined 'Kiwi Scroll' perfectly! Gorgeous work Mr Biggs.

 

[Ron Smith]

Exquisit Andrew!........... and best wishes for your friend Susan....She is in our prayers.

 

[KCSteve]

Absolutely stunning once again Andrew!

Layers and layers of meaning, tons of details to find, and a great cause to boot!

 

[michaelp]

Andrew, down right gorgeous. cheers

 

[monk]

beautiful. notwithstanding the need for this bracelet for fund raising, your exquisite work seems always attached to very interesting cultural meanings. how nice that the visual has such meaning that is not always apparent. is your bird beak a part of that ? it surely seems to fall right in place with all that you do that has meaning within the maori culture.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Thank you all for your kind words. Really appreciated.

I’m certainly no expert on the subject of indigenous cultures but it’s a fascinating subject. When you start researching these topics you pretty quickly find that quite often symbols have no one particular meaning. In fact there are often several meanings to choose from and throw artistic licence of the day into the mix and it can be quite confusing. It’s certainly not like reading letters of the alphabet.

Depending on the artist of the time and the lore that was handed down to him/her and then start dividing that into different regions, tribes, sub tribes, latest academic theory and what book you are reading…………….then things can really start becoming complicated. Sadly as Christianity spread throughout the world and into the Pacific a lot of the indigenous cultures initially rejected their own customs and beliefs and replaced them with the Christian God. This broke the oral link from generation to generation and some of the old lore and meanings were lost forever.

So it really comes down to this. Any artist, regardless of the century, has always looked at things with an artistic eye and bent things to suit the work they are doing. They would work within certain structures and design principals but always add their own interpretation to the work. Thus the work evolved over time, meanings changed and subtle nuances added and subtracted from the designs………..A bit like artistic Chinese whispers. The story and design changes slightly with each telling.

In that respect I’m no different. I do the research and add my interpretation to the design but still try to work within the lose structures and design principles always trying to capture the essence, beauty and soul of the story.

The birds head scrolls and beaks are really just an extension of that. Pre European New Zealand only had birdlife with no other large animals or predators, apart from Maori, to disturb them. So they thrived. One day I was drawing some scrolls and all I could see was birds heads…………so I went with the flow and drew them. Ever since then they have kind of stuck. By making the beak long and narrow I have the Kiwi. By curving it slightly, the now extinct Huia will emerge from the scroll. Short and squat like a Roman Nose and the Pukeko and Takahe are created.

I’m sure that one day, centuries ago, an old Maori wood carver was sitting down with his Punamu (greenstone/jade) adze and chisels working quietly away and saw something in the wood that caught his eye. So going with the flow, he created his own small part of a mythical world.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Sam]

You're a prince, Andrew. Hats off to you for your contribution to help Susan. The engraving is spectacular!

 

[Mike Bissell]

Gidday Mate - Gorgeous work !!!!!!!!
You have not only demonstrated your talent as an engraver but you also have shown the world your true character by taking on a project to help a friend. I'm proud to say that I know you and proud to call you Friend.

Mike

 

[John B.]

Hi Andrew,
A loving piece of work straight from your heart.
You are the gift that keeps on giving, Bless you.

And the very best wishes to Susan for a good recovery and long life.

Best regards, John.

 

[John B.]

Andrew,
Funny you should mention the ferns and English scroll.
We have talked before about ferns being a basis for both some Maori and English scrollwork.
When I was a young pup in England a very old engraver told me that English scroll was a stylized representation of the tender, baby fiddlehead fern.
The young fiddlehead fern was thought to be a highly prized food source for hunter/gatherers after a long hard winter without fresh greens.
And many of our designs and borders are based upon food items such as wheat and fishscale borders.
The Polynesian's used the pig and fish in their artwork too.
But as you say, who knows if this is the true origin and meaning of their inclusion?
Maybe a grain of truth in that idea. I wonder if Marcus or Ken ever heard the fiddlehead fern idea?

Just some more rambling, John B.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Beautiful work Andrew. Your kindness will not go unrewarded you can bet on that. Every time you make and post one of your bracelets not only do we get the pleasure to admire your work but also a history lesson.

John you may not be a young pup but your definitely not an old dog.

 

[maryw]

Andrew - what a beautiful thing for you to do for Susan!! ...and what beautiful work you do! Our prayers for Susan. Blessings to you.
Mary W

 

[mbroder]

I really love your engraving and especially your designs. Truly out-of-the-box creatively and inspirationally. It's nice to do something for a good cause.