muriwhenua

This is an incarnation of my Muriwhenua composition that I produced for the Anno Mundi Gallery launch.
The Muriwhenua ("North Cape") was inspired by my journey in New Zealand and Maori mythology, and varies greatly in the way I apply it to different porcelain sets. The same elements have to be present, however - these are: the Fern Fronds (white on jade green), the Flax Plant and Pohutukawa Tree in bloom (red), the Flax-Woven Flower (varying shades of green), the Caretta Turtle (gold), the Setting Sun, and the poem "Leaping Place" (white on black) below. Additionally, a geometric pattern may be added in white on the same shade of red, for further coverage and symbolism.


The Muriwhenua pattern applied to porcelain set and mirror frame

I wrote the poem Leaping Place by weaving together several Maori legends about Creation, the Cosmos and the Afterlife.

Leaping Place

The challenge of life is to face it
Its success is knowing you face yourself.
My prow to the fore, I enter the dark of the unknown.
My dreams reveal...
"Where are you?"
"Here I  am, ascending
to the Leaping Place of Spirits.
One goal, one understanding,
The words of love,
From the Boundless Potential
To the First Night
To the Threshold
To the World of Light -
Span the skies, Great Rainbow!
I follow the path of the Milky Way.
May I shine from within
Until I reach our Meeting Place by the Sea."