Sea Week... Beautiful Art...

This is some of the art at the Sea Week displays
at the Te Ahu Centre in Kaitaia.
All are made with natural materials that grow
 on the dunes at the beaches...
This is a black cloak... Made from flax fibres
that have been combed and dyed.

This is a 'Kuta Cape'
Kuta is a tall rush  plant that grows to about 1 metre...
On the edge of lakes and swamps...
I have seen it growing round CocaCola Lake.
Click on the link, scroll down to Kuta and look at the photo.

Paintings and poems by students from Kaitaia High School...


Of beach scenes... The shell here is a Tuatua...

 
This is a Kete Kupenga... woven from flax...
Kete means bag...
Kupenga is a type of fishermans knot


This is a Pipi Kete... A bag woven from flax for collecting
Pipi... A shellfish... Or Kaimoana... The Maori word for seafood.


Another Kete Kupenga...


And this is a traditional weave... Again using flax...
With a Pingao Putiputi for decoration.
I think they are beautiful... and examples of self sufficiency using
what is growing around me.

Sea Week... Pingao Weaving

Last week in New Zealand was National Sea Week.
There were activities happening at most beaches and centres.
I was near Kaitaia so spent some time at the new Te Ahu Centre
where there was displays of art, book readings and what I particularly
wanted to see... Pingao weaving.


This is Sally... She was demonstrating Pingao weaving...
She made it look easy.

There were lots of photos... This one shows it being planted...

It grows in a wild state in the sand with runners that produce tufts
that grow into another Pingao clump.

Here volunteers are gathering the seeds.
More volunteers and school children have projects growing the seeds...

 
Which are then planted on the dunes.
It is a vital plant for dune ecology to stop erosion.


It is also used for weaving... It's a beautiful golden colour.
The Putiputi's are very popular in wedding bouquets and buttonholes.
This is the little 'how to' book I bought.


This is a finished Putiputi made by a first time weaver.
If she can do it, so can I...
I'm off back to the beach to look for some Pingao.